"Alright, here we are!"

Renee smiled as she walked alongside Stanton towards the front of the Vanguard base. The boy looked up at the building curiously. He had seen it on the news, and passed by it once when driving with his dad, but never this close. It was fairly impressive. He had seen bigger in some of his past travels, but this still ranked pretty high.

Though he honestly wasn't all that interested in the building. It was the people and secrets inside he held an interest in. Renee led him inside, and Stanton noticed the doors looked like they had been reinforced. "Did someone break in before?" he asked.

"Yes actually. One of our members smashed the doors down when he first came here. We had the tech department put up new reinforced doors afterwards," she explained. They approached the front desk, where they saw a pink haired man reading from a magazine. Renee waved. "Hey Eiffel. Anything going on today I should know about?"

He pulled the magazine down and smiled towards her. "Hey boss lady. Nothing unusual to report today. Info we scraped up on the talismans is waiting on your desk," he said before looking down towards Stanton. "Well hello. Who's out little visitor?" he asked.

Renee held her hand out towards Stanton. "This is my little brother Stanton."

"Step-brother," Stanton corrected, causing Renee to roll her eyes.

Eiffel smiled down at him. "Aw, so you're the new little brother huh? Finally decided to swing by and see what your big sister gets up to," he said before grabbing a piece of chocolate from the bowl on his desk. "Here you go. This one's on the house," he said, tossing it to him.

Stanton reached out to grab it, but before he could a hand shot out from under the desk and snatched it from in front of him. Stanton stepped back surprised, while Eiffel and Renee frowned. "Lequan, give that back…" Eiffel said sternly. Stanton heard a grunt from under the desk before a young boy made his way from under it.

The eight year old Asian frowned as he held out the piece of chocolate he'd snatched away out towards him. Stanton stared back at before shaking his head. "You can have it," he said.

Lequan didn't need to be told twice, and quickly retreated back under the desk. Eiffel shook his head while Renee sighed. "Sorry about that. That's Lequan. He's a bit… reserved. Not much different from you actually," she said. She turned back towards Eiffel. "Could you give the other officers a call and let them know I'll be a few minutes late to the meeting. I'm going to take Stanton to the Supernatural Department."

"Will do boss lady," Eiffel said, giving her a playful salute. "Catch you around kid."

Stanton nodded towards him before following Renee down the hall. "Now, I'm going to ask Ezra to show you around while I meet with the other officers. He can be a bit of a prankster, but please don't let him drag you into anything crazy. If he tries something just remind him you just want to be shown around, okay?" she asked.

She really had been glad that it seemed like he and Ezra were sort of getting along, but that didn't mean she wasn't aware of how much trouble Ezra could get them into. Stanton nodded as they made their way through the doors of the Supernatural Department. The second they entered, a figure rushed right towards them, nearly knocking Stanton right off of his feet.

Sear circled around and sniffed the boy from head to toe, taking in the new scent. Stanton just stood there frozen, looking up towards his step-sister. "It's alright. That's just Sear. He's like… this department's mascot," she explained. "Once he gets in your scent he'll calm down."

"I think Sear is a little more than just a mascot." They both looked up and saw Astro approaching. "He's the most loyal companion anyone could ask for."

Sear sniffed under Stanton's arm, and the boy looked up at Astro wide eyed. "You're… a monster? Half monster?" he asked curiously.

Astro hummed. "What gave it away?" he said pretending to scratch his horns. Stanton quickly took his backpack off before reaching inside and pulling out his journal. He opened it up to a new page and quickly began sketching him. Astro looked down at him confused, then turned his gaze towards Renee.

"Asto, this is my little brother. He's very interested in the supernatural," she explained. "I have to get to a meeting with the other lead officers, so I was hoping I could leave him here and have Ezra show him around. Is he here?"

"He's in here somewhere. Probably getting into trouble," Astro said before turning around. "You can get going if you want. I'll keep an eye on him until we find Ezra or you're finished."

Renee smiled. "Thanks. It shouldn't take too long. I'll be back in a bit. But if something goes wrong go head and let me know," she before turning towards Stanton. "You going to be okay?"

He nodded as he kept on sketching. "Uh-huh."

Renee turned and walked out, and Astro glanced down at the sketch as Stanton walked beside him. "Wow, that's pretty good. And it didn't take too long either," he said, impressed. He clearly had a lot of practice with this.

