Chapter 10

Silver's imaging cube paused in it's storytelling and the guardian looked around, quickly wiping an eye that had grown watery. "What time is it?"

"Uh, 7ish," Zoom answered, confused. "why?"

"Where is the sun in the sky, I mean," she rephrased quickly.

Vert looked at his watch. "Should be setting soon… why, Silver, what's going on?"

Tezz butted in, "Something to do with Trever's warehouse, no doubt,"

"That place has been abandoned for years," the leader commented. "what do you want with that place?"

"There's something I wanted to check out…" Silver placed her cup of tea on the counter and hopped down. "sorry, guys… we'll continue this later," Her mind was locked on something… everyone could feel a slight urgency in the edge of her voice… or maybe she just needed a break. Vert shrugged, a little annoyed that the story was interrupted. The Cortez brothers gave sideways glances.

"I'll come with you," Agura decided, following her out into the hallway. "but you're going to have to fill me in on what we're checking out, girl."

Silver held up the cube, and a 3D image of two men popped up. "Remember these guys from lunch?"

"Yeah," Zoom sidled up. "the ones who were giving you a funny feeling, right?"

She put the device away. "They're holding some sort of 'talent' audition tonight…"

Stanford grinned and gracefully combed his hair back. "Best let the master show you how an audition works, eh love? You'd better hope I don't steal the whole show,"

"With what?" Spinner rolled his eyes. "a glowstick hakuna matata dance? You plan on WOWING them with your supreme tea making skills?"

Stanford looked offended and retorted, only earning himself a full-on argument.

Agura turned back to her friend. "We get a lot of weird people here, it's probably nothing… but if you think it's worth looking into – I'm in."

"Me too," Zoom added with a grin.

Vert joined them. "Sure, why not – but no magic, got it? Remember, people don't know what we really do here – we want to keep it that way," he turned to the others. "Sherman, Tezz, you coming?"

To the leader's surprise, Tezz pushed off the counter and followed without response. He normally didn't do these kinds of things, but it was good bonding, so the blonde didn't question it.

"Ok, sweet – Sherman?"

"Meh," the big guy shook his head. "I'll work on the anti-matter containment unit – let me know if something comes up,"

Vert nodded and didn't bother interrupting the other two. It was amazing how long they could keep an argument going for. The party met at the elevator.

"I'm going to change… he said to wear my best… I think I night have something," Silver announced. "I'll meet you guys outside by the track,"

"Sounds good," Agura nodded.

The team saddled up. Thundering engines echoed off the walls as they raced down the tunnels leading to the surface world. The sky's western edge dimly glowed with the final light of the sun. Agura wondered why she wasn't out at this time of day more often… it was beautiful.

They circled around to the garage and waited. Only ten minutes of small talk passed before Silver emerged from the hidden elevator.

"Those two are still going at it downstairs," Silver sighed as she headed toward Lenka. "but I think Stanford is running out of comebacks,"

Her slender figure was clad in a full-length opal dress with a V-neck, revealing some of the burn bandages underneath. The fabric was like very fibrous and organic-looking with a lovely softness of movement as she walked. The two slits in the front of the skirt gave her legs room to move, and the top two halves of the split bodice hugged her breasts, giving away just the right amount of cleavage. To Zoom's slight disappointment, the rest of the elegant piece was hidden by her regular old cloak. Altogether, her appearance in the dim light was very ethereal.

"Uh… if blending in is what you were going for," Vert arched a brow. "this is not quite it – how are you even able to ride in that?"

"He said to 'wear my best'," Silver argued, splaying her hands out at her sides. "this is my best – I found it in a library archive. Don't tell me you guys don't have these kinds of clothes on earth…? I thought I saw a girl with a smaller version at Zeke's,"

"I think it looks great," Zoom commented shyly, leaning forward with arms crossed on the dash. "I don't see anything wrong with it,"

The blonde rolled his eyes with a knowing glance at his scout, causing him to blush a little. Good thing it was almost dark.

"What?" Zoom put his hands out and Agura chuckled at his bashful defense. It was cute to see him so enamored by their alien friend.

Silver majestically slung her skirt and cloak over Lenka's seat, and the pod closed over her. "Tezz, where did you say Trever's Warehouse was?"

"I'll take us there," Vert volunteered. "I used to run away to that old place when I was a kid,"

"You ran away?" Agura laughed.

"Well, it's not like I could go far without dying of thirst," he state flatly.

