AN: Hello, lovely readers! Thank you sooo much for your encouragement and reviews! I always get so excited to see people speculating over the direction of my stories... it's always super motivating. I hope you enjoy this update!

Based on his thirty-odd years of life experience, Steve decided that surprises should be banned from existence. Despite the argument to the contrary, there was no such thing as a good surprise. Even a surprise birthday party or engagement didn't quite qualify as entirely 'good' in his book.

If he needed evidence towards his theory, he need not look any further than Chin's little bombshells.

Exhibit A: their murderer was an elite. And how did they know this?

Exhibit B: Chin's own skill-set as an elite.

It was all so much - almost too much - in such a short time. He'd barely taken two steps out of Captain Tanaka's office before Danny and Chin dragged him outside, both grim and far too cagey. Danny refused to spill anything on the car ride back despite Steve's persistent questioning, claiming that it'd be easier to explain it all at once.

Now, after hearing it all, he couldn't help but disagree with his partner. No matter how or when they presented it, it was difficult to process.

"Alright, explain it to me again from the beginning."

They were all crammed into Steve's office for optimum privacy - Kono had even run a bug scanner over the entire space just to be safe. She now sat beside him in his two visitor chairs. Meanwhile, Chin and Danny were perched on the couch as they offered a full briefing of their findings that morning.

Sensing Chin's quiet distress, Danny took point on this second round of explanations. "We found squat at HPD. Turns out the reason was because our perp is an elite, which we know now thanks to Chin. Also," he shifted the ice pack against his swollen cheek and clapped Chin on the shoulder, "you should never sneak up on this man when he's in his hyper-focused headspace."

"I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?" Chin asked in his patented world-weary tone.

"Hey, my good looks were the first casualty of this case, on a Saturday morning of all times! Not only am I going to hold this over your head forever, but you're also buying all my beer for the rest of the month." Danny grinned - arms spread wide - before wincing and promptly replacing the ice pack.

Rolling his eyes, Steve held up his hands in a universal 'stop' sign. "And you said Honilo thought something was strange from the start? Did he suspect an elite?"

"He definitely smelled something fishy, and I don't think you understand just how big of a deal that is. Honilo's a moron. He couldn't dump water out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel." Danny chuckled at his own joke, earning a quiet giggle from Kono and a snort from Chin. "He said that our victim was asking for a deal before they even got him in the interrogation room. Honilo thought he was scared of something, but I don't think he ever considered that our victim was worried about an elite coming after him."

"That's why our vic was so scared," Chin mused. "If he knew about the existence of an invisible hitman, he must've known that he wasn't safe - hence, he immediately asked for a deal to assure protective custody. Fortunately, Honilo isn't the brightest guy and didn't follow up on it."

"Okay, that's good, that's good." Scrubbing a hand through his hair, Steve worked through the implications of this latest discovery. "This gives us some time to do some damage control and figure out the best way to solve this case and protect our… gifts."

"No one knows we have any 'gifts' because we haven't used them - except Chin, I guess," Kono offered hesitantly. "That should help with things."

"Right, but I get the feeling that this is only the start and I'd rather avoid any more surprises. Knowing what we're dealing with ahead of time helps us prevent potentially damaging situations."

Sitting back in his chair, Steve swallowed and mentally prepared for this next topic. "Look, our files all show we're elites and it's time to be honest about what that looks like for each of us. I respect all of your rights to privacy but I trust the people in this room. And we're in a situation where we need all the control we can get."

That earned nothing but tense silence from his team. Not exactly the effect he was hoping for.

So he tried once more. "Your abilities will never change my respect for you. I don't care what you're capable of because I've already seen the best parts of you each and every day. This is only to ensure that we don't end up in a similar situation to Chin's this morning in a… less safe environment."

Finally, the oldest member of the team broke the uncomfortable pause. "Steve's right. If we want to keep this out of the public eye, we need to be able to watch each other's backs." He raised his hands in surrender. "I'm not a fan of this idea either, but we're low on options."

Based on his facial expression, he definitely didn't like the idea of fully disclosing his abilities. Not that Steve blamed him - he wasn't particularly thrilled either. An elite's powers were extremely personal and willingly sharing them was strictly taboo.

But he couldn't think of any other way to protect his team - from both the public, the perps, and themselves.