"Thank you," Stanton said before turning his gaze towards Sear. He started sketching him as well. He'd only been here for a few minutes, and he already had two new editions to his journal. As they walked towards the center of the room, they caught some of the other gazes.

"Hey, who's this guy?" Envie asked from the spot she and Nia had been meditating in. "Don't tell me we have another new recruit."

Nia hopped up and then floated over towards him. "Oh! Is he really a new guy! Cool! Hi! I'm Titania, but most people just call me Nia!" she said smiling down at him.

Stanton just stared at her. "How… how are you doing that?" he asked looking between her and the ground. He had seen her around school before, but never floating around like this.

"Oh this? I learned it a while ago. Wind magic and stuff," she said shrugging.

Stanton once again began scribbling down in his journal. "Oh, I know him. This is Renee's little brother, isn't it?" Damian asked, approaching. "Ezra mentioned the other day that you were interested in coming by for a visit. It's good to see you took him up on it."

"You're the half-ghost, aren't you?" Stanton asked.

Damian shrugged. "One fourth actually, but I don't suppose it makes much of a difference."

Envie raised an eyebrow as she watched Stanton go right back to his book. "He's… not really paying attention to us, if he?" she asked, turning towards Damian.

"Renee mentioned that he had a very curious mind and was very interested in everything supernatural. Not surprising given his father is a famous supernatural investigator," Damian explained. "He's probably just a bit overwhelmed."

Astro grunted. "Well, before I forget, do you have any idea where your cousin is? Renee said he was supposed to show him around and-" The door opened, and Ezra rushed in and laughed before closing it behind him. "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear."

Erza chuckled as he dusted his hands off. "Oh man, Cayenne is gonna flip a lid when she finds that thing," he muttered, shaking his head. He then looked up and Stanton. "Oh! Hey man, you actually decided to swing by!" he said heading towards them.

Stanton looked up at the other boy. "Hey Ezra," he greeted casually. "I didn't have much else to do today, so yeah." He didn't think it'd be polite to say he just came to record more stuff in the journal and see if he could figure out more with the cards. "Renee said you could show me around the base."

"Sure dude. I got some time before Cayenne gets out of that meeting and tries to kill me," he said chuckling. "And if we have some time leftover maybe I could set up a match between you and Micah. I kind of hyped you up yesterday so…"

"Sounds fine," Stanton deadpanned.

The two boys began heading out, and Damian called after his younger cousin. "Ezra, please remember that Stanton is a guest, and you shouldn't be dragging him into any of your mischief," he said narrowing his eyes.

"I'll be on my best behavior! Scout's honor!"

Damian smiled for a few moments, and then frowned. "Wait! He wasn't a scout!"

Astro patted Sear on the head and nodded towards the boys. "Keep them out of trouble," he said. The dragon grunted before speeding after the boys.

"This is the tech department. It's where all our egg-heads built the cool gadgets and stuff we use. I usually stay out of here since these guys are working on stuff way above my level," Ezra explained as they walked into the workshop.

Stanton glanced around and saw people working on various projects. One boy seemed to be working with some strange kind of clothing material, another girl seemed to be working on a pair of robotic wings, and one boy was… eating a chili dog?

"Hey Hank. How are the repairs to the van going?" Ezra asked as they approached.

Hank took another bite out of his chili dog before pulling out another handful of ectoplasm from under the hook. "Not much to repair honestly. Just gummed up with a bunch of this stuff. Could you do me a favor and tell Damian and Envie to cool it running over ghosts in this thing. I don't mind doing repairs, but this is more cleanup than anything," he complained.

Stanton tilted his head. "Are you sure you should be eating while doing that?"

Hank laughed. "Ah don't worry. I've done this enough times to be able to- Oh crud!" Hank barely managed to catch the last bite of his chili dog before it fell into the cracks of the engine. He let out a sigh before turning back to the two boys and laughing nervously. "Heh… so, who's your new friend Ezra?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

Ezra held his hand out. "This is my buddy Stanton. I'm showing him around the place and I figured we'd stop by here first," he said patting Stanton on the back.

Benji overheard and made his way over towards them. "Oh! So he's the little brother Renee talked about!" he said. "Well aren't you a little cutie." He looked him up and down. "But of a fashion disaster thought. That flannel jacket does not suit you, and that old hat could use some upkeep. I could re-stitch it and add some-"

Stanton reached up and slammed his hand away when he reached for his hat. Benji gasped and pulled his hand back, looking at him offended. "Please don't touch my hat," Stanton deadpanned. He definitely knew that was rude, but it had been reflex. Nobody touched his hat.