The five vehicles kicked up dust as Saber led the way. Silver glanced over at Tezz, curious as to why he'd come after his comments earlier about her lack of proof. If he didn't believe her, why entertain the subject? Surely, the mathematician had better things to do with his time. Whatever. She refocused on her task. A part of her felt a little guilty for spending time away from trying to defeat Krytus, but her curiosity and gut feeling was killing her conscious to investigate these two men.

The dark outline of a dilapidated warehouse came within view, and the team could see a large bus pulled up next to it. Little glimmers of light made it through the gaps in the walls and broken windows.

"This is it, gang," their leader announced as they pulled up to the bus. "man, this thing needs some serious work,"

Their headlights revealed rusting wheel wells, a half-assed white paint job, and boarded broken windows characterized the travel bus. Agura wouldn't be surprised if one of the taillights were out.

"I got a bad feeling about this," the huntress voiced. "first off, why hold talent auditions out in the middle of nowhere?"

"This wasn't at the diner…" Zoom noted driving the length of the bus. "we definitely would have noticed if those dudes were driving a hunk of junk like this,"

Silver parked and slid out, her long skirt falling behind her. As she came around the bus, she saw other vehicles parked – maybe about twenty to twenty-five. All of them were notably worn down, needing repairs, reflecting the financial state of the owners.

"I'll go in and check around," she decided. "you guys wait here – keep an eye out for anything weird,"

"I'm coming in with you," Zoom said firmly, parking and pulling off his helmet. "I'm starting to get what you were saying earlier… I'm feeling a creepy vibe,"

"I can take care of myself," Silver glanced his way.

He brushed past her, hands tucked in his hoodie pockets, and headed toward the front door of the warehouse. "I know,"

The guardian sighed and followed, hood pulled up.

"Get out if there's trouble," Vert reminded them. "and keep your head down, Silver – you're not wearing glasses…"

His voice faded as they drew neared to the entrance. Silver followed her determined escort through the door. The space was dimly lit and populated with women dressed in their finest and loaded with makeup. The scout could've sworn he saw a teenage girl wearing her prom dress. Lot's of people looking for a chance at a new life… Zoom clearly looked out of place – the single speck of testosterone in a building full of women – but then again, this whole setting was off (dressed up women in an abandoned warehouse). He could see that some were a little unsure of their presence. He looked like a bum trying to crash the school dance. Silver, on the other hand, had the right idea with the dress, but because it was of alien origin, she didn't quite fit in as well as she had hoped, and the cloak was the biggest ensemble out of place.

Realizing this, the guardian took a breath and unclasped her covering, revealing the rest of the dress. Long bell sleeves covered the bandages wrapped around her shoulders, and the back was decorated with strange, soft, almost gel-like embellishments in a pattern of folded wings.

We definitely don't make dresses like that... Zoom thought as he stared a little. Should have asked Agura if she had something…

Silver was earning side looks from those around her. Her eyes were fully visible now, and it clearly was unsettling some of the other women. She shifted uneasily, letting her hair fall over her face a little, then handed the cloak to her friend. As she did so, she came close to his ear.

"Wait for me outside the door," she whispered. "I think your male presence is drawing attention to us – I'm reading from them they're feeling slightly threatened…"

Zoom gave her a look of: seriously?

What? Silver mouthed discreetly, a bit irritated at his attitude.

He leaned in, responding quietly. "You sure it's not because of the alien dress you decided to wear to a small town beauty pageant? They feel threatened because whatever audition this is – they can't really compare to you,"

"Just go," she pushed him gently, feeling a slight warmth seep into her face.

The scout chuckled and did as he was told. Once outside, Zoom donned the cloak, purely out of curiosity. It was warm with a slight earthy scent clinging to the inner lining, the same scent he whiffed from her hair when she was curled up in his arms earlier on the bed. As he thumbed the hem, he wondered what it was made of. These thoughts only lasted for a moment before he wanted to go back in to make sure nothing creepy was going on. So far it sounded like nothing had happened. Zoom pulled the hood up, feeling like a jedi knight, and snuck around the building to look for a discreet peephole. Climbing the building seemed like a fun option but the chances of him falling through the roof were enough to discourage the idea. He noticed the others had driven off to the distance – their position betrayed by their small headlights… perhaps they were making a perimeter?

Though the outside made the building seem large, the inside was divided into two sections using rusted, ancient, molding storage cubicles. Silver found a corner to sit in that was hidden from most of the prying eyes. She was going to have to be careful if she didn't want to be singled out right away.

