A/N: I know it's been forever since an update, but I thought no one was interested in this until people kept reviewing asking me to update, so I'm sorry for the long wait. As I went over my chapters I realized there are many inconsistencies and stuff I could have written better, but for the time being I'm not going to redo them. Feedback would be really appreciated.
Logan slammed the door shut behind him and went straight to his drawers, opening and closing them quickly as he searched for the papers he had put away only a little while ago. Finally, he found the folder and rifled through its contents, eyes frantically scanning for the specific information he was looking for. He booted up his computer, unaware of the person who had silently snuck into the room and hidden inside his closet, watching him closely. The person grinned and razor sharp teeth glinted as they caught the light from the room.
Logan tapped his fingers impatiently, waiting for the internet to connect. Then he typed away furiously and stopped as he processed what was in front of him.
"They're dead?" Logan muttered. "But I checked up on them a little while ago. And how did that stupid girl get here?"
His eyes fell on the folder, and then he took out a pair of scissors and proceeded to cut the sheets up carefully, making sure that they would be impossible to read.
"I can't have anyone finding out what I know," he mumbled as he ripped the remaining pieces of paper to shreds. He stood up and deposited them in a garbage can, biting his lip. After standing there for a moment, he let out a sigh and walked out, evidently feeling better than a few minutes ago.
Spike stepped out of the closet when he heard Logan's retreating footsteps in the hall, and stepped over to the garbage can, fishing out the bits of paper. He stuck them inside one of his pockets and went over to the computer, which was still on.
Amanda, Brent, Jimmy and Henrita Colms all found brutally murdered in their suburban home. Older daughter Raven Colms is nowhere to be found.
"Anyone ever tell you never to leave stuff you don't want people to see on?" Spike said. "Looks like Logie boy knows more than he's letting on."
He stepped away from the desk and saw his wallet sitting beside the telephone. He opened it up and grinned when he pulled out five crisp twenty-dollar bills.
"Thank you, Moneybags," he said, leaving the room to stalk his prey.
Raven hungrily stuffed her face with food, pausing only slightly to breathe now and then. Max watched with an amused look.
"You have a healthy appetite, don't you?" she asked.
"Am I a pig? Yes," Raven said. She looked at herself. "I'm surprised I'm not chubby."
"You're very up-front about things, aren't you?" Max asked.
"What's the point of skirting around something when the person is most likely going to find out about it anyways?" Raven pointed out.
"That's something Zack would say," Max said.
"Then he's very smart," she answered. "I can't say the same for that cocky guy, though."
"Alec?" Max asked. "He's an idiot, but you get past that after a while."
"I resent that comment," Alec said, sitting down beside Raven. "And here I was thinking we were starting to be friends."
"You'd need to be able to have an intelligent conversation first," she said jokingly.
Alec shook his head. "I think it's you who needs to work on your people skills."
Ginger hissed and reached out a paw to scratch him and he backed away.
"Why is everyone trying to mutilate my perfect body?" he whined.
"Because no one likes a showoff," Raven said. Alec frowned.
"You're irksome," he said.
"I'm impressed. That's a big word for you," Max said.
"Hey, leave the poor baby alone," Faith said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"See? At least one person loves me," Alec said, smirking.
"I'm guessing it's for a very physical reason," Raven said under her breath, knowing fully that they would hear it.
Alec chuckled and ruffled her hair, avoiding her hand trying unsuccessfully to bat his arm away. "You have the same nasty humour as Max. If I didn't know any better I'd swear the two of you were related."
"What is it, Ginger?" Raven asked, as the cat arched her back and hissed. She looked at the entrance and saw Logan walk in.
"Oh, him," Raven said, patting her cat. "It's okay. We're going to find out what he knows about me. One way or another."
Max was a little unnerved by that comment. "What do you mean?"
She looked at Max, her face the epitome of innocence. "Nothing." She caught sight of the runes on Max's arm.
"What are those?" she asked sharply.
"Runes, depicting a prophecy or something equally strange," Max said. She studied Raven carefully. "Do you recognize them?"
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered some strange chanting and seeing little figures like the runes on Max's arm.
Rif'ta namost labra'ar quince'aras.
"Do you?" Max asked, repeating the question.
"No," Raven said, shaking her head. She had no idea where that memory had come from, but it scared her.
"Hey guys," Logan said, taking a seat beside them uninvited. "Raven," he said, nodding at the girl. She hardened her eyes, turning them an icy blue.
"Hi," she said coldly. Her brain registered that she had heard his voice before, on the phone. He had called her parents a few months ago.
What does he know about me?
"How is everybody?" he asked, attempting to make conversation. To his dismay, no one answered. He laughed uncomfortably.
