I have to warn you that there's not too much action in this chapter, and probably won't be in the next couple ones either; I apologize if anyone finds this boring, but as I've recently had to tell the readers of one of my other stories, my writing tends to be character-focused, and there are a lot of important interactions that need to happen in the wake of the first major arc's conclusion. In two or three chapters we'll move into the second one, and things will definitely pick up then.

Chapter 13: First Blood

Since Alice and Elle were the only other people awake in all the lower levels, Peter was able to locate them easily by listening for their thoughts. Bella's burst of happiness drained away when they came into sight, and she slowed her steps in order to fall back behind him, hoping his larger frame would hide her for at least a few more seconds.

"I hope you had better luck than we did," Elle groused as she approached them. "Alice and I ran around like rats in a maze for half a freaking hour and never found anyone except each other."

"Don't worry, I caught up with Adam before he got his hands on the virus. He's been taken care of," Peter informed her.

"Really? By you?" the blonde asked with obvious surprise. "No offense, but up till now you haven't exactly been the 'taking care of people' type - at least not like that."

"It wasn't me; Hiro Nakamura showed up, and I let him deal with Adam since Adam killed his father." He paused briefly before adding, "Adam wasn't alone, though." Then he stepped aside to reveal Bella.

So much for protecting me, she thought wryly. He obviously didn't understand how volatile vampires could be, how easily disagreements among them could turn violent...or how serious Alice was about clothes, particularly high-fashion items like the dress she had so thoroughly despoiled.

They stared at each other in silence for a long moment, none of the three taking so much as a single breath until Bella, deciding it was only right for her to make the first move, timidly spoke up. "Hey, guys."

"'Hey, guys'?" Elle repeated incredulously. "You give us the cold shoulder for months until Edward and I go on what turns out to be an international wild goose chase for your boyfriend, then we come back to find out that you've disappeared without even having amnesia as an excuse for ghosting us, unlike him-" She jabbed her finger in Peter's direction "-and all you can say is hey?!"

"You're right, there is more I should say, starting with 'I'm sorry' and 'thank you'. You saved my life." She glanced at Alice to include her in the expression of gratitude as well, but the spiky-haired girl shook her head.

"Elle was the one who pushed to get you out of the hospital, and when it came to actually changing you, she personally did the honors. I just cleaned you up and gave you a really nice dress." Alice's eyes suddenly narrowed. "What did you do with it? What's with the jacket?"

"Maybe she got cold," Peter suggested. Of course it hadn't escaped his notice that the jacket she was wearing was one of his, but he didn't want to read too much into it.

"Cold doesn't bother us," Alice said dismissively. "It's more likely that she took it for sentimental reasons-" Unlike him, she didn't hesitate to offer her interpretation of Bella's sartorial selections "-but that doesn't answer my question. What did you do with your dress, Bella?"

"Um, nothing? I'm still wearing it."

"But you couldn't have picked up Peter's jacket until you got to New York, and you didn't take any winter clothes with you when you left our house in Colorado..."

Bella nervously shook her head.

"Bella," Alice asked with a look of dawning horror, "are you telling me you wore that dress all the way from Colorado to New York?"

"Technically, I'm not telling you anything; you're inferring it," Bella pointed out even as her eyes darted around in search of an escape route.

"All right, let's see how bad it is," Alice said with the air of a new amputee steeling themselves for their first look at the stump where their limb used to be. "Take off the jacket, Bella."

Swallowing the venom that had flooded her mouth in response to her perceived danger, Bella reluctantly uncrossed her arms and pulled aside the fabric that she'd come to think of as her armor, revealing the torn, stained remnants of royal blue silk - though its original color was barely discernible anymore - plastered to her body by the residual sludge of all the mud, rain, and snow she'd encountered on her cross-country trek.

Alice's expression upon seeing it was similar to that of a woman in an old horror movie being confronted by some hideous monster - Elle found this highly amusing, while Peter was more embarrassed than anything else after catching sight of Bella's badly ripped bodice - but before she could recover enough to speak, a welcome distraction arrived. An elevator door at the end of the hallway slid open to reveal Matt and Edward, who both looked like they'd been through the wringer; Matt's face shone with perspiration, and while Edward couldn't sweat, he had somehow turned even paler than usual.