The guardian couldn't see her targets, but their sinister, manipulative, and crafty essence wasn't difficult to pick out of all the others in the room closest to her. They were here… she was sure of it. What did they want? Silver noticed the women were all younger, between maybe 18 and 30 years old. All of their essences had a slight similarity… a feeling of… smallness or insignificance. Maybe that's why they were here… hoping to make it big? Why were there no men? Weren't they concerned for their safety? But then again, there were only two men at the diner… it was likely the ladies felt some security in the fact that they wouldn't the only ones auditioning… they could depend on each other if something were to happen. Still, it was unwise. Perhaps flattery convinced them to come?

"Ladies!" a familiar voice emerged from the far back wall, and a man in a striking white jacket hopped on top of a row of storage cubes. All eyes immediately darted to him. "Well, what a turnup we have," he briefly surveyed the room, stopping every so slightly on Silver. "you all look lovely and ready to show you have what it takes to make it in the big city. Let me introduce myself," he bowed with a flourish. "my name is Lucious Riccoleti of the Riccoleti Talent Agency. I'm sure you're all wondering how this audition is going to play out,"

Lucious took another pause and mouthed numbers as he took a head count. "… twenty-two, twenty-three – twenty-four! Fantastic," he smiled broadly. "if you would please come up and take a clipboard from this table and just fill out some information. You'll take this with you into our makeshift office through this door when you're done – just line up as you're ready. Those who make this audition get the wonderful opportunity to see my superiors in Vegas!"

The women clustered around the table with excited murmuring before going off into separate spaces to fill it out. Silver followed their example, knowing that she wouldn't be able to read or write. Ok… so maybe sending Zoom away wasn't the best idea. She stared at the characters on the page, then scribbled some things on it, glancing at the women around her. Someone had already finished and went to the door along the left wall where Lucious was waiting. Wait… it was Grace.

The man took her clipboard and admitted her. The door closed with a loud creak behind them. Shortly after, other women completed their forms and lined up along the wall. Silver made herself the last to line up, hiding the page on her clipboard. It was only fifteen minutes before Lucious came out calling "next", and this was the same for every audition. The women would go in, but none would come out. Silver felt their essence flicker with fear, then dim… not a sign of death, but something like a deep sleep. The men's essence, however, stayed bright and strong, characterized with a feeling of control and dominance.

This was bad, this was very bad. There was only one woman left in front of Silver, now. Lucious appeared and kindly admitted her as well, glancing back at Silver with a charming wink. "saving the best for last, I see,"

The alien girl cautiously crept up to the door, hiking up her skirt as she did so. She pressed her palms to the cold metal, closed her eyes, and leaned in. There were… three essences? It would have to be Lucious and his partner, and the one woman with them… but where'd the other women go? It wasn't long before the woman's essence flickered dim before disappearing out of Silver's magic range – all this metal was impeding her sense.

Now Silver was sensing Lucious come nearer to the door – should she leave? Silver backed away to her original spot and put back on her fake smile. No, she would get to the bottom of this. The handle turned and the door opened again.

"Now, why don't you tell me where you're from, miss?" the smooth voice dripped with the most charm she'd heard all evening. "I've never seen eyes quite like yours,"

Silver held out the clipboard, feigning bashful shyness at the compliment. "I wear special contacts,"

"Ah, but we need to see your natural eye color," Lucious grinned as he took the paperwork without glancing at it. "mind removing them for me?"

Oh crap – what now? She didn't know anything about contacts, what they were, other than they must go either in or on eyeballs…

"I… can't," she laughed nervously with a shrug. "they're permanent,"

"Permanent lenses?"

She nodded. "They can't be removed,"

He seemed hesitant to take her in. "Interesting… well," he waved her to follow. "come on in,"

Silver smiled. "Thanks – I know it's unusual,"

"It's your own breed of beauty," he charmed.

Silver walked past him into the dimly lit room. It was empty, save another metal door along the back wall. Lucious closed the first door and led her to the next.

"Where are the other girls?" she asked lightly.

"Some were accepted, others weren't – all leave through the back exit. We don't want to scare the remaining contestants into leaving early if they see the reactions of the ones who leave,"

"So you can tell right away who you want and who you don't?"

"Like I said, I've got a nose for talent," he smiled and opened the back door, ushering her in. Silver hesitated. The room was dark.

"Oh, sorry about that," Lucious frowned. "my partner must still be getting a new bulb – it went out on us a minute ago… can't believe he's not back yet,"

He was lying. There was someone else in the room. Silver's hand casually slid for the hidden dagger strapped to her inner thigh. "Oh…"

Lucious started to close the creaking door behind them.

