And I am finally back

with Chapter 1

of 'White Tinted Black'!

I'm happy you guys are enjoying my story enough to bear

Reading another chapter of it!

Sorry I know things are slow but

They will be picking up later on so for now

Just keep waiting for it!

Just as a reminder Lucy is OOC in this story

so hopefully you are aware of her personality change in this.

Thanks for reading!

Enjoy

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'Blood red sky overhead-'

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Chapter 1: Dispatch

~QOoOQ~

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

"Lucy!" Spinning on her heels in one quick reflex she pointed the dangerous weapon at the intruder that dare interrupt her concentration-who happened to be a tall, muscular, tanned male that she knew quite well. He raised his hands in a way to signal his surrender as he spoke, "Mavis Lucy! I've only been here a minute and you're already pointing a gun at my head! I thought I was your big Onii-Chan~" He smirked as the young blonde just glared and lowered her gun as she began her target practice again.

"Maybe you shouldn't sneak up on someone with a gun in their hand Onii-Chan~" Erik crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his nineteen year old sister, it had been four years since she had broken down and finally told them everything about that night. He was still shocked on how Lucy could still be so bright and lively but yet she never stopped being the Lucy he had always known, she had gone rather 'independent' the longer she stayed in the mansion with him, Laxus and their father but she still devoted herself to her studies.

He had successfully become a crime lab analyst for the forensics department, analyzing the bodies and blood of victims and even criminals and he loved every moment of his work, although he dreaded the moment murdered children were wheeled into the lab but, it was his job and he had to deal with it. Laxus, obviously, had been the first one of the three of them to join the force and become a detective; occasionally he would bring Erik and Lucy on jobs with them since they were already training to do things such as that.

Although things had changed drastically, after becoming a detective, Lucy had immediately begun her research on the murder case of her mother from all those years ago and even if he supported her fully-he couldn't help but feel anxious at the growing coldness radiating off the blonde. There were certain things young woman and men such as the blonde herself, should not be shown, but Lucy was determined to find the murderer that caused her mother's life to come to a quick stop. Sighing he shook his head and placed his hand on his sister's shoulder,

"Jude wants to speak with you," he felt her flinch under his touch-his words reaching her covered ears as she slowly tore off her ear plugs and stared him in the eye, Erik shrugged his shoulders dismissively-he had no clue as to what their father wanted to speak to Lucy about and his forever stoic face didn't give a single piece of information away. She sighed and nodded before putting her gun back in its holster,

"Alright, I'll go." Running hand roughly through her hair she nodded to her adoptive brother before walking out of the room.

...

Lucy had no clue as to why she was being summoned by her father nor did she feel the need to know why but she knew that she was about to find out soon-something she dreaded to hear, a bitter look crossed her face at the thought of speaking to her father. The blonde had always been what other police officers called 'a freelance detective'; she never called for help unless she had already caught the perp, did everything by herself with some assistance from her friends from the forensics department but otherwise she was her own team.

She never really did follow the rules or protocols set out for detectives, one of which was to dress appropriately- it was one of the first things she made sure to ignore, she may have been nineteen(soon to be twenty) but her knowledge was on par with her father's at the age of 40. For the amount of time she had spent working there at the M.P.D (Magnolia Police Department) she had been given a name for herself created by her neighboring detectives, they called her the 'Tainted Detective' the reason being that she was as cold as eyes from something unbeknownst to them but she was one of the top detectives themselves and so hearing how cheerful the girl was said to be by her brothers-contrary to her stoic façade at the department- they added in the tainted, she was a bright soul tainted by hate.

It was unknown to Lucy as to why they never dropped the ridiculous name but she preferred that over the last name her father held any day, she despised being forced into the same 'high society' category her father insisted on her joining, none of that was for her-she had a life as a freelance detective taking dangerous jobs that the unit groups could not complete and tied up the loose ends they left. She sighed and nodded briefly at a passing forensics specialist, she found an odd feeling of respect for the forensics analyst that worked for the police or formerly had, the majority of the criminals they found were due to the scientists over crime scenes and evidence pieces they received and or found, sometimes even finding errors or missed evidence in a crime scene or in a report they received.

Glancing at her watch, Lucy silently cursed- Jude had always wanted her to be at his office within ten minutes of him summoning her, as much as she dreaded to speed up her time without having to meet with him, the blonde detective knew it was unavoidable. Her legs picked up the pace and in a matter of minutes, she was standing in front of the large doors leading to her father's office-although Jude Heartfilia himself would not be present, unless counting him being on an abnormally large monitor screen where he was contacted by a program made by a resident hacker who worked as a detective in M.P.D.