"Edward!" Elle ran over and threw her arms around him, and he leaned into her embrace like he needed her support, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling deeply to reassure himself that she was real, that he truly had escaped Maury's living nightmare and made it back to her. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing more than I expected. Still," he confessed with a slightly shaky smile, "I wouldn't care to repeat the experience."

Elle let out a low growl as she tried to twist out of his arms. "Where is he? I'm going to break his neck."

"That won't be necessary," Matt said as Edward held her tighter. "We handled him."

This assurance halted her efforts to escape, though it wasn't enough to completely defuse her temper. "How?"

"Once we broke through his illusions, we were able to take control," Matt explained. "We found where he'd trapped Molly - her mind, I mean - and left him locked up in his own head. When we left the dream world, Mohinder called to tell me Molly woke up, and when we found my father's body he was in a coma."

"Unless there's another powerful telepath out there who might be inclined to come to his aid, I think it's unlikely he'll ever wake up," Edward added.

"He won't," Alice confirmed after a quick peek into the future. "Right now I see him spending the next three years in a ward for patients in persistent vegetative states before suffering a fatal stroke."

Finally satisfied that Maury had been sufficiently punished, Elle relaxed. "Good."

Even Matt appeared unfazed by the news of his father's prophesied demise. "Can we go home now? I want to give Molly a real hug."

"Going home sounds great," Alice agreed. She knew Jasper would be eager to hear all about her latest adventures, although she realized it was probably for the best that he hadn't come along; even with the gas masking their delicious smells, he would have been sorely tempted by all the unconscious scientists and lab technicians.

Edward and Elle both gave nods of concurrence, but as she watched everyone else say goodbye to Matt before Peter teleported him back to New York, Bella felt a cold pit open up inside her at the realization that she might not have a home to return to. Presumably the Cullens would have been willing to adopt her into their coven, but after all the unpleasantness she'd caused them, she couldn't assume that was still the case.

###

Peter reappeared a few minutes later, and decided he was ready to try transporting all of them at once now that he was getting the hang of teleportation. "I guess you're heading back to that place in the mountains?"

They affirmed that the Cullen family's current residence was indeed their destination as they gathered around him, establishing the necessary contact - all except Bella.

"What are you waiting for?" Elle demanded when they noticed her standing off to the side by herself. "An engraved invitation?"

"No," Bella said awkwardly, "I just wasn't sure-"

"If he can take all four of us? He thinks he can, and if teleportation does have a weight limit, I don't think your scrawny butt's going to tip the scale. Get over here."

Bella obediently joined the group and laid her hand on Peter's arm - the first time she had touched him since the day he'd absorbed Ted Sprague's radioactivity, when she talked him down from overloading right then and there. There were layers of fabric between them now, but he still felt the pressure of her fingers. Even though he knew she was only doing it for purely practical reasons, it was hard not to let it affect him...at least until Elle zapped the back of his hand. "Hey!"

"You can stare at Bella all you want after you get us home, but if you drop us in the middle of some ocean because you're distracted..."

She left the threat dangling unfinished in the air, but it was enough to make him refocus his mind on the task at hand. Fixing the image of the remote mountain lodge in his head, he made the jump through time and space. When he opened his eyes again, they were standing in front of the artistically rustic retreat, all five of them present and in one piece. For a split second he was afraid he'd accidentally moved them ahead a few hours, since it seemed darker than it should be at that time of day, but then he realized the effect was merely due to the surrounding peaks blocking out the sunlight.

The five members of the family who had stayed behind soon emerged, all curious as to how a visit to New York that was supposed to be short had ended up extending into mid-afternoon.

"It's a long story," Edward began, before Elle cut him off.

"When we got there we found out Peter's mom had been arrested for murdering one of the other Company founders, but she was framed by the guy who brought them all together, an immortal psychopath who wanted to release a virus they were keeping bottled up in a lab that would've wiped out nine humans out of ten. We had to go to Texas to stop him and Edward helped Matt Parkman take down his dad, the fat slob who made sure I couldn't tell you guys anything about the Company when they first sent me to Forks, although it turned out he was really on Adam's side all along. It's all good, though - Edward and Matt put Maury in a coma, and Peter stopped Adam from stealing the virus. Oh, and we found Bella."