"Wait," Silver turned to him, but then that second presence moved faster than expected. A cloth was shoved over her mouth and nose and she panicked. Her hand found the dagger and brought it up, but a hand slapped it from her weakening grasp. She couldn't get away from this horrid smell and suffocating feeling. Everything in her body was growing heavy, and soon, her mind followed the freefall into darkened sleep. The last thing she saw was a flame dancing in the palm of Lucious Riccoleti.

Zoom had been waiting on the outside with limited vision of the room and girls, but he was at least able to make out that they were disappearing one by one with Lucious behind the metal door, and no one had left the building yet. All the cars remained parked in front along with the travel bus. Zoom clicked his wrist communicator.

"Hey guys, see anything out there?"

"Negative," Vert's voice piped. "what's going on in there?"

"They're all gone – I can't see into the room Lucious took them,"

"Is that our guy?"

"Yeah," Zoom clenched his jaw. "but I haven't seen the other dude – the quiet one."

Agura's low tone voiced over the speaker. "I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Zoom, go check it out – we'll do a circle of the perimeter before joining you," Vert decided. "be careful,"

"You got it, Vert," the scout grinned and slipped in through the front, creaking cold door. His footsteps made nearly noiseless shuffles as he moved toward where he last saw his friend. Muffled voices could be heard once he pressed his ear against the rigid, rusting metal door. Considering how rusty and thin the walls were in some places, it was weird how quiet the voices were, and how no light leaked out.

"I'm hearing voices, but I can't make out what they're saying,"

"See anything?" Agura asked.

"No – it's pretty dark… want me to go in?"

"Negative," Vert said. "wait for backup,"

Zoom hovered near the door, quick to disappear if anyone emerged, bating his breath to barely make out the whispers coming through. The few seconds he waited, the more nervous he grew. Finally, the soft rumbles of engines announced his backup, and he waved them in, motioning to tread lightly. Vert thought it was a bit amusing to see him wearing Silver's cloak. The scout brought them to the door in question. Agura took point and cautiously turned the knob. It creaked eerily. The space behind the door was barely lit by a single bulb. Nothing. There was no longer any sound either.

"The footprints in the dust go up to the next door," the huntress whispered. They followed, Tezz fitting his glove on with anticipation. Even he was getting the jitters.

"Vert, do you know this part of the warehouse?" Agura asked, her hand resting on the knob and leaning into the door a little.

The blond shrugged and whispered. "another empty room – from what I remember,"

She nodded and turned the handle. The door opened cautiously.

"Late applicants?" a male voice asked smoothly from the dark.

Zoom hopped through, fists readied and jaw clenched in anxiety. "Where are the girls, Lucious? What are you doing here?"

"They're all here," a fire was lit in a corner of the room, revealing his face twisted in glee. Then another small flame bounced up from the other corner, showing the face of the unnamed partner. Between the light of both, the team saw slumped bodies of girls on the far back wall. Their hands were pulled behind their backs, and their feet were bound together.

Lucious stepped advanced casually. "I'm doing what I promised all of them – making them stars in the big city. I'm sure my clients will pay graciously for a couple of rare beauties in this bunch," the flaming hand gestured to their alien friend on the floor. "such as this one… something gives me the sense she's not from here…"

"Vert," Tezz cautioned as the leader was about to advance. "his hands…"

"I know, I see,"

"No way… he's a favian," Zoom realized, watching the dancing light refuse to eat Lucious's flesh. The man coaxed the flames into a blaze in both palms.

"Don't know what that is," Lucious remarked, disinterested. "but what I DO know is that you and your friends will be letting my partner and I carry out our business without any trouble, won't you?"

"Like hell we will," Agura snapped. This retaliation was immediately met with a flare of heat that nearly singed her arm hairs.

"Really think that's a good idea?" asked the partner in a gravelly voice. He sounded like he'd been smoking cigarettes since the day he learned to count cash for them.

"Oh, you can talk – I was wondering about that," Zoom said jokingly, secretly betting it wasn't any trouble for him to find a light. Magic was so trippy. "What do we do Vert?" the scout asked quietly.

"Alright," the blonde stepped forward and put his hands up. "we won't give you guys any trouble."

"I know," Lucious lazily blew a puff of air onto his fingertips, making them flicker erratically. "now, on the ground."

Zoom and Agura gave their leader nervous glances but followed his example and kneeled with their hands up.

"You too, beanstalk,"

Tezz sighed and put his hands up. "left," he said flatly, before activating his glove and ripping the door behind him off its hinges. The chunk of metal flew through the air and flattened the pyro-happy partner against the wall and his flame extinguished. Realizing his que, Vert jumped up and charged the startled Lucious for a foot-ball style tackle, grasping the man's fancy-shmancy silk shirt. Them Zoom and Agura sprang into the scuffle to help, each taking an arm before Vert's shirt was set ablaze.