She guessed being his daughter had its perks at times, whenever she had done something that was frowned upon in the M.P.D- she would usually get away with a light punishment but even then it was a minor advantage. Rubbing her temples soothingly, feeling a headache coming toward her and thinking that it was only the morning and she had yet to speak to her father made the dull throb sharpen. Lucy knocked quietly on the large doors leading to Jude's office, she was sure she would be berated for her tardiness-which had been by a minute- but at the moment, she could care less.

"Enter…" Taking a deep breath, Lucy pushed open the double doors welcomed by the warm air circulating around her father's office and already the blonde felt suffocated. The door clicked close behind her as she took sure steps toward her father's desk where his laptop was rested upon, his video feed almost mistaken for a picture for how still he was sitting although the subtle twitch of Jude's eye indicated his visibility. Quiet ticks of the clock ticked by every passing second, each being immensely uncomfortable for the young blonde as her father scrutinized her, sizing her up and even through the screen Lucy could feel his disappointment. "Lucy, I see you still refuse to wear proper clothing as a detective..."

She snorted, "And I see you are still much too busy working a 'case' when you should be here dealing with problems directly." She smirked, enjoying her father's irritated scowl as he clenched his clasped hands tighter until his knuckles turned white. "What is it that you need Jude-Sama?" Lucy watched as he leaned back in his chair and stared her dead in the eye,

"This decision is not to be made by you but me; you will be moved to Unit 1 and join your brother with his co-workers," confusion hit the youngest Heartfilia hard, her father never wanted her to pursue this career and yet he was forcing her to join a unit, the hooligans unit no less, with her eldest brother and solve dangerous cases, more so than the ones she already deals with.

"I have already told you this Father," she sighed and stared at the thin line his lips formed, "I only work alone-putting me in the hooligans unit will not prove beneficial to me nor am I willing to work with one of them other than Laxus." Even the thought of working with some foolish detective that joked around while on the job made her grimace in distaste, a unit that handles disastrous cases that could possibly lead to the end of the city or perhaps the country even-would goof around with their co-workers despite the seriousness of the situation. "I refuse."

"My decision is final!" Jude slammed his fists on his desk behind the computer screen and stared at his daughter angrily, "I have already allowed you to stay in this business despite my wishes so you will join a Unit-besides have I not informed you already that a detective working alone is prohibited?"

"I recall telling you that I don't care," she couldn't trust anyone in the department other than her brother but even then she refused to take a case with them, she needed to do things on her own for reasons that they didn't need to know.

"Lucy," he sighed and rubbed his temples-no doubt feeling a minor migraine coming forth as the blonde stared at him, "either join First Unit or be stripped of your position and never work as a detective again." She huffed at his threat, it was funny how he was controlling her life even when she escaped him-apparently she has yet to fully get away from him. "You may leave…" Saluting-sported with her middle finger sticking out- Lucy walked out of her father's office with a frustrated slam of the door.

She couldn't believe her own father would place her in the misfit unit, she wondered how they even managed to get a position in first Unit with a reputation as such-wouldn't her father have immediately disposed of the problem? Despite her eldest brother being in it, Lucy had no desire to join and feel 'safe' under her co-workers protection, although it was all false-all of it was just fake comfort, they were never really protected from danger and the blonde wondered whether they realized this or simply ignored it.

Brown eyes roamed on the few doors in the hallway, searching for the unit number she was now a member of-her thoughts wondered to her brother, he had never been tolerant of trouble makers and yet-she found this ironic- her brother had joined the one unit that held the title of 'hooligans' willingly. She thought nothing less of her brother after he joined first unit, he was still the same, strong, caring, stoic brother in her eyes and she loved him and Erik more than anything, which was a reason why she refused to work with them.

She kept her distance when she could from her brothers at work for not only her own personal reasons but also for the fact that whenever she had gone on a case with Laxus and Erik when she was still not able to join as a legal detective-they had been overly protective and obsessive. Lucy could still remember one time she was brought on a case with her brothers that involved a series of sexual assaults followed by the woman's murder and although she could understand their worry, they still could have let go of her hand while she was observing.