A stunned silence followed her rapid recitation of the day's events, broken only by Edward muttering, "Not such a long story after all, apparently."

Esme recovered first, smiling warmly at Bella. "That's wonderful! We're so happy you've come back to us."

"Thank you," she said shyly; Esme looked even more pleased at getting a response, while Emmett's, Jasper's, and Rosalie's expressions were openly shocked, and even Carlisle wasn't completely successful at covering up his surprise.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked cautiously, tactfully.

Rosalie, of course, had never been particularly concerned with tact. "I think what Carlisle really wants to know is, are you back to normal, or are you about to go looking for another corner to crawl into?"

"No, I'm not," Bella retorted, lifting her chin in a brief show of spirit. "I'm sorry for how I acted, though. I know I made things difficult for all of you, especially Jasper..."

"Don't worry, it's water under the bridge," he assured her as she turned an apologetic gaze his way. "I'm just glad you've perked up some. I don't suppose you're finally ready for a hunt, are you?" Though he'd tried not to dwell on it too much after the first day, the sight of a newborn vampire adamantly refusing blood, contradicting everything he thought he knew about the fundamental nature of their kind, had deeply unnerved him.

At the mention of a hunt, the burn in her throat, which she had so far held at bay by focusing on other things (luckily for her, once she saw Peter it wasn't hard to focus on him to the exclusion of all else) came roaring back to its full, scorching fury. The only thing that stopped her from taking off in search of the nearest meal was the fact that he was still there, and she would not lose control in front of him. Determination could only take a starving vampire so far, though, and her voice was rather strained as she said, "That sounds good."

"Elle, why don't you go with her?" Edward suggested. "You can show her where to find the best game."

She shot him a look of surprise - she could count the number of times he'd told her to go somewhere without him on one hand and still have fingers left over - but when he nodded encouragingly, she shrugged and said, "Sure, that'll be fun. Come on, Bella."

"Wait," Peter interjected as she took hold of Bella's arm and started to lead her away. "You're leaving? Now?" He couldn't hide his disappointment; although they'd had a few minutes alone together after Hiro took Adam away, it wasn't nearly long enough for him to get everything he needed to say to her off his chest.

"Don't worry, I'll bring her back soon. Then she's all yours," Elle said with a sly smirk, "but first she needs to feed."

"Oh...right." Even though he had accepted on an intellectual level that vampires existed and Bella was one of them, he had somehow managed to forget that she would eventually need to drink blood. "Well, do you want me to go with you? Nathan and I used to go hunting with our dad; I didn't like it much, but I was a pretty decent shot." Admittedly, he had fared better shooting at painted targets than at living creatures, but if Bella needed an animal to feed on, he was willing to set aside his distaste for such violent 'sports' and get her one. At least it was for a better cause than mounting antlers on a wall.

The girls didn't seem to want his help, however; Bella reacted to his offer with barely-concealed alarm, while Elle had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing out loud. "That's awfully sweet of you, but we won't be using guns."

"But how can you hunt without them?"

"They have their ways," Edward said vaguely. "You may have noticed in New York that Elle and I were different, but living among humans imposes certain restrictions..."

"You mean I haven't seen everything you can do yet?" Peter asked, his confusion giving way to curiosity as he started to wonder just how much they'd been holding out on him.

"Nope," Emmett said with a broad grin, "but stick around long enough and you will."

As if to underscore his words, Elle turned around and, from a dead standstill, took off at such a high speed that she became a blur.

Peter's eyes widened as they tried in vain to track her progress, and he took a quick look around to confirm that everyone else had seen it too, only to find that they were totally unimpressed. Biting back the first words that came to mind, he instead tried to match their blasé attitude as he told Bella, "Guess you'd better get going, before she leaves you in the dust."

"I won't have any trouble catching up with her," Bella sighed, wishing Elle hadn't behaved in such a blatantly inhuman manner with him watching, "but first you should take this." Shrugging off his jacket, she folded it neatly before handing it to him. "I don't want it to get torn up." Then she whirled around and sprinted off in pursuit of her friend.