"Knock him out," Agura shouted. But before Vert could swing a decisive blow, Lucious sucked in air and exhaled a blast of skin-melting heat. The three quickly released him and stumbled back. The man looked irritated.

"Well," he huffed, fixing the collar of his sport jacked. "that wasn't very nice,"

"I'll release the idiot if you give us the girls," Tezz announced before Lucious could act. "I'll crush him if you don't," The slab of metal pressed the partner tighter to the wall and a grunt could be heard from behind it.

"Or I can burn your friends to a crisp," Lucious grinned, threateningly enlarging the flames in his hands and reaching toward the other three.

Tezz paused. There really wasn't any negotiation with this… but could he be fast enough? Was it worth the risk to find out? Just then, one of the girls stirred and rolled over onto her back. It was Silver. Whatever they'd drugged her with must've worn off already.

"Guys, I think she's awake," Zoom whispered not so quietly.

Lucious glanced over at her, genuinely confused. "How – she should be asleep for an hour at least," A second was all Tezz needed. With a buzz of electricity, the slab of metal flew across the room, first guarding his three friends, then ramming Lucious back with generous force. He slammed against the wall with a loud gasp as the air was forcefully pushed out of his body before slumping to the ground in a daze. Tezz released the door from his electromagnetic field on top of him. It wasn't enough to pin him, but it would give them time if he tried to shuffle out from underneath. He stood guard just in case. Vert was quick to leap into the now-freed partner and knock a decisive blow before he could get his bearings.

"Nice work, Tezz," the blonde grinned.

Silver stirred again. "What's going on… what happened?"

Zoom and Agura were quick to her side.

"You were drugged," Agura said gently. "but it's ok, we got here in time,"

"Traffickers…" the girl sighed in disgust.

"Yeah…"

Zoom helped her to sit up, noting the bindings used. "Zip-ties – we're going to need scissors or…"

"My dagger… it should still be in this room," Silver grunted, shifting position.

Agura looked over to Vert. "Search him,"

After a couple pats, he produced the weapon and sliced the ties. Silver rubbed her wrists. She felt her mind clearing and she looked around the dim room, the only light coming through the open doorway. Her first instinct was to check if the threat was truly neutralized. Tezz seemed to have that covered. Lucious was conscious but unmoving, deciding it was better to wait than get slammed into the wall again, or worse – decapitated. Besides, he still didn't have his breath back. Vert was already starting to gingerly cut the bindings of the other girls, but it was slow going because of the low light.

The magic blue hue lit Silver's eyes, and the little jelly-like dots on her dress illuminated like glow sticks. Soft light bounced off the shiny flecks of metal wall that weather and age had not yet degraded.

"Heh, thanks," Vert smiled and continued the job with more confidence. "that's useful – I assume there's water in those things?"

Silver nodded, got up with Zoom's support, and brushed off her dress, causing some of the delicate shadows to shift. He unclasped the cloak and handed it back to her.

"You were right about these guys," Agura commented. "question is – what do we do now? We can't let them go, but If we take them to the police they'd just cause more trouble,"

Zoom agreed. "Yeah, I'm not sure sheriff Johnson has a holding cell for pyros – how are they favian, anyway? I thought you were the last one,"

Silver walked over to Lucious, peering at him intently with her glowing eyes. This unsettled the man, and he flicked his eyes around the room. A slow, cold, frosty breath of hers tingled his nose, and a single snowflake slipped out of her mouth, landing on his forehead. Any thought Lucious had of escaping was pretty much gone after that.

"Let's get the girls back into their cars," Vert broke into the pause. "hopefully they'll wake up thinking it was just a bad dream…"

"I'll lock these two so they can't use their magic," Silver volunteered sternly as some of the glowing dots floated from her dress and stuck to the wall with a wave of her hand. "I'll leave these here for light – just let me just grab some ammo,"

She was back just as Vert finished freeing the last girl. Two small spheres of water escorted her. Lucious's face twisted with confused fear.

"What is that?!" he asked.

"Your restraints," Silver said, cuffing his hands behind his back in a magical orb with a short phrase of gibberish. "if you increase the heat, the temperature of this lock will drop below freezing. If you want to keep your hands, I suggest you refrain from fire – dragon's breath included," Then she turned and did the same to his partner lying on the floor.

"Who is she?" Lucious asked Tezz as if nothing had just happened. "She can't seriously be human, can she?"

"She's not," he answered flatly.