Benji clicked his tongue. "Okay, you're on the list…" he said looking the boy up and down. "Yep, right next to Kaydence. You're on the list."

He turned and walked off. "Should I be worried about that?" Stanton asked.

Hank hummed. "Who Benji? Nah don't worry about it. He'll give you really nasty looks whenever he sees you from now on but he's not gonna really do anything," Hank muttered, not wanting the boy to turn on him next.

"Hey Hank, I'm done with the working on the brake pads down here," Tizzy said before sliding from underneath the van. "That should be everything right? Because I want to get this hunk of junk back to the Supernatural department and start working on my ride again."

Before Hank could answer her, Stanton walked forward and began sketching his journal again. "So you're the alien mechanic? Can I ask you some questions about your planet and powers?"

Tizzy shrugged. "I mean I was mostly raised here but I guess…"

Stanton began asking away, and Hank leaned over towards Ezra. "You're friend… he's kind of odd isn't he? Not that I'm one to talk," he admitted.

Ezra nodded. "Yeah, he is kind of weird. But he sort of fits right in with us, yeah?"

"Goddamn it Ezra, I don't have time for your shit today."

Ezra looked up at Ryan with a look of disbelief. "Dude, all I did was walk in!" he said holding his arms up. Stanton and Sear stood beside him, looking just as confused.

Ryan narrowed his eyes. "Every time you come in here, you end up pulling some type of prank or some shit like that. And I'm too busy to deal with it today. So put it in reverse and get out," he said pointing towards the door.

Ezra frowned. "I'm not doing anything today man, honest. I'm just here to show my buddy around. He's Renee's brother," he explained.

Ryan looked down towards the other boy, and then towards Sear. "What's he doing here?" he asked. The dragon narrowed his eyes at Ryan and let out a low growl. "Never mind, I don't really care," he said turning back to them. "Just don't cause any trouble."

He turned and walked off, and Sear walked off towards Vera's desk. The dragon made his way around and began nuzzling the princess's face. "Oh, hey there Sear!" she laughed, rubbing his head. "What are you doing here this time of day?"

"Astro sent him with us to make sure we didn't do anything crazy," Ezra explained as he and Stanton approached. He offered a wave towards the girl. "How's it going Vera?"

"Hey Ezra. Who's your friend?"

Ezra turned over to introduce Stanton, and saw him already sketching Vera. "Man, you really work fast dude… anyway, this is Stanton. He's Renee's brother."

"Step-brother," Stanton corrected.

"Yeah."

Vera nodded. "Oh yeah. She talks about you sometimes. She says you're really interested in mysterious and other stuff like that."

Stanton looked up at her. "You're the princess of the underworld right? Can I ask you some questions about the underworld?" he asked.

"Sure, why not."

Ezra walked over and took a seat. "Whelp, we're gonna be here a while…"

Stanton closed his journal and slid it back into his backpack. He'd gotten quite a lot of new info to put down in the journal today. He had to make sure to thank Vera for letting him ask so many questions. Maybe he'd get her a candy bar or something.

"And this is where we all chill out when we're not on mission's and stuff," Ezra explained as he led them into the rec room. "We just mess around, watch tv, play video games, all that good stuff," he said making his way towards the couch. Sear ran past the two boys and towards some of the others. "Speak of the devil."

Astro growled as he watched his character fall yet again. "Dang it! Again!" he said before feeling Sear nudge his side. He reached over and began scratching him on the head.

"You got to learn how to tech those throws bro," Micah said smirking.

"I want a rematch! I almost had you that round."

Raleigh scoffed. "No way dude. He's just gonna mop the floor with you again. Besides, you know the rules. Best two out of three, winner stays on. Pass up the controller," he said holding his hand out.

Ezra stepped forward. "Hold on guys! Let my buddy Stanton get a turn!"

The others looked back towards the two boys. "Well hey there Ezra. Who's your buddy? You bring in a ringer to try and beat Micah here?" Levi asked, crossing smirking.

"Sort of," Ezra said before patting Stanton on the shoulder. "This is Stanton. He's wicked good at fighting games. I bet he could even beat you Micah."