"Well, it's nice to see that she is capable of showing some consideration for her clothing," Alice said with a sniff, "even if it's just that old thing."

"It's not that old," Peter protested. "I've only had it three, maybe four years."

The other Cullens reacted as if this was an impressive achievement - in a household where Alice insisted on updating their wardrobes every time the new season's fashions came out, any item that lasted more than one year was practically a museum piece - while Alice herself just shook her head. "Soon, nephew, we're going to have to talk about these outfits of yours."

"You can do that later," Emmett brushed her off. "Right now I want to hear more about this immortal psycho that tried to destroy the world."

"And the virus he intended to use as his instrument of destruction," Carlisle added. "Are you certain it's safely contained?"

"The most dangerous strain is, and it was manmade, so it shouldn't crop up outside the lab. The parent strain occurred naturally, though. For all I know, there could still be reservoirs out there somewhere."

"A possibility that is both fascinating and disturbing," Carlisle said with a frown. "Do you happen to know where Primatech first discovered-"

"Give the man a chance to breathe, dear," Esme gently chastised him. "He's had a very...eventful day, and I'd wager he hasn't taken the time to eat anything - have you, Peter?"

"No, I haven't." In fact, he hadn't even thought about food all day - with so many other things going on, all of which seemed more urgent than seeking sustenance, he supposed he'd been running on pure adrenaline - but now that Esme had mentioned it, he suddenly realized that grabbing a bite while he waited for Bella to come back sounded very enticing. "I guess I can teleport back to Manhattan..."

"There's no need for that. While you were gone, Carlisle and I took the liberty of running to the nearest town and picking up some human-friendly food. If you'll follow me..."

Peter did so, idly wondering just how far away the nearest town was and whether Carlisle and Esme had been able to drive there, or if they had simply taken off at the same impossible speed as Elle and Bella... All such speculation was promptly driven from his mind when he looked inside the pantry and refrigerator, both of which were stocked with enough food to feed an entire family for at least a month. The vampires either had no clue as to humans' caloric requirements (which would be odd since one of them was a doctor)...or they had their own ideas about how long he would be staying. "Uh, guys," he said softly, "you know I can't eat all this, right?"

"Not all at once - of course we don't expect that," Carlisle was quick to assure him. "We just didn't want to put you to the trouble of teleporting or flying for miles every time you need to eat, or give the impression that your dietary requirements are any sort of inconvenience to us. We want you to feel at home here."

"That's very kind of you," Peter replied while doing his best to conceal the unease that was beginning to creep up on him, "but my home is in New York. I should be getting back..."

At that, the doctor's expression changed to the one he probably used for breaking bad news to patients, one of compassion tinged with regret. "I'm afraid that won't be possible," he said gently, "at least in the near future. Bella is very new to this life, and while she has shown phenomenal self-control thus far - the fact that she was able to make her way into your apartment without leaving a trail of bodies in her wake is nothing short of miraculous - it seems that her resistance to the lure of blood may have been due in part to depression and the general apathy that so often goes hand in hand with it. Now that she seems to have recovered, her instincts may begin to awaken at last-"

"I think that's exactly what's happening," Jasper put in. "I felt her thirst when I suggested that she hunt; she controls it better than anyone I've ever seen, but it's definitely there, as strong as any other newborn's."

"In that case, living among so many humans is out of the question until she's had more time to adjust. I'm sorry, Peter, but she'll be better off remaining here, isolated from those she could inadvertently hurt, for at least a year. Even then, she might not want to return; even for those of us who can manage it, crowded cities aren't ideal for our kind...although that, of course, is a matter for the two of you to decide when the time comes."

Peter finally relaxed then, understanding that they didn't intend to try keeping him prisoner; they merely assumed he would stay with Bella, though that raised some uncomfortable questions about how they perceived his relationship with her. "So...you think Bella and I will...live together?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Jasper asked with what sounded like genuine bafflement. "Even human society is more accepting of people's living arrangements these days, and it's hard for one of us to be apart from their mate too long."