As one of the men were crammed into Tangler, and the other seated in Splitwire, the team gently carried the girls back to whichever car matched the key in their pockets. Zoom didn't have any trouble carrying Grace to hers, though it felt weird holding her in his arms. He was glad she was asleep because he had no doubt she would've beat his ass for this. It made Zoom a little sad to remember they weren't on good terms anymore. He considered apologizing for leading her on… analyzing his past actions made him realize how he was ignoring the inevitable. But on her side, she did come on a little strong. Neither of them really communicated what they were – ever – which left room for too many assumptions. Zoom gently placed her in her little red sedan, deciding he would at least apologize for his part in the falling out. An annoying tug reminded him that he didn't truly know what he wanted, and he'd have to figure that out before trying to continue a connection of any sort. Zoom sighed.

A couple of the girls started to wake up, but since they couldn't let them find out what had happened, Vert regrettably decided to use the inhalant drug on them one more time. No one liked it, but they couldn't think of any other way to avoid an explanation. After placing a anonymous tip to the police department about a strange gathering of vehicles at the warehouse, everyone saddled up to head back home with their prisoners.

"We need to figure out how these guys got their magic," Vert decided. "any ideas, Silver? You're our expert,"

"Yeah… I think I might have one…" she sounded solemn. "They might be descendants of refugees from the war,"

"You mean some might have escaped to earth?" Agura's eyebrows raised in shock. "that's crazy,"

"But not impossible," Tezz added.

"How do you think they made it here?" Zoom asked.

"It's something my mother told me… I've got more to tell you guys – a lot more,"

The five disappeared underground. Their prisoners watched in amazement as hidden ramps led them to the hub where Sage focused on a computer with Sherman working on the anti-matter containment unit.

"You sure you want them to see Sage?" Silver asked with slight apprehension.

Vert shrugged. "Well, we can't take them to the police,"

Tezz made a disgusted face. "You can't seriously mean we'll be keeping them here,"

"I'm hoping that once we get out of them what we need, Sage can erase their memories,"

In the Tangler, Agura could hear her normally quiet prisoner scoff at the notion. "Ok, then what," she asked, hopping down.

"I… haven't thought of that part yet,"

Sherman stopped his work to lend a hand while asking what happened. A brief explanation left his brow furrowed in thought. The men were seated, still cuffed, in swivel chairs in the hub. Lucious took in the sight of the garage with amusement.

"So, you got yourself a car club – eh, sweetheart?" he jested. "Wouldn't you be better off with the heroes in Gotham?" Silver's cold stare sealed his lips.

"Do you know what you are?" the guardian asked, arms crossed in her flowing bell sleeves. The dress made for an interesting interrogation getup.

He grinned. "Just an honest businessman trying to make a living,"

"Cut the crap, Lucious," Zoom snapped irritably. "we know what you intended to do with those girls – not cool,"

"Why doesn't the other one speak?" Tezz pointed out.

Agura rested her hands on her hips. "I don't know but I don't trust it,"

Silver fixed her eyes on the man with the dark sleeve inked into his skin. His face never changed from his quiet, calm expression. Delving deeper revealed he wasn't inwardly anxious either, he met her eyes without hesitation.

"Who are you?"

Silent gaze.

"Can you talk or do you choose not to?"

"I call him Leo," Lucious piped up. "barely says a few words a day for as long as I've known him – he might've already reached his quota as of tonight,"

"Leo," Silver mulled over him, trying to grasp something new in his essence. She noted he was considerably younger than his counterpart. While Ricoletti could have been in his forties, Leo was maybe in his late twenties. How did a pair like this meet?

Silver sighed and stood up straight while the others asked questions about their organization, who they sold to, where they learned their magic. Did they know anything of how they got their magic? Were there others? Their questionee always gave short, useless answers.

"Hey, I have a question," he stopped them abruptly. "what the hell are all of you," he then did a head nod toward Sage in the corner. "and what is that?"

She had been observing curiously, amazed that a remnant of Silver's people seemed to remain.

"Lucious, right now we're the only thing standing between an angry red alien and this planet," Vert answered seriously. "now, mind telling us what you know about your alien side of the family?"

Their huntress sighed. "He doesn't know anything. If favians truly did come here, it was before there was even a written documentation – how is he supposed to know if he's part alien?"

Silver, frustrated at the lack of success from the questions, left toward the bedroom halls. The others kept pressing questions.

"Where is she going?" Tezz asked, almost in annoyance.

"She does that," Sherman explained. "she'll be back… probably,"

Silver hopped up to the sleeping quarters on small footholds of water, a fairy-like dance to the top as her dress bounced with each step, much to the amazement of the Leo and Lucious. Zoom followed out of curiosity, taking the normal elevator.

