Chapter 3

Dakota Library 5thfloor- 3pm
Danny gasped looking around for the fifth time that morning. It wasn't even cold in the library but he felt himself shivering in his hoodie, and the place just gave him an overall bad feeling. Finally the clock neared 3:30pm, so he returned his book to the shelf and headed down to the lobby to meet Static and Gear. Well… not both of them. Apparently Static had something going on with his dad so it would just be Gear helping him to train today, and they weren't really meeting in the library, but rather the back alley just behind the library.

He had slimed a couple of books so when he walked back the cameras in the lobby he pulled his hood down over his face. He thought about trying to turn invisible but it might be weird if the cameras saw him enter but not leave.

"What's taking him so long?" Danny mumbled to himself after yet another involuntary gasp.

At just that moment Gear skated around the corner. "I'm sorry. Was I keeping you waiting?" He asked in a more sarcastic than not tone. He laughed when he saw how startled Danny was by his sudden appearance. "Chill bro. You look like you've just seen a ghost," he teased.

"Haha… very funny." That uneasy feeling from before seemed to be getting worse. "Does anything seem strange to you? Around here I mean. This place…"

"No. Why?"

Danny rubbed his arms feeling cold. "I don't know. Something just feels… wrong… here."

"Wrong huh?" Gear skated forward so Backpack could scan Danny. "Something with your powers?"

"I don't think so… I –gasp– ." Gear jumped and pulled out a zap-cap, turning to where Danny had been staring, but there was nothing there. "Sorry!" Danny quickly ducked his head in embarrassment. "I don't know why that keeps happening. It's been like that since I got here."

Gear glanced back at him. "What do you mean here?"

"Umm… I guess it started just before I got to the library." Danny watched Gear circle him with backpack then skate to both ends of the alley and glance around the corners. "Something wrong?"

"I'm not exactly sure yet, but I saw you do that yesterday when I first flew over. I thought I had just startled you. But maybe… it was something else."

"Like what? A new bullet point to my weird list of powers?"

"It's always a possibility." Backpack beeped with an inconclusive set of data, which really didn't help much, but at least Danny's DNA hadn't destabilized any further. Maybe Virgil's paranoia about getting this kid to a hospital would end up being just that. Better safe than sorry. "Well are you ready to head to that hospital now?"

Danny was still glancing around nervously. Something… was just wrong… the feeling kind of seemed to be coming from the rooftops… but how could he possibly know that? The roof of the library… it made her nervous… but why? He wasn't even up there. "Is there anything on the roof of the library?"

Gear squinted behind his mask, looking up. "Other than some crumbling gargoyles? Not that I know of. Why?"

"Let's go check it out." Something was up there. Somehow he knew, and it made him nervous… and yet… oddly excited. Danny could still only manage to float up slowly but he heard Gear's jets behind him as he guided himself to the top.

The rooftop was a soft dome over the main hall while a smaller flat walk out area lead to all the gargoyles. The building had to be nearly 100 years old by the looks of the erosion. "Looks like there's nothing up here." Gear commented at the emptiness of the landing, but Danny wasn't so sure.

Where's it coming from? It was a lot stronger now. He was definitely close… but where… ~Gasp~ "BEHIND!" Danny yelled right as Backpack beeped. Talon swooped down on Gear, kicking him in the back.

"Just when I thought I'd found a place where you jerks never check." She landed a few feet away and crouched on the ground, "Don't you have anything better to do Gear?" Gear rubbed his neck and pushed himself up.

"Aww I'm touched3 Here I thought you guys could only ever remember Static's name." He smirked grabbing a zap-cap from his belt. Talon rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'm not bothering anyone. Can't you just leave me alone for once?"

"No can do. County lockup still wants you back from the last time you broke out."

It was like they'd done this banter a hundred times. Then again, they probably had. Still it fascinated Danny. And despite knowing that she was the source of the "wrongness," Talon still looked attractive in a feathery sort of way. But why does she seem familiar… "Do I know you?" The other two super-powered teens had almost forgotten he was there.

"Who's he? Another loser hero?"

"Something like that." Gear pulled back, ready to throw the zap-cap. "Last Chance Talon." Richie always felt hesitant to take Talon in. Static felt the same. She wasn't bad, she was just trapped. She felt she had no other choice but to team with Ebon and the others because the gas had messed with her appearance. "Come in quietly and I'm sure the judge will go easier on you." It's true… she wasn't hurting anyone this time. But now that he'd found her, he didn't have much choice but to take her in. Actually, how Had Danny found her?

Gear's mind was whirling as always with all the different possibilities.

"Fat chance." Talon shrieked like the harpie she'd become and blew the zap-cap right out of Gear's hand. The sound cracked the head off one of the gargoyles. A few screams came from the street below.

Whoops! Time's up. Gear activated his jets, took off and did a flip over Talon. He threw a smoke grenade from above then a zapcap into the smoke as he landed. He found his mark. Talon fell to the ground struggling against the coils.

"Let –Me –Go!"

"Sit tight. The police are on their way." Packpack was already making the call. "Hey D, I wouldn't get to close," Gear warned as Danny inched towards Talon. "She's restrained but that doesn't make her less- Hey! What are you-?!" Before Gear could stop him, Danny had touched the coils and phased them right through Talon.

Talon wasted no time. She leapt to the edge of the building. "Thanks for the help. Later." She dropped off the side of the building and dove straight down into the subway.

"Dude!" Gear grabbed Danny by the shoulder. "What was that!?" Danny ducked his head. He'd never seen Gear so furious. Even in all the news broadcasts and battles he'd read about, Gear was supposed to be the level headed one. It was Static that occasionally got mad. Never Gear. Danny second guessed his thought of letting Talon go.