Raleigh raised an eyebrow. "You think this kid can beat Micah? This I have to see," he said smirking. "Go ahead, I can wait a few matches for my turn."

Astro held out the controller towards Stanton, but he shook his head. "No thanks," he said before taking his backpack off. He set it on the ground and reached inside before pulling out a fight stick. "I prefer using this."

Micah looked at him surprised. "What…? Do you just carry that around?" he asked.

"Yes," he said as he walked around and plugged it in. "By the way. I know this is a longshot, but you wouldn't happen to be dr0pTHEmicah, would you?"

The others turned towards Micah who raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, why?"

Stanton hummed. "Huh… I heard you play a really good Ryu," he said, taking a seat on the couch. "And your high score on Final Fight was pretty impressive too." He picked his character, a blonde with in red named Karin.

Micah narrowed his eyes. "Wait a second, you main Karin…? Are you Stanny_Hit-Stun?" he asked looking down at the boy surprised.

Stanton nodded. "Uh-huh."

Ezra and the others looked confused. "Who the hell is Stanny_Hit-Stun?" Raleigh asked.

Micah kept staring down at him. "I've heard about you. You've been taking the top spots in arcades machines all over the country. Heard you been making a splash on the pro scene too."

Stanton shrugged. "I've been in a few local tournaments."

"Making the top sixteen in SoCal Regionals isn't exactly something a regular local player does…"

Levi looked back and forth between the two. "What's… what's happening right now?"

"I don't know. I think they're sizing each other up," Raleigh said rubbing his chin. Micah picked his character, Ryu, and the two got ready to brawl.

"FIGHT!"

The second the match started, both of their characters started zipping back and forth across the screen, throwing jabs, blocking, and jumping all over the place. "What the hell?!" Astro said, trying to keep up. They were moving so fast he could barely tell what was going on. " For the love of stump Micah! Have you been holding back all this time!"

Micah kept his eyes locked on the screen. "Didn't want you guys to quit playing against me…" he muttered, looking totally into the game. Stanton looked the exact same way.

"This is insane…" Raleigh said.

Micah hummed. "You've got a pretty solid ground game…"

"You too," Stanton complimented.

The others were getting totally sucked into watching the game. The two were going back and forth, blocking each other, punishing whiffs, and catching each other in combo after combo. There was no telling who was going to take the match.

"Good game," Stanton said, wrapping his controller up.

"Yeah, it was a close one," Micah said.

The two had an incredibly close match that came down to a tie breaker, but Micah had managed to clutch out a victory right at the last second. The others had ended up letting out a breath they hadn't even known they were holding. And honestly so had Micah. It had been a long time since he played a match he actually thought he could lose.

Each round Stanton seemed to get better and better. It was like he was breaking down his playstyle and adjusting to it. Which a lot of pro players did, just usually not as quickly.

"Man! You were so close!" Ezra said. "You have to come back and play again! I'm sure you could totally beat him next time!"

Astro reached down and put a hand on Stanton's shoulder. "You have to do it Stanton. You have to come back and slay the beast…"

Micah looked towards his friend. "Dude, seriously?"

"I'm tired of you running the gauntlet on everyone!"

Micah shrugged and turned back towards Stanton. He had to admit, if the kid kept on playing him he might get his style down enough to actually beat him. But it was still pretty fun. He liked playing with Astro and the others, but Stanton had really kept him on his toes. "Anytime you want to come back and have a rematch little man, I'm game," he said.

"I would really like that." Stanton actually meant it to. Between all the info he had collected, and getting to play against Micah, he was almost eager to come back again.

"Sorry the meeting took a little longer than planned. Had a lot of extra baggage to sort through," Renee said as she and Stanton got back into her car. "But I heard you had a pretty eventful day. Got some new stuff for your journal and almost beat Micah in Street Fighter."

Stanton nodded as he buckled himself in. "Yeah, it was fun," he said nodding. "Would it be okay if I came back again sometime?" he asked.

Renee smiled down at him. "Of course. Just let me know whenever you want to come back and I'd be happy to bring you along… maybe next time I can show you around my office and you can see what I get up to, you know?" she asked.

Stanton stared for a moment. She was the one who all the Vanguard's info went through. "I think I'd like that," he said nodding.

Renee beamed as they drove off.

Up above on the rooftops, a figure watched their car head down the street. It's eyes narrowed as it licked its lips hungrily. "Delicious…" it muttered happily. "A fine meal indeed…"