He caught up to her in a couple jogs. "Sil, where are you going,"

"There's a spell – remember what I told you about the mark and the dark domain?" she strode up to her room and went straight for a crystal resting lonely on a stone shelf. "I haven't used it for years because Arena trained me how to see the mark of the beast without the spell, but since he's only part Favian I can't find it as easily,"

"Ok that's great," Zoom admitted hesitantly. "but how is that going to help us?"

"There is a realm the Order would keep the worst of them, but it only allows those with the mark,"

"What realm,"

"I've never seen it, I'm physically unable to, but it's called Jadu – a world where only darkness can enter,"

"Will he be able to live? Like, I don't like the dude at all, but we can't just leave him to die,"

"He will live… I think," Silver murmured, hovering the crystal in her palm as it flickered to life. A timid string of figures seeped out of the prism and arranged in the air in a sequence only Silver could understand. A small grouping of characters highlighted as she chose a subsection of the archive, and then another set highlighted. She found was she was looking for and a whole string of characters pulled away from the rest. Zoom watched, intrigued, as she mumbled the phrase to herself, refreshing her memory. Swishing her hands and with a short flick of her sleeves, the magic closed quickly and she replaced the crystal to its spot on the shelf.

Zoom caught her arm as she passed by him hurriedly, skirts ruffled and swishing. "Sil, are you sure about this?"

"Sometimes revealing a Favian's nature also gives you glimpses into other parts of their life… I might be able to see some of his past,"

"I don't have a good feeling about this,"

"It's alright, Zoom," She made a small reassuring smile.

"What if he doesn't have it – the mark?"

"We could always leave him on Faven," Silver shrugged.

"You're not serious,"

The Guardian stood quiet, nonchalant, roaming her eyes around the room a little.

"That's suicide, Sil,"

She grinned and pushed his hand off. "I know – I'm joking,"

They started back.

Her attitude about it all bothered him. Zoom took a worried tone, looking at his friend striding next to him. "Hey, are you ok?"

"What do you mean,"

"I mean… with what they were planning on doing to you – to the girls,"

Silver sighed as she kept walking, but it wasn't sad or regretful. There was no pain etched into it. "It's not the first time I've dealt with this kind of thing,"

"Oh, ok,"

She was less hurried now, and she was patient enough to let the platform take them down together. Zoom turned over the thoughts in his head. Not her first time? What exactly were her missions like? Dangerous for sure, but this kind of crime normally was more personal. Him and his team could fight aliens all day, the sort of thing that people get PTSD from, but they were used to it. Bruises and a couple broken bones were part of being a hero. But he couldn't imagine being used to facing sex criminals and god knows what else in the magic world of hers. The gravity of her position in the Order started to become more real to him, and he wondered how she handled the pressure growing up. Guess she really didn't have a choice but to suck it up.

Silver strode up to the two bound men tired of questions and practically drooling with disinterest. Shooing back the team. She separated Lucious, rolling his chair off to the side, and Leo far opposite him. Everyone watched in extreme confusion.

"So, we're playing musical chairs now?" Stanford jeered.

Focusing on the man in front of her, the Guardian whipped up her magic, coaxing it to her palms, feeling its energy and warmth. This spell was not water based, it was universal, and something she hadn't done in a long time. Let's not mess this up…

Lucious's face contorted in fear. "What are you doing – what are you going to do to me – I'll tell you whatever you want!"

"travishti olcrem nu tsu fier," She chanted eerily monotone, fingers twisting with her words. "moiyanoon travishti… ntsufore,"

The team watched, but even though she was clearly entranced, nothing seemed to be happening. Her magic receded and she breathed easier.

"What happened?" Vert looked slightly unimpressed.

"He has the mark,"

"What mark,"

"The mark of the beast, the dark domain," Zoom explained. "it's a spell that reveals his nature and might show her some of his past,"

Tezz arched a brow in skepticism as Silver pulled at is shirt collar to reveal his left pectoral just below the collar bone. Lucious didn't look too pleased at being pulled and pushed around but he kept his mouth shut.

"See?"

The team looked closer.

"Uh, Silver, I think you need glasses – like, the prescription kind," Spinner scratched his head.

"There's nothing there," Tezz said shortly. "this is a waste of time,"

The guardian stood aghast. "You don't see it?"

Sage stepped in. "Perhaps this is another shared Favian trait,"

Considering they couldn't feel the magic energy that she used, it made some sense they wouldn't be able to see certain aspects of spells.