The sound of her boots quietly hitting the floor stopped as she stared at the dreaded door where several shouts were heard from behind it, silently, Lucy wondered if she was ever going to be able to concentrate with her new co-workers busy bodies moving around, unconcerned with their noise level. She sighed and placed a slender hand over the cool doorknob and with a shake of her head; Lucy pushed open the door to her new Unit.

"I have solved way more cases then you, stripper!"

"Yeah? And what proof do you have of that pyro!?"

"Go ask Gildarts!"

"That doesn't make you any better! You've been here longer than I have!"

"Yeah but at least I never got arrested for sexual harassment!"

"Just because I took my shirt off in front of someone doesn't mean I was sexually harassing them Flame Brain!"

"Ice Princess!"

"Tabasco Freak!"

Lucy stared at the two arguing men in front of her with a raised brow, now she knew how they had gotten their reputation although she had yet to know the full extent of their rowdiness. Clearing her throat to make her presence known Lucy allowed her eyes to wander over to the scarlet haired woman who immediately put a stop to the rambunctious men's argument upon noticing her. Brown eyes met lighter colored ones; both holding sharpness and lack of trust within them, "Is there something you need?" The woman's voice- Lucy noticed- is orotund,

"I need to speak with the head of the Unit, Mr. Clive," she glanced over the woman's shoulder to see a elder man sitting at a desk with a smoke hanging loosely of his bottom lip, "I assume he is the one smoking?" Clearly the other two eccentric fools were too young and too idiotic to be the head of First Unit and Lucy doubted the female standing in front of her with crossed arms was in fact male.

"What do ya' need with Gildarts?" Lucy glanced over at the raven haired male who had spoken to her in a deep voice, his hair was an unruly mess-she guessed he hadn't seen a brush in years- his button up dress shirt was half way done up with a silver chained cross draped around his neck, his black dress pants were neatly ironed to accompany the nice shoes he was wearing. Raising a brow at him, she crossed her arms over her chest much like her scarlet haired acquaintance who was eyeing her at the moment,

"That is between Mr. Clive and I," sighing to herself, she walked past the two and up to her new boss, Gildarts Clive; who looked at her with half lidded eyes as if he had just woken up. The blondes comfort dropped more when the male eyed her up and down before setting his cigarette between his fingers and giving her a flirtatious grin.

"What can I do for you sweetheart?" She blinked. Repulsion was the only thing she could feel at that moment, here she was-a nineteen year old woman (soon to be twenty) being eyed up by a forty something year old man, who seemed too experienced with women for her comfort.

"I was assigned to this Unit," his brown-almost orange- colored hair was slicked back against his head, the ends just barely brushing against the collar of his jacket; his head tilted slightly at her declaration, "I'm Detective Lucy A-"

"-Heartfilia…" a voice the blonde knew all too well interrupted her from behind as she smiled grimly at Gildarts, balling her hands into fists as she hissed,

"Ashley. Detective Lucy Ashley," she turned around to come face-to-face with the hard chest that belonged to her eldest brother, who was smirking smugly down at her as he placed his large hand on top of her head, "Laxus, I'm not a child you know."

"Still are to me Blondie." His smile widened when he saw her silently fuming, she knew he was teasing her to get her to loosen up slightly but his strategy needed some improvement.

"You may be an adult in age and height compared to me but intellect…" she trailed off, giving him a triumphant smirk as his face turned stoic and clicked his tongue at her before turning away and glancing at the forgotten male behind Lucy. Gildarts glanced between the two, his cigarette hanging dangerously on his lower lip as they parted slightly in shock,

"Wait you're…?"

"No I am not." She interrupted hastily, denying his thoughts flatly so as not to allow him to announce it, "I go by Ashley." He nodded his head and gestured for her to stand beside him as he turned toward the rambunctious adults,

"Oi! Natsu, Gray shut up!" Fists paused mid-punch as their heads turned toward their boss-Lucy had to roll her eyes, they looked like deer in headlights, it was rather foolish to see grown men in such a compromising position while still looking clueless. "We have a new member joining our Unit, her names Lucy Ashley-she's Laxus' little sister. Introduce yourselves!" All three of the detectives she had met prior to this moment, walked toward them before smiling.

"Gray Fullbuster, nice to meet ya' Lucy." The male she had been questioned by earlier was the first to introduce himself as he scratched the back of his neck, glancing at the woman next to him as he did so. The blonde huffed, she couldn't possibly see why he was so nervous around the other woman-she looked like she was unable to harm a fly.