"Besides, we'd love to have you," Emmett said earnestly. "If nothing else, it'll liven things up next time you meet someone like that psycho with the virus, or the brain guy Elle was after last year. Nothing that exciting ever happens to us."

"Don't pout, honey. It wasn't that long ago that we got to stage a fiery helicopter crash," Rosalie reminded him, which cheered him up immensely.

Peter, on the other hand, wasn't feeling quite as upbeat. So they thought he was Bella's mate - a word whose primal connotations didn't exactly fit his feelings for her, though he understood why it felt more appropriate to them than 'boyfriend'; humans, after all, typically went through several relationships with varying degrees of emotional attachment, whereas vampires, from what he'd heard, chose a single person with whom to form a bond that lasted centuries...maybe even forever, as long as neither of them got killed. He didn't know what had given them the idea that Bella harbored such deep feelings for him, but he didn't have the heart to tell them they were wrong.

###

Bella caught up with Elle on the other side of a mountain peak, where the blonde was leaning casually on the high rock wall bordering one side of the narrow pass they were in, inspecting her nails while she waited.

"Thanks for taking off without me," she grumbled as she approached.

Elle just grinned, unbothered by her complaint. "I knew you'd catch up. Now, what do you smell?"

Bella inhaled deeply, this time paying attention to more than just her friend's trail that she'd been following, and one scent immediately piqued her interest. "There's something musky and maybe a little...tangy?"

"That's mountain goat," Elle told her with an eager glint in her eyes. "They use these passes a lot, and it smells like today they went..." She paused to sniff the air again. "...This way."

Together, the two vampires followed the mountain pass until it dipped into a lower area where the herd was grazing on the scrubby vegetation that was able to grow in that relatively sheltered place. Elle said something else then, but Bella wasn't listening; her focus had narrowed down to the heartbeats of the fifteen goats in front of her, the intoxicating aroma of the rich, warm blood pumping through their veins...

Without stopping to think about what she was doing - not that she could have formed a coherent thought at that point anyway - she launched herself into the herd's midst, tackling the nearest animal to the ground and sinking her teeth into its neck as it thrashed helplessly beneath her. The hot liquid sliding down her throat was the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted, better than chocolate...but it was gone all too soon. Abandoning the drained husk, she turned her attention to the other goats, who were just now realizing they were under attack and starting to scatter, though it made no difference; they had no hope of outrunning her.

In the next seven minutes, she drained two more; only as she was finishing the third did the burn in her throat subside, allowing her rational mind to reassert itself. Caught up in her feeding frenzy, she had hardly noticed the mess she was making as she tore savagely at her prey's throats, but now she was dismayed to see the red stains on her hands from where her nails had dug into fur and flesh as she held them down, to feel the stickiness on her face and know it probably looked even worse.

A brief look around showed her that Elle had claimed an older, sickly animal for herself, but somehow - despite Edward's frequent bemoaning of her messy feeding habits - she had managed to keep the gore to a minimum. Apart from a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth, which she quickly licked away, she was unmarked by the violence they had partaken in.

"Feel better now?" she asked, flicking her braid over her shoulder.

"Much better," Bella confirmed with a fervent nod. "I can't believe how good that was."

"I know, right?" Elle licked her lips again, savoring the flavor that lingered on her tongue. "Being a vampire does have its perks."

"I guess." Realizing that those words weren't exactly a ringing endorsement, Bella added, "I really am grateful, you know. I didn't want to die."

Elle let out what sounded like a sigh of relief at that, and Bella understood that she'd been worrying about it more than she let on. "Good. I mean, I didn't think you were that stupid, but we never talked about it..."

"I know, and we probably should have. I just never thought I'd be in that position...so maybe I was stupid after all, considering that I'd already had one near-death experience. I was a lot more careful afterward, though, and I just... Even after I found out that the Cullens had made you a vampire, I never thought about becoming one myself."

"I get that. I didn't think about it either, when they first let me in on their big secret."

"Really?" Of course Bella knew that Elle's transformation had taken place under life-or-death circumstances similar to her own, but she was surprised to learn that they hadn't at least discussed the possibility beforehand. "That seems like a conversation you should have if you're dating a vampire."