"What about Leo?" the leader asked.

Silver repeated the same spell, then dropped her hands and shook her head. Not Leo.

Agura looked between the two men. "What about the 'seeing' thing Zoom was talking about,"

Silver shook her head again. "I got nothing. But what it feels like is a watered-down version of Favian magic. My guess is that if possible, favians mixed with humans and since humans don't have magic – the trait weakened over time."

"Watered down?" Tezz repeated.

"Their magic essence is like a small weed compared to the full bloom of a fire bearer,"

Lucious took very genuine offense and made a face. "It took me half of my life to learn how to simply breathe flames – and small ones at that,"

The team looked at Silver for reference.

She shrugged. "It took, uh… my friend a couple hours, but he also had a teacher,"

"Hah!" Spinner jabbed his pointer fingers at the two men. "You guys SUCK,"

"And yet," Tezz mused. "without my electromagnetic genius, we'd all be dead – most likely,"

"They're dangerous," Vert nodded. "so we need to figure out a way to hand them over to authorities without attracting attention to ourselves or enabling them to burn down a police station,"

They discussed erasing the memories linked to magic entirely so they wouldn't use it, but Sage disagreed and said it was too much throughout their lifetime and would be damaging to their minds to have so much erased. Spinner couldn't find any warrants for either of their arrests, though Leo did have quite the juvenile record. After discussing Jadu, they decided it wouldn't be right to leave Luscious there either.

Silver rubbed between her eyes in frustration. This would have been so much easier on Faven where there were holding systems and a justice process, followed by relocation to a settlement of their kind. Earth wasn't equipped for this. Honestly, it was a wonder Favians didn't take over entirely. One had to wonder what kept them in hiding and why there weren't more of them in public view or political power. Or maybe they were… but just more discreet about their magic...

"We need to wrap this up," the guardian mumbled. "I can restrain them for another five hours – or more if needed – we can decide what to do with them at sunrise. Maybe sleep will help us think of something,"

"And I can keep searching for a solution," Sage offered. "I won't be needing a recharge for three hours and twenty-four minutes – I can keep an eye on them,"

"Then I can take over," Silver nodded.

The team reluctantly agreed to let the issue rest for now. Silver poured her magic into the locks, looking noticeably fatigued afterward. Tezz made a particularly disgruntled sound at the thought of the men staying the night. As Vert stayed with Sage to keep her company, everyone else rode up to the dorm hall and filtered to their rooms. Agura told Silver to meet her in the med bay to change her burn bandages.

"I just want to give these a quick refresh," the huntress gestured to the white patches peeking from the dress neckline.

Silver changed back into what she was wearing earlier and found Agura with a small handful of supplies ready next to the table. After scooching her butt back on the table, the white strips were carefully pulled off one at a time. The huntress's eyebrows raised a little at the healthy-colored skin that had been red and blistering that same morning.

"I think the nap I had earlier helped," Silver poked at different areas of her abdomen, testing for pain. No pain – just a slight tingle. "I told Zoom they might take a day or two… guess those patches really helped,'

Agura checked her stiches next and was not as happy. "Damn, a couple ripped – I'm going to have to redo them. Don't they hurt? Why didn't you say anything?"

Silver's jaw clenched after looking at the bloodied skin. "They were sore but I try not to pay attention to them… they really hurt now,"

The huntress sighed and numbed the area before stitching again, this time covering it with a gentle wrap. She found an orange bottle in the medicine cabinet and handed her friend a pill. "It'll kill the pain so you can sleep,"

Silver took it with water per Agura's instructions, thanked her, and they both headed to bed. They could here Vert's voice in the hub downstairs as he talked to Sage.

As the guardian entered her room, she heard a swish of a metal door opening behind her. Zoom tiredly leaned against the frame in a black graphic tee with a chibi dog, hands stuffed in his sweatpants pockets. His hair looked a little longer without the headband holding it back. They stared at each other for a moment, his mouth slightly open as if words couldn't get past his lips.

"…yes?" the guardian grew evermore confused.

Zoom inhaled and blinked with a slight shake of his head, hair shuffling with the motion. "Sorry, forgot what I was going to say… um,"

Silver exhaled sharply with what could've been a quiet giggle. "Goodnight, Zoom – thanks for having my back,"

"Yeah, no problem, Sil," he shrugged. "goodnight,"

Her door closed. The corners of Zoom's mouth raised a little as he turned back to his room.

A muffled voice came from behind her door. "I can feel you smiling,"

Then he really chucked, and his door closed too.

[Sorry if there are errors in this chapter! It's not my best one, I know.]