"The weapons deal from last night was dealt with pretty easily," Kingsley said as he looked over the mission report. He and the other officers sat in the meeting room as they discussed the events of last night. "All the stragglers were gathered up and apprehended. But unfortunately none of them are willing to give any details about who they're working for."
Cayenne snorted. "Of course they aren't. They may be a bunch of street levels punks, but they're smart enough to know not to sell out the Youngblood or the guys they were dealing with. They'd get eaten alive," she said leaning back in her chair. "Besides, even if they did talk I don't think they're stupid enough to tell those guys where one of their actual bases is."
"I just hope we made sure we got all of these things," Hank said. "That's some super advanced tech they were trying to put on the street. I knew they could get their hands on dangerous stuff, but this isn't just some second rate weaponry. Someone had to design this," he said.
Renee added in her two cents. "Well, we did get info saying they've been recruiting. They might have gotten a few technicians to join up with them," she reasoned.
"Wonderful. As if the demons and Kung-Fu masters in their ranks wasn't enough," Damian said shaking his head.
"Don't forget we've got a few new recruits of our own. They're still a little wet behind the ears, but I'm sure they'll help us keep the playing field even," Kingsley assured.
"If they don't then there was no point in recruiting them in the first place," Cayenne remarked. She had still been a bit bitter than none of the new recruits had been fighters.
"We can't expect everyone to just land on the ground running Cay," Hank argued. "Some of them have caught on pretty quick, but others still need some training."
Damian nodded in agreement. "Yes. Ezra still needs to work on controlling his abilities. Junji is very experienced, but can't seem to fully transform into his dragon form. So there is room for improvement," he said.
Kingsley nodded. "Well, it's just good that we managed to get two new members considering… you know," he said. It had been awkward bringing up what had happened.
Damian sighed. "Astro's absence has had an effect on the others, so the extra hands have been very much appreciated," he said running a hand through his hair.
Cayenne raised an eyebrow. "They're still bummed out about prince asshat?" Out of everyone Cayenne seemed the least affected by him leaving. She didn't know why everyone else was so sad about it either. He lied to them, and then just left. She'd been more pissed off than anything.
Damian narrowed his eyes at her. "Astro assisted the others in their own jobs. He trained Nia, he helped Serena with potions, his knowledge on monsters was only rivaled by Amber, and she isn't in our department. Not to mention, he was our friend. So yes, we miss him," Damian said.
Cayenne scoffed and crossed her arms. "Whatever. From what I hear the little princess has been picking up the slack for him anyway. Little blonde turned out to be quite the ass kicker."
"It's true. Nia is getting stronger. But her powers are becoming… a bit difficult for her to control. And even though she keeps saying she's fine I can sense she's a bit off. Her brother leaving has shaken her," Damian said.
"You can't blame the girl. Vera says there's a lot that happened when they left for Mewni," Renee said sympathetically. "She's under a lot of pressure. We should make sure to keep an eye on her and make sure she isn't overworking herself."
Hank raised his hand. "Uh, not that I'm not worried about Nia, but what do we do about Sear? I've been picking him up on the scanners all around the city, but every time somebody tries to get him he… well, he's been a lot more irritated lately I guess," he said.
Damian looked down. "Nia says she'll take care of him…"
"SEAR!" Nia yelled as she sped down the street.
The dragon peeked his head up from the trash can he'd been digging through and turned his head to see the princess running towards him. He took off and began running down the street, the girl hot on his trail. "Sear, you get back here right now!" she shouted. He completely ignored her, rushing away.
He turned around the corner into an alleyway, but then slid to a stop when he saw Amber. The septerian princess held her hands up towards him. "Sear, calm down," Amber said cautiously.
Sear turned back around again only to be cut off by Nia and Micah. "Okay buddy, just relax," Micah said stepping forward. The moment he took a step, Sear snarled and bared his teeth at them. "C'mon, it's us. We're your friends, remember?"
The dragon took a breath before blowing a blast of fire near their feet. He turned and did the same towards Amber, keeping all of them away. Nia held her hands up and slowly tried to walk near him. "Sear, please. You have to come back home. I know you miss him but you can't just keep on running around like this," she said.