"Edward didn't want to have it; he was hung up on this idea of me having a normal life right up until I was literally dying," Elle explained, rolling her eyes at the memory. "Like I had a normal life to begin with... He wanted to fix that, but there was no way he could've convinced me to ditch the Company until I remembered Daddy experimenting on me."

Bella nodded, but she was only halfway listening now, her mind stuck on Elle's earlier words about Edward wanting her to have a normal life. She understood why her friend scoffed at such concerns, because from what she'd shared about her life as a Primatech agent, it didn't sound like she'd had much to lose, but for other people - Peter, for instance... "I think I'm with Edward on this one," she said quietly. "Being a vampire might have some perks, but there are also drawbacks... It's a tough choice to ask someone to make."

Elle gave her a disconcertingly shrewd look then, as if she knew exactly what Bella was thinking. "I guess it helps if you can find somebody who's already immortal, then."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"That guy Adam? I first saw him a couple months after I moved into the facility in Hartsdale - I was bored with being kept in my room all the time, and someone was stupid enough to put an electronic lock on the door - so I sneaked down to Level Five. I was nine then - or maybe eight, Mrs. Petrelli brought me a cake once to make me feel better after an especially brutal round of testing and all the bakery had was birthday cake, so now I'm not totally sure when my actual birthday is - anyway, in all the years I was there, Adam never got any older. Mrs. P says it's because of his healing power-"

"Healing? Like Peter and Claire?"

"Exactly like them...so you'll never have to have that talk with Peter."

Bella offered only a noncommittal hum in response; while it was certainly a relief to know he wouldn't die on her, that she would never have to live in a world without him, she couldn't believe they would ever have the kind of relationship that would have necessitated such a talk anyway. He might have loved her before, but surely that was all over now that he knew what she'd become...and he would be better off for it. Maybe he would never have a completely normal life, but he could at least find another human, someone who wouldn't add even more complications.

She looked back at Elle to find that the blonde was still staring holes in her, apparently intent on getting a proper answer, so she sighed and did her best to change the subject. "Look, can we go back now? I really need a shower."

###

She successfully avoided any further discussion of her relationship with Peter, or lack thereof, as they descended the mountainside, until at last, just as she glimpsed the Cullens' house in the distance and thought she was safe, they rounded a large boulder to find Alice and Jasper waiting.

"Evening, ladies," Jasper greeted them with his usual Southern charm. "I take it the hunt went well?"

"Yeah, Bella didn't need any coaching at all once we got out there," Elle replied with obvious satisfaction. "She's a natural."

She clearly intended it as a compliment, but knowing what she meant - that she was a natural at killing - Bella wasn't sure whether she felt flattered or not.

"I knew she would be," Alice said happily, before turning to her. "I just wanted to let you know that you might want to come in the back, if you'd like to get your shower before you see Peter."

"He's still here?" She didn't know how to feel about that either; part of her was thrilled at the prospect of seeing him one last time, grateful that he still cared enough to say goodbye to her before getting back to his life, but another part worried that she wouldn't have the strength to let him go.

"Of course." Jasper could feel her surprise, as if she had honestly expected her mate to desert her, as well as her mixed feelings upon receiving the news - the happiness he'd anticipated was there, but tainted by an undercurrent of sorrow, which mystified the empath. "Don't you want him here?" he asked cautiously, hoping he hadn't stumbled across something that would send her spiraling into depression again.

"Sure." Understanding his concern, she mustered a brief smile that she hoped would serve to reassure him. "I'll just clean myself up so I don't look like an extra in a bad slasher movie, and then I'll talk to him."

Taking a shower first would also give her time to get her emotions under control and come up with the right words to absolve him of whatever sense of obligation was keeping him there, and then... Somehow, she would force herself to do the right thing; then she would just have to figure out how to go on without him. After all, if Elle was right about him being immortal too, it was possible their paths might cross again one day, at some distant point in the future, but even if that never happened, at least she would know he was still out there somewhere - hopefully safe and happy - and that would be enough. It had to be.

Don't you hate it when characters make things harder through misunderstandings and communication failures? At least they're going to talk in the next chapter, so hopefully they'll be able to straighten things out.