"I… I don't know…"

"You Don't Know! You've just assisted a criminal! You know what that means right!?" His yelling didn't stop when Danny tried to pull away. "It means you're now a criminal! I have to take you to jail!"

"But I just-"

"You just what?" He calmed down a bit seeing how freaked out Danny was. If he joins Ebon, Static and I are going to be in some serious trouble… Gear tried not to show he was actually nervous. They still didn't know the full extent of Danny's powers. But with intangibility and invisibility…

"I wanted to see if it was really her."

There couldn't have been a more confusing answer. "Well of course it was really her."

"No- I mean I wanted to see if that weird feeling was coming from her."

Well it didn't excuse him, but Richie was intrigued. "And… was it?"

"Well… Sort of… but it's also…"

Just a bit more prodding. "Also...?"

"It's also you. Though not as strong. I sort of remember feeling like this around Static yesterday but I'm not sure… I was kind of distracted by learning I'm a bang baby."

Gear folded his arms processing this bit of info. "So what is it? A Meta-human sensor or something?"

"Maybe... It could be why I've been gasping all morning. Talon was on the roof of the library. And just earlier I gasped when you rollerbladed into the alley." It was a farfetched theory, but so was the idea of meta-human ghost powers.

Gear counted off on hand, "Flight, Invisibility, Intagibility, Meta-sense. How many more you going to add to that list?" Danny shrugged. "~sigh~ Wait here." He walked off a little ways before pulling out his shock vox. "Hey Virg you there?"

"I'm here Richie, what's up?"

"There's a new development with you-know-what."

Virgil's tone grew serious, "I'll finish things up here then head over."

XXX

Those stupid restraints always ruffled her feathers, and they'd keep hurting till she got the chance to stop and preen them. Well… things could be worse, if that new kid hadn't done… whatever the heck it was he did. What had he done anyway? It was like those coils had just disappeared… but they also hadn't. She had felt something brush against her, and weirder still, inside her. Talon shivered at the thought.

-clickaclacka-clickaclacka- A train rumbled in the tunnel. Talon dropped down by a nearby service door. Weird though. A train had just passed by not a minute before... and this one was approaching really slowly. "Could this day get any weirder?"

"Oh I'm sure it can."

Talon jumped as a girl's head popped through the wall. "Ahh!" She jumped back and shrieked at the wall. The floating head dropped into the floor as the hypersonic waves hit. "Did I get it…?"

"Nope, but that's a nice set of vocals you got there." The head floated up through the floor followed by its body. The girl looked to be 18 but it was hard to tell. Her skin was very pale even in the dim light of the tunnel, but she had a lot of make-up on. A dark purple electric guitar hung on her back. Her blue lipstick shimmered when she spoke. "You should totally be one of my backup singers!"

"What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"Call me Ember, and I'm talking about a band silly. You gotta admit that MetaHumans sounds like one bad ass rock back." Talon had no response to that. The girl was blocking her way out, and she couldn't spread her wings in the service doorway.

"I've already got a crew, thanks anyway." She tried to walk past her but the girl shot out her arm and pressed her hand to the wall.

"Never interrupt me. I'm not a fan of stage crasher." The girl reached behind her and grabbed her guitar, swinging it around front.

What's with that cocky attitude? Talon didn't know what kind of powers this new metahuman had but she was done putting up with that high and mighty attitude. "How's this for an interruption?" She let out another supersonic burst, just a short one, but the girl jumped up as if gravity meant nothing to her and did a flip to land behind Talon.

"Listen up Feathers, I'm looking for someone and you're going to help me find him." She glared at Talon. The way she held the guitar pick next to the strings, with a firm hand, she was serious. No more fooling around. But what could she do with a stupid instrument?

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I show you what my powers can do." Ember plucked the first string. It rang lightly in the tunnel but the sound of a train approaching in the distance quickly swallowed it up. Talon wasn't sure whether to be confused or unimpressed.

"Nothing happened."

"Relax girl, You gotta set up the base before you can hit the melody!" She pulled her hand across the other three strings. A screech filled the passage and a blast of supersonic sound waved slammed into Talon. It sounded just like her own screeches but rather than just being loud, it hit her like a ton of bricks, throwing her backwords onto the tracks. CHOOOOOOO The train's horn blew, coming straight at Talon.

Talon closed her eyes and braced for the impact she couldn't avoid, but it never came.

After a few seconds the sound of the train died away. Talon opened her eyes. The tunnel was completely empty except for her and the girl. Talon was shaking. That train, it sounded so real… she would have died…

"With a strum of my guitar I can create any sound I want. But trust me when I say that's not all I can do, and unless you want to find out what else, you'll come with me, NOW."

Talon didn't waste a second getting to her feet and following the girl down the tunnel.

"You said you have a crew you roll with?"

"Yeah?"

Ember's eyes were half closed with a dark smile, "Let's find them. I think it's about time I had a full band. I'll find my guy, and we'll have some fun along the way."

A/N: Hey guys! All my fics have been a little neglected lately due to a comic I was working on. I'm trying to get some chapters done. Actually saw a review from someone today on this story which motivated me to finish this chapter. Thanks for that review!

This story is going to be fun. There will be lots of twists in the DP inspiration for this. Not as much in the SS side. I've pretty much got the plot line figured out which is good for you guys because that means it will EVENTUALLY be finished. I say eventually because even if I know i'll finish, I don't know when it will be and it probably won't be soon.

Well anyway I love your guys reviews! Thank you so much!