"Chin, you wanna walk me through yours? I want to understand how you knew there was someone else in the room."

He noticed Danny straightening, curiosity evident on the visible half of his face. Clearly, he didn't know specifics either, which made Steve feel a little better about the whole thing. Kono, on the other hand, fidgeted nervously in her chair beside him. She'd been quiet - worryingly so - ever since Chin's big reveal.

With a quiet sigh, Chin glanced at his cousin before steadily meeting Steve's gaze. "I'm a mixed elite with Earth, Mind, and Reality traits. Technically, I guess I fit into the Hunter grouping, but it's a little more complicated than simple tracking."

"Though he's the best damn tracker I've ever seen," Kono chimed in.

Rubbing his chin, Steve considered the information. He was familiar with elites that fell under the Hunter grouping and he admired them greatly. Their skills were in high demand in the military as scouts, expedition team leaders, and sweepers. Most of them had some sort of Earth trait in their skillset - used to spot tiny differences in the dirt or even concrete that marked the most clever of prey's path.

However, he'd never heard of one with both Mind and Reality in their makeup. Frowning, he tried to fit the pieces together.

Apparently, Danny was on the same page as him. "How is it 'complicated?' I mean, obviously you could tell that an invisible elite stood in that interrogation room and that doesn't exactly fit."

"Right, that's part of it. The Reality portion of my makeup allows me to sense when reality - the way the world should be - is… askew, I guess. Everything leaves an imprint on this world that ordinary people can sense to some degree, but elites leave massive ones when they use their powers." Chin shrugged. "I can see beyond the surface level data and observe how reality is twisted by elites. The best analogy is probably looking at a thermal map of a room."

In perfect sync, Danny and Steve made soft oohhh's of comprehension. "That's how you knew our perp was in the room and that they were elite," Danny said, tossing the now-warm ice pack onto the floor.

A pointed glare had his partner grumbling as he picked up the discarded ice pack. "And the Mind piece?"

This time, Chin looked over at Kono, who shifted in her seat and answered. "Extremely basic telepathy - more like sensations than anything else and only with people who he forms 'links' with. There's limits, like distance and mental shielding and it requires a tremendous amount of effort. He used to coach me from the beach during surfing tournaments." She cocked her head, then chuckled. "He just said that he's not sure if he wants to link to Steve."

"Yeah, his head's a terrifying place," Danny interjected with a wide smirk. "I'd avoid it at all costs if I was you. If you, uh, link to someone, can you read their thoughts?"

"I can't, not at this level. I can only understand the communication willingly offered. And I almost never use it… not worth the massive headache that follows."

Steve nearly missed Danny's quiet sigh of relief, his posture relaxing ever so slightly. Frowning, he filed it away for another time. There was far too much going on right now for him to deal with yet another puzzle.

"So who's next?" Chin puffed out a breath, eyes locked on Steve with a clear message in those brown depths.

Your turn, McGarrett.

Seeing both Danny and Kono's continued reluctance, he nodded firmly. "Right, okay. So, I'm a mixed elite too. Most of my traits fall into the Body category, but I've also got Earth, Water, and Fire traits as well."

"This is starting to feel like a freaking AA meeting," Danny muttered, earning a punch in the shoulder from Kono.

Chin also launched an elbow in Danny's direction and loftily ignored the other man's glare. "What does that look like in the field?"

Don't tell them, a voice that sounded suspiciously like his training officer warned him.

Stubbornly, he shoved the instinct aside. The key to great leadership was never ordering someone to do something he wasn't willing to do himself. Leading by example always inspired better results. And the small part of him that whispered that he was somehow inadequate… well, that he beat back with brute force.

"Limited vulnerability to physical attacks." He shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. "I can't deflect bullets or anything, but my body can take a lot more punishment without any physical damage. It's almost like I've got a coating of steel over my skin, I guess. Plus enhanced strength and speed. None of it is particularly helpful unless I'm in a fight."

"Ohhhhh, see, I get it now!" With a wide smirk, Danny predictably offered his two cents as his hands began their animated narration. "No wonder you run around like you're bulletproof! And here I thought you just had some kind of complex, babe. Turns out you're just a real-life Captain America."

Steve rolled his eyes. "And yet you follow me every time, Danny. So technically, you've got an even worse 'complex' than me, right?"