Sear narrowed his eyes and kept looking back and forth between them. He opened his wings and took off into the air, but Nia flew up and then grabbed his tail. "Sear, stop it!" she cried trying to pull him back. The dragon whipped his tail, sending Nia flying back. Micah flew up behind her and caught her, and Nia looked back up to see Sear flying off.
There was no way she was going to catch him now. She could move pretty fast through the air herself, but she couldn't move nearly as fast as Sear. She let out a sigh. That was the fourth time this week he had slipped away. She had hoped that since he liked Micah and Amber bringing them along would help, but it did nothing.
She and Micah landed back down to the ground and Amber walked towards them. "I've never seen him like that before. It was like he didn't even recognize us," Micah said, frowning. He turned towards Nia. "I don't get it. Astro has been away before right? He said he left him with you all the time when he went on missions. So what's he acting like this for?"
Amber spoke up. "Things are different this time. Dragons are loyal and clingy creatures. They have people they like and prefer, but only one person they'd ever really imprint on. Not knowing where Astro actually is and not being able to find him is driving him crazy," Amber explained. "He's like a child who lost his parents."
"Well… we're gonna have to do something about him. He could end up hurting somebody. If he does, Cayenne is gonna go after him, and she isn't gonna be nice about it," Micah said.
Nia groaned. "Even if we do catch him we'd have to hold him in a cell or something. That'll make him act even worse. I have no idea what to do here," she said leaning against the wall.
Amber and Micah shared a glance. "Hey, don't worry Nia. We'll figure it out. I know stuff seems crazy but it'll work out. Always does," Micah said patting her on the shoulder. With Astro gone he felt like he kind of had to look after the girl.
Nia shrugged. Usually she could agree with him. The girl had always been a little ray of positivity. But lately… lately she wasn't so sure. A ringing noise suddenly interrupted her thought, and she turned towards Amber who clicked his ear piece. "Hello?"
Micah and Nia waited a few moments as Amber listened. "Okay… okay, got it," she said nodding. She turned back towards them. "Sorry Nia, but Cayenne wants us to get back for morning training."
"It's alright. I don't think we were going to have any lucking catching him today either. I'll try to think of something else next time," she said before turning to walk off. "When you get back to base could you let the others know I had to stop somewhere first?"
"Will do," Micah said before Amber ripped open a portal to the base.
Once they left, Nia took off into the air and back towards Janna's. The woman had told her there was something important she needed to talk to her about later. She had put it off since she figured trying to get Sear back was more important, but Janna insisted afterwards she head straight back.
When she landed and walked through the front door, she saw Janna sitting on the couch. Along with another figure. It was a man with bright orange hair neatly cut hair. He wore a very expensive looking suit, and had a small patch of blue skin under his eye.
He and Janna sat on the couch, both with a cup of coffee in their hands. "I have to say, this really is delicious. A top café quality brew," he complimented.
Janna shrugged. "Well, when you do what I do you have to learn how to make a decent cup of joe. Late nights and all that jazz," she said before turning towards Nia. "Ah, look who finally decided to show up. How's the dragon catching go princess?"
Nia stared back and forth at them. "Uh… we didn't catch him," she said before turning back towards the man. She really wanted to ask who it was, but it would have been kind of rude without introducing herself first. "Hello sir. It's nice to meet you. I'm Nia."
The man smiled before setting his cup of coffee down and standing up. "The pleasure is all mine, young lady. My name is Alexander Xanatos," he said offering his hands. Nia reached forward and shook it. "I hope you don't mind the intrusion. I was just enjoying a cup of coffee with this lovely creature here," he said smirking towards Janna.
Janna winked back before taking another sip of coffee. "…It's no problem. It isn't as if it's my house anyway," Nia said shrugging her shoulders. "Are you a friend of Auntie Janna's?"