"Erza Scarlet; I am sorry for my ignorance earlier Lucy, forgive me." Erza bowed, her red hair shielding her face from view as she kept her hands on her thighs so her skirt did not ride up-something Lucy nodded at. Her lip twitched slightly, she was glad someone in this room knew how to be polite-she doubted the other men within the room knew how to be poised and well-mannered. Perhaps she was the only normal detective in this group of misfits.

"Erza," a quiet voice spoke from the far corner of the room, "your cake is ready…" Immediately the scarlet haired woman was standing straight once again- the apologetic look on her face replaced by one of pure-joy, had she not been there the moment the man spoke, Lucy would have assumed that the brown eyed woman had just been proposed to. She gave the blue haired man a curious glance,

"Mystogan Fernandez." She nodded to him before a male with pink hair stepped into her view. Another thing she questioned about the sanity of the people within the unit, it was not unheard of men sometimes dying their hair pink although she had never seen a detective with such a style. He wore a similar pair of black dress pants as Gray, a fiery red dress shirt and a black suit jacket overtop, the blonde had to admit that the men in this Unit-excluding her brother- were all extremely attractive. He grinned down at her,

"Names Natsu Dragneel," she noticed he had sharp canines, resembling a wolfs-it was an odd sight, but with everything her brown eyes had seen that day, it didn't surprise her like it should, "nice to meet 'ya Lucy." She nodded her head in response and turned to give her brother a look, anytime he had described his Unit, Laxus had shrugged and said they were insanely talented-she didn't doubt her brother but she did doubt how perceptive and attentive some of them were. He shook his head and smirked down at her before patting her head and leaving. "So how long have you been a detective for?"

Lucy glanced at the pinkette, she wondered why he hadn't asked her about her father already-usually that was what happened whenever they found out she was Laxus' or Erik's sister. "A year," she still hadn't been a detective for all that long but she felt she was doing well for her being in her first year of being a detective.

"Oh, so you haven't been here that long? Neither have I," he told her as he watched Gray joke around with Erza and Mystogan. "Only been here for two years myself." Natsu turned his head toward her and tilted it slightly, reminding Lucy of a puppy, "how old are you now Luce?"

"Luce?"

"Yeah it's my nickname for you…"

Shaking her head slightly at his friendly attitude she sighed, she wasn't going to answer his question-Gildarts already had a file on her no doubt so there was no need to inform the rest of them. "None of your business." Curiosity flickered in his eyes,

"Why are you old?"

"No."

"They why not answer?"

"Why is your hair pink?"

"It's Salmon!"

"For the love of-" she heard her brother grumble under his breath and shot him a warning look, although he clearly ignored it-not seeing the point of hiding her age from her new co-workers, after all Laxus always said that they were like a 'family'. From her experience, that meant leaving someone behind. "She's nineteen Natsu."

"Wha-?" His eyes widened, most likely in disbelief-after all it was not often someone as you as Lucy worked as a detective, although she had yet to hear of another prodigy in the M.P.D. Gray sauntered up to them and casually draped his arm around her shoulder and laughed at the pinkette's dumfounded expression,

"So you're not the only prodigy we have here now…" Glancing at Lucy's raised brow he explained, "Flame-Ass here was accepted in the M.P.D when he was twenty two, but you beat that by a long-shot." The blonde eyed the man before her who was staring at her curiously, she hadn't expected Natsu to be a prodigy and she could honestly say she was surprised-his intellect seemed extremely low compared to brute strength.

"Hm," she nodded at his words and turned back to the salmon haired male in question and gave him a once over before muttering to herself, "I thought his IQ was lower than that…"

"Wha-!?"

'Emergency Dispatch! We received a bomb threat for the local Zoo! All available officers move out!'

The voice rang out as it explained the circumstances to all who were in the building before everything went deadly silent, Gildarts let out a tired sigh before putting out his cigarette and standing up, smirking down at the young blonde as he did. "Well looks like you've already got your first case with us. Welcome to First Unit Lucy."

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'-My dark sides coming so you better play dead.'

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Shattered-Nightmares712: Sorry for taking so long! The logic behind Lucy's age is messed up and I know-I doubt anyone could become a detective at the age of nineteen but just for this story she will be extremely young but hey, she's turning twenty soon~! I'm glad to see that some people are enjoying this story already, sorry if Lucy's really OOC but then again Cobra is too so hopefully you all aren't to bothered by the change in their personalities, I just morphed them to fit the story! Again I apologize for the extremely late update! Thanks for reading and thank you to those of you who reviewed, followed and favorite!
Until next time!

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