"I follow you because I am a loyal person. But next time, I'll just wait in the car and let you run around like a crazy person so I don't end up breakin' my neck trying to keep up with you."

"Is that the same as you admitting that you worry about me?"

"Worry about you? Absolutely not - you're practically made of rubber. No, I worry about me and my car and any other poor civilian that gets in your path."

Kono cleared her throat, halting the antics of both men. "Are you two finished? Because we got a case and I'd rather focus on that."

"Looks like you just volunteered to go next, rookie," Danny said, pouncing on the opening to avoid taking his turn.

Twisting in his seat, Steve braced himself for Kono's report. When Chin initially suggested her for the undercover role in Five-0's very first case, Steve had been skeptical. That is, until he read her file and spotted three very important words buried deep in her medical history.

Status: Elite, pureblood.

Those words clearly stated that the young trainee was more than capable of handling herself. And though he had an inkling of an idea about her abilities, her announcement still floored him.

She picked up Danny's discarded ice pack, holding it for a moment before handing it back to the blond detective. Frowning, Danny accepted it and flinched as it hit his palm. With wide eyes, he tossed it to Steve.

It was freezing. Frozen solid despite it being a gel-based pack. And Kono hadn't broken a sweat.

"I'm a Water pureblood." She stared them all down fiercely, daring them to challenge her. "I tend to work best with salt water but I've never truly hit my limit working with anything else. If we're on the open ocean, no one can beat me."

And that was that.

Tossing the ice pack back to his partner, Steve allowed his curiosity to blossom as he examined his remaining teammate. "Your turn, Danno."

Out of all of his teammates, Danny was the hardest to pin down. For a man who talked a lot, the man said frighteningly little. Though his status in his file confirmed him as an elite, Steve had seen zero flashes of that power - power he knew his partner had hidden inside him. It was a gross understatement to say that it intrigued him.

A flash of indecision crossed Danny's face so quickly that Steve nearly missed it, then his expression smoothed over into something resembling casual disinterest. "There's not much to tell, guys. I'm mixed too - Air and Heart traits - but my power level is crazy low. I just get vague inclinations of people's emotions - stuff you'd be able to tell just by looking at them - and I can sometimes manipulate moving air."

"That's actually kind of cool," Kono offered. "Maybe if you worked at it enough, you could learn to alter air currents so you could fly."

Huffing bitterly, Danny shook his head. "Yeah, that'll never happen."

He raised his right hand and visibly concentrated, eyes closed and jaw clenched. After a few seconds, a stack of papers on Steve's desk tipped and fluttered to the ground. Opening his eyes, he sighed. "I'm barely an elite, but I still gotta deal with all the crap that comes with it."

Something about Danny's tone set Steve on edge, though he couldn't pinpoint it exactly. Amidst the disgust and slight resignation lay something else - something he'd heard before in other voices, but never in his partner's accented words. It wasn't something bad necessarily - perhaps all this topic of elites reminded Danny of something he'd rather forget. He made a mental note to ask his partner about it later.

"So what do we do now?" The youngest team member's voice broke him out of his reverie.

Silence reigned for a brief moment as every eye turned to Steve.

"We solve the case by whatever means necessary." Taking charge, he rose from his seat. "This is more than just a drug dealer dying in the police station and the faster we figure this all out, the better."

"And we need to be careful," Chin added. "If one elite is involved, it draws out others - us included. Speaking of, we need to figure out how to move forward with the one lead we do have."

Quite the problem you got here, McGarrett, he grumbled to himself. The only lead they had was practically unusable; they couldn't follow up on it without drawing attention to how they acquired the lead.

He looked over to Danny, once again relying on the man's considerable experience and expertise. "Thoughts, Danny? Ever dealt with elites before on a case?"

Chewing his bottom lip in thought, Danny nodded slowly. "Couple times, yeah. It's always messy. Our best bet is to figure out the motive - who would want this guy dead? If we can get specific suspects on that end, maybe we can circumvent this whole issue altogether."

Unease was still evident in all three of his teammates' postures, so Steve fell back on a reliable method of cheering up his squad. "Circumvent? Seriously, Danno?"

"Oh, I'm sorry for using actual human language to communicate with a Neanderthal. Next time, I'll translate it to grunts just for you, alright?" Danny patted his knee in mock sympathy, earning an eyeroll from Steve.