"Okay then," he said. "I guess I'll just go."
"That might be a good idea," Alec said. Logan shot him a dirty look and stood up. As nonchalantly as she could, Raven stretched and stuck out her foot, effectively tripping Logan. Even Max couldn't contain her laughter. His face flushed with embarrassment and he stalked off.
"I take it back," Alec said. "You're a cool kid."
"Hey Spike," Faith greeted as the vampire walked up to them clutching something in his hands. "What did you find out?"
"He seemed in a hurry to shred this," he said, showing them the little scraps. "He definitely knows something about the lass. I was thinking we could get one of those alien guys to fix this. They can alter molecular structure, or something like that, right?"
"Yeah," Max said. Her face clouded over a little. "I'm just disappointed that he's lying to me." She pursed her lips. "You should get it to Max. I think he's at Liz's apartment. But knock first, okay? You might see something you might not want to see if you don't."
Spike wiggled his eyebrows. "Gotcha."
"How come that guy's teeth are so pointy?" Raven asked. "Does he need to go to the orthodontist?"
"He's a vampire," Faith said. Raven dropped her spoon.
"Don't worry," she assured. "He won't hurt you." Seeing her still-worried look, she added, "He's like a dog. You can train dogs not to bite, right? Well, he's trained. He's not a bad guy."
The girl shuddered. "The world's a really weird place."
"Tell me about it," Max said.
"How's Raven?" Zack asked as Max walked into her room.
"Fitting in," she said, throwing her jacket aside. "It's really strange, but I feel kind of connected to her."
"I know, me too," he said. "The thing that's really odd is that she acts like a transgenic and has superhuman abilities but she also has no barcode, no memory of Manticore and grew up with a family."
"Well, Spike found some papers Logan cut up," she said. She put her hands on her hips. "He obviously didn't want to find out about it. We're trying to see if Liz's boyfriend can restore it."
"Is he a good guy to her?" he asked. She laughed quietly and wrapped her arms around him.
"Don't go all overprotective big brother on him," Max said. "He could throw you across the room with those powers he has."
"Are you doubting me now?" he asked playfully, kissing her forehead.
"No, but I don't want you all beaten and bruised either," she said, kissing him back.
"How are you dealing with Logan?" he asked seriously.
"Honestly? I don't know," she said, pulling out of his embrace. "There are just so many things he seems to be keeping from me, even before we broke up." She sighed. "There are just so many loose ends, you know? Dawn and Zero are still missing, that room down there in the tunnels, now Raven… Every time we get something done around here another crisis happens."
He pulled her back towards him and rested his chin on top of her head. "One problem at a time. Don't wear yourself out, okay?" He grinned. "That's my job."
She kissed him again, longer this time. "I love you," she said.
"I love you too."
She closed her eyes and just rested her head against his chest, listening to the sounds of his heartbeat.
"Oh, I guess I should've knocked first."
Max groaned and saw Raven standing sheepishly in the doorway.
"They told me to come get you because Max is patching up the papers Spike found," she said.
"Coming," Max told her, and she skipped off.
"We desperately need a lock on our door and a 'do not disturb' sign," Zack said wearily, following her out the door.
"There are so many people here," Dawn said nervously, looking around the airport.
"That's good," Zero said. He discreetly showed her a fistful of money in his hand. "Look what we got."
"You stole from all these people?" she asked. "I don't feel right doing that."
"Look, it's either stealing or staying here forever," he said impatiently. "I've got enough for the both of us. We can take a flight to Phoenix, then transfer and take one to Idaho. We'll drive from there."
Dawn blew out a breath. "I feel so bad about leaving without saying goodbye to Anita."
"Dawn, now's not the time to dwell on that stuff," Zero said. "We've got to get back to Seattle." He tugged on her sweater and she followed him to the counter.
"Two tickets for flight 962 please," Zero said, shoving the money at the woman. She looked suspicious that they were paying in so many bills, instead of using a credit card like most people, but took the money anyway. A moment later she handed them their tickets.
"Aren't you two a little young to be traveling alone?" she asked.
"We're 16 ma'am," he said.
"Hmm," was all she said. They thanked her and quickly got in line for their plane which was about to board.
They just missed the menacing-looking man in a tie a little way down the line.
"I've found them," he said into his comm.
"Good. Hijack the plane and fly it to our headquarters," a voice said.
"What about the rest of the people?" he asked.
"Kill them."
A/N: Ooh. Dun dun dun… Please give me feedback because it would really be appreciated. And if you could, please check out some of my other fics. I've got some MAs you're sure to like, and they're written better than this one. If you're interested, drop by my forum too.