"Not quite my dear. I actually came here to meet you." The princess looked up at him surprised. Her? Why would he be here for her? She didn't know this guy. Or at least she didn't think she did. Was he a family friend maybe? Her mom did know a lot of people on Earth. "I can see you're a little confused. Please, have a seat. I'll explain everything."
He sat back down and gestured to the couch across from them. Janna stood up. "Yeah, this is definitely going to be super awkward, so I'm just gonna pretend to leave and then listen from the kitchen," she said making her way out.
Nia hesitantly made her way over to the couch and sat down across from the man. "Uh… I really don't mean to be rude, but why would you be looking for me? Are you a family friend… are you from Mewni?" she asked, confused.
Alexander chuckled. "I suppose a family friend would be a semi accurate guess. Though technically I am actual family," he said, crossing his arms. "I'm assuming your mother never told you much about your paternal family members, did she?"
Nia's eyes widened. She immediately reached for the wand, but he held his hand up. "Please, if I wanted to hurt or take you I could have easily done it by now. I haven't come to bring you any harm. I swear it."
The princess still looked weary. "Who are you?"
"A fellow halfling and child of Oberon, just like you," he explained. "I have to say, I was quite shocked to sense such an enormous magical presence outside of Avalon. It easily dwarfs nearly every other in raw power. For one so young, well, that's just amazing."
Nia was honestly starting to get a little tired of hearing that. She didn't need to be reminded of how big her power was. She got that reminder every day when someone went haywire around her by accident. "So… you're from my dad's side of the family?" she asked.
He nodded. "I am. I'm your cousin… well, half cousin. It's a bit of a long story I'm sure you don't want to be bored with. But we are indeed family. And I just couldn't resist taking the chance to meet someone from the supernatural side of my bloodline," he said.
Nia groaned and laid back in her seat. Alexander raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I really am. I don't want to be rude but… I've been going through a lot of stuff and I really was just trying to forget about all of this stuff for a while," she whined.
Alexander smirked. "Oh, I see. Janna did mention you just found out about this. I guess it would be quite a shock to someone not used to this. I was lucky enough to be raised knowing my heritage," he said before standing up. "Please pardon me for the terrible timing then. If time to adjust is what you need, feel free to take as much as you want."
"But I should warn you. Our grandfather can be a very… impatient man. I have no doubt by now he's at least aware of your existence. If he sees the need to come and take you, he will do so without hesitation," the man warned. He then reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a card. "I'll be in town for a while. Once you're ready, please feel free to contact me. I doubt your mother had all the details regarding our family history. I'd be more than happy to fill you in."
Nia reached out and took the card from him. "Thank you…" she muttered.
He reached out and patted her shoulder. "I know we've just met, but we are family. If there's anything you need, anything at all, ask away," he said before heading towards the door. He then stopped for a moment. "Oh, and Ms. Ordonia. If you'd like to grab another cup of coffee and discuss business, I'd happily answer your call as well."
"Will do!" Janna called from the other room.
Alexander nodded once last time before making his way out the front door. Once he left Nia sighed and flopped back down onto the couch. Things just got even more complicated…
Alexander stepped into his limo and straightened up his tie. The driver, his assistance Owen, looked back from the rear view mirror. "How did it go sir?" he asked.
"The girl's still having a hard time coming to terms with everything. You can hardly blame her. I told her to take some time and contact me when she's ready," he said.
Owen hummed. "Are you sure you really expressed the urgency of the situation sir? With her powers continuously growing out of control, it will only be a matter of time before Oberon senses her location and acts on it. Powerful as she, she's still inexperienced," he said.
Alexander hummed. "True enough. But I can't force her into cooperating. She hardly knows me. I can only hope she gets it together soon so we can begin. Otherwise she'll receive a much more violent wake up call," he said.
"I suppose we can only hope for the best. But I have to ask sir. Do you really intend to stand up to your grandfather if he comes for the girl?" he asked.
Alexander grunted. "I'm not sure… I'll have to see if she's actually someone worth taking that risk," he said as they pulled off. "Until then, we'll occupy ourselves with other matters. Townsville is quite an interesting place. I'm sure there's plenty of things we can kill time with."