"You're not funny at all, you know that right?"

"Really? How on earth did you come to that conclusion? Last I checked, you needed a sense of humor to determine somethin' like that and you lost yours at birth!"

And just like that, the tension from their forced revelations broke.

"Alright, let's figure out a way to circumvent," Steve glared at Danny, "publically following up on the elite lead. Kono, I want you to send each of us the background information you gathered on Pui'iaka, then sweep the rest of the office for any active surveillance equipment. We need to be sure this office is secure. Chin, reach out to your contacts and see what you can dig up on the guys Pui'iaka worked for."

Chin rose. "I'll see what I can find."

"I'll also run a few malware scans on the smart table," Kono added before following her cousin out of his office.

Sighing, Steve moved his two visitor chairs back to their original positions, then flopped in his own desk chair. "Hell of a case, huh?"

Danny hummed in agreement, tossing the ice pack from hand to hand. "I hate it when elties are involved. It only makes our jobs harder."

"What do you have against elites?"

"Other my obvious grievances against the ones that murder other people, nothing. What I do have a problem with is the public attitude towards elites. When the press gets wind of this, they're gonna put us under a microscope. Some are gonna make this guy - whoever he is - out to be some martyr and criticize us for chasing him, while others are gonna demand we shoot him on sight." Danny shrugged. "I just hate the attention. And given our, uh, abilities, any way this plays out is bad for us."

"We'll solve this one, and no one will look twice. Hell, we've solved plenty of other tough cases without drawing any attention to our status as elites." Locking eyes with his friend, Steve offered the only reassurance he could. "I'm not gonna let anything happen, Danno."

Danny gave a wan little grin, but Steve counted it as a win regardless. "You do know that it's impossible to guarantee that, right?"

"Never learned the definition of 'impossible.' And now I'm gonna ban that word from this office." Smirking, Steve stoked the blistering flames of Danny's outrage. "SEALs specialize in doing the impossible, y'know. It's literally in our job description."

Predictably, Danny sputtered at the comment. "Are you kidding me? Last I checked, Steven, SEALs are not God's gift to mankind! They're just insane, explosion-holics nutjobs who like playing in the mud!"

"You've met like two SEALs, Danny."

"Yeah, and one nearly killed us while betraying his country and the other practically kidnapped me and forced me to be his partner!" Danny gestured towards the desk. "I rest my case!"

"Y'know, Chin should've punched you harder. Maybe I would've gotten lucky and you would've had to get your jaw wired shut so I wouldn't have to listen to stupid stuff like that."

Automatically, Danny's hand rose to prod the darkening bruise on his cheek. "If it meant I didn't have to follow you around through a hail of bullets, I'd take that gladly."

Steve grinned as Danny stood, the man still grumbling under his breath. At first, he wasn't sure how he felt about the banter that seemed to define their friendship. In the Navy, he never would've put up with someone who challenged him and his decisions as frequently as Danny did. Now, however, it was an anchor amidst trying cases and days where he wondered if he made the right decision in his garage all those months ago.

"Where are you off to?"

"It's just an idea, but to stay invisible for that amount of time must've been difficult for our perp regardless of how powerful they are." Tossing the ice pack in the air one final time, he shrugged. "Maybe we'll get lucky and catch him on camera."

"Not a bad plan. In the meantime, I'll reach out to some of my contacts and see if this MO fits any known assailants on our watch lists."

"I'm impressed, babe. I guess not every plan can involve an explosion though."

Steve rolled his eyes, a move he found himself doing rather frequently when the man who was quickly becoming his best friend was around. "Try not to break your computer, again."

"Very funny, SuperSEAL. As if I'm the one who needs told not to break, destroy, maim, or completely decimate anything."

Danny sauntered out of Steve's office towards his own, flipping Steve off as he left.

Smirking, Steve watched him go. Danny's obvious reluctance to reveal his abilities - manifesting in his typical evasive verbal smokescreen - wasn't lost on him. Nor was the fact that Danny still answered when Steve asked. It took guts - something his partner possessed in ample supply.

And it took trust.

Despite their self-preservation instincts, his team trusted him. They had enough faith to hand him their most precious - most dangerous - secret. It was no small tribute, he realized. Heart swelling in his chest, a second revelation slammed into him - something just as earth shattering as the first.

He also trusted them enough to give up his own secret.

And just like that, a wide smile split his cheeks - a full expression of joy that previously remained dormant since Freddie Hart and John McGarrett died on the same tragic day. One that only appeared once in a blue moon after the demise of his mom.

Hard as he tried, he couldn't quite wipe it off his face.

Glancing out the glass doors of his office, he caught a glimpse of Chin focused on his laptop screen in his office near the entrance of Five-0's bullpen. Kono weaved in and out of his field of vision, scanner in one hand and monitor in the other. All the while, Danny poured himself his third (hopefully, anyway. That man drank far too much caffeine) cup of coffee as he simultaneously joked with their rookie.

Maybe this whole team thing could work out after all.

~H50~

Many people visiting the beautiful island of Oahu forgot that Honolulu was still a city. Beyond the beaches and enormous hotels with plenty of attractions for overspending tourists existed the uniquely balanced ecosystem of major metropolises. Big businesses and broken-down buildings, the hopeful professionals and homeless folk, trash and local treasures dwelled side by side if one only ventured far enough inland to spot it.

Few dared, unwilling to shatter their perception of paradise as they knew it.

Which is why no one took note of the rather shady meeting taking place in a wide alley between a laundromat and restaurant a mere mile from the white sands of the beach. Granted, the gray van parked in the small space did an excellent job of hiding the conspiracy.

"Well? Is it done?"

That was the leader of the first party in this broad-daylight parlay. Sneering, cocky, and undoubtedly the one controlling the situation.

The leader of the second party - a well-dressed, well-built man - shifted his weight, revealing his disadvantage. Despite his intimidating stature, his confidence appeared decimated. Still, he stood toe to toe with his ally.

Or enemy. This interaction would determine the dynamics of the relationship between their two organizations.

"Yeah, he's dead. The cops are chasin' their tails tryin' to figure out what happened."

"Good." The first leader practically purred his next question. "Then why the long face? Did he manage to run his mouth before his untimely death?"

"No, we got to him before he could say a word. What I don't like is being lied to!"

"Now, hold on. I never lied to you. In fact, I did you a favor! This was a demonstration of all we could accomplish together - a sign of good faith, if you will."

"A sign of good faith? Is that what you're callin' it?" Despite the second leader's disadvantage, he held his ground. "'Cause, see, I saw nothing good about what happened today. I lost a good man because of your involvement."

"Well, let's try to remember who ordered that 'good man' killed. It certainly wasn't me. In fact, I believe you came to me for help with that problem."

Both men's guards tightened their holds on their respective weapons, eyeing each man for a sign to end the meeting with what was sure to be a bloodbath.

But one didn't make it to the top of an organization without knowing how to control erratic emotion. Lacking that trait spelled the downfall of many men, and neither of these men seemed particularly interested in joining that list.

Drawing himself to his full height, the second leader nodded with barely concealed disgust. "Our dealings are done. I want nothing to do with your organization. You will receive payment for your help in a few days, but after that, we're finished."

"Consider it a parting gift, then. No need for payment."

"I don't like owing people like you anything. They tend to come back and collect in some other way." Spinning on his heel, he motioned for his men to follow him into the van.

"Have it your way!" The first leader raised a hand and each of his men raised their weapons towards the retreating group. "But since we're no longer partners, I'll take my property back now."

The sound of multiple safeties clicking off halted the second team in their tracks. After a moment's pause, their leader nodded at his guards, who walked over to the van and threw open its side door.

Moments later, one emerged dragging a small, limp figure with a bag over their head.

The first leader's eyes gleamed at the sight of the bound and unconscious person, motioning his own guards forward to take their 'property' back. "If you tell anyone about this, I will find you and you'll end up like your friend. You won't see your own death coming."

"You have my silence," the second spat in disgust, one final insult before the meeting adjourned, "but you've lost my respect. What you're doing is disgraceful."

"Says the man who sells drugs to feed people's addictions."

Expression grave, the weaker leader paused before climbing into the van. "This business will come back to haunt you."

Smirking, the first leader watched them drive away and murmured, "We'll see."

Got a little dark there at the end, am I right? I think I scared myself writing this. Each side is getting their bearings before plunging into the action... and there will be plenty of action. Please drop a review! I would love to hear your thoughts!