A/N: Thank you ShadowKissedVictoria for reviewing. Virtual caramel shortbread on the way to you. Oh and the changes in P. are meant to have lines between them, but they don't always come out.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; all characters belong to L.j Smith or Annie Dalton. I do not own any caramel shortbread either, not even the virtual kind, as I gave it to ShadowKissedVictoria.

Not the Wildpower

I watched as the faces of many people flitted past me. I wasn't really paying attention, even though it was 'big day'. Today was the day I would meet the wild powers. I'd been deemed that important. Of course I'd heard about them. An awful lot about them. But I'd never met them. I 'd not had the chance to use empathy and my err… other powers upon them.

I picked up from the scattering of thoughts and emotions around me, that I'd be meeting more than these 'wild powers,' many other 'soulmated' couples would be there. The soulmate principal was intriguing to me. We had something similar back home, only in larger groups (though the romantic parts were only in couples…normally).

Sighing mentally, I pulled my mind back into my mind. I was worried I hadn't heard from the rest of my group and a worried and confused empathy wasn't good. I'd had enough of skimming the surface thoughts that I could read from those around me; mind reading isn't always pleasant.

Bored, I dug into the bag at my side. It was strange I didn't get any odd looks as the bag was charmed from view. My hands found the cover of a book. I opened it and flicked through. Until I was needed again, my brain struggled to understand the way the author saw the world. I flipped to the cover. It was written by 'N.A.T.S'. No wonder it was odd. She had a twisted way of thinking. I sobered at thought of what her last idea had done to us. Once more I immersed myself into a detailed explanation of how different universes were put together.

***==== What could have been minutes or hours later, depending on 'N.A.T.S''s view of time ====***

A polite cough raised me from my exploring the genetic make-up of porpoises. I raised my head from the certainly odd book. Someone I didn't recognize was standing in front of me.

"They're ready for you now, Sir." He said gesturing to a door.

As I placed my hand on the doorknob, I couldn't help but wince. Now would be the time when many of my secrets would be spilled. As I pushed, I thought of ways I could cover my tracks. I shook the thoughts away. I wasn't like Mel. I couldn't lie, and so I couldn't hide behind them.

The door opened onto a well-lit room. Lots of people sat and stood around its edges.

I saw what was clearly intended to be my place, an armchair in the midst of the crowd of new faces.

I walked purposely to my place and sat in it. Then I looked around the sea of faces surrounding me. I could clearly tell which were the "soulmated' couples I'd heard about. I also had my suspicions about who the 'Wildpowers' were too. I used my common protocol of not speaking until someone spoke to me.

A young woman of around seventeen spoke first. It was then that I noticed almost everyone in the room looked to be in their late teens. The girl had white blond hair, cropped close to her skull. Her features were doll like and her eyes a startling shade of violet. She was sitting closer than a friend would to one of the guys in the room.

"Hi, I'm Gillian and these," she said gesturing around her, "are some of circle Daybreaks newest members.

"Almost all of us have soulmates." Someone else started. "We're a variety of different species, and, of course, three of the Wildpowers are in here."

" Whoa, Whoa, slow. Introductions first. Remember your first times meeting everybody." A girl with features close to Gillian's glared at people into room, then her face softened and she turned to me. She had an impish face and long blond hair. "I'm Iliana, a witch and a Wildpower." I saw kindness in her eyes.

"Keller," said the girl next her, who had long black hair and dazzling green eyes. "I'm a sort of sister to Iliana, and a shapeshifter." The introductions carried on round the room.

"Galen, Keller's soulmate, I'm another shapeshifter." A guy next to Keller called out.

"Delos, Vampire, Wildpower, Maggie's soulmate." Someone ticked off on his fingers.

"Maggie, I'm human… for now." The girl next to Delos said with a wink at the end.

"Jez, I'm half human, half vampire, a Wildpower." A girl with flaming red hair said.

"Morgead, Vampire, Jez's soulmate." This guy had a chill in his voice that I didn't like.

"You've already met Thierry and I," said Hannah from the back. I hadn't noticed them. " But for the record, old soul and made vampire. And is anyone else getting that sense of de-ja-vous?" There were several yeses to that.

" Rashel, human but a vampire hunter." A girl that could have been Keller's twin restarted.

"Quinn, made vampire and Rashel's soulmate." I swear if the room had been much darker, I wouldn't be able to see him from all the dark vamp vibes radiating off him.

" David, human, soulmate to Gillian, who you've already met. She's a witch, by the way." Sigh. So many new people.

" Thea, witch, I have a cousin, Blaise, but she can't be here tonight. Soulmated to Eric"

" Eric, I'm human, 'just barely,'" he said, glancing at Quinn when he tagged the last part on.

"Ash, vampire that is not sleeping through the meeting this time, soulmate: Mary-Lynette, who isn't here." A blond boy whom I'd expected to be a shapeshifter. "Also not here, my three sisters and various appendixes. A group has gone on a mission."

"James, vampire, distantly related to almost everyone in this room, my soulmate's Poppy."

"Last but not least, MOI! Poppy, I was human changed into a vampire by Jamie. I have a brother, a male witch" This chimed from the mouth of what, at first, I'd thought was stray energy.

"So… What about you…" Iliana began to dither. " We thought that you may be, it might be possible, you know, that there's only three of us… Are you the fourth Wildpower?"

"Not possible." It was hard not to laugh at them. " I'm not seventeen. I'm from another world, where I played a role similar to that of a Wildpower. And the last one your looking for is 'One from the twilight, to be with the dark.' I don't mix well with darkness. We're not… compatible." Huh. More shocked/interested faces. Life can be so repetitive.

"So… we've got to keep searching?" Keller asked.

"For now, yes," I nodded. " But at this very time, I'm sure there are many questions you wish to ask me, so I'll take the time to tell you about myself. It will be quite difficult for me to do; I can't lie but if I tell you too much, there is a chance that a 'stray' lightning bolt will 'accidentally' hit me. So, here goes nothing.

My name is Rueben Bird. I have no definite age, as I never incarnated into a human body; I am of a spirit world. I belong to two organizations similar to this one. Back home are the light agencies, and I am a trainee for them. I also belong to 'N.A.T.S. 's army, a more elite thing." There was a rumble of thunder that shook the house. "Enough on that before someone blasts me to shreds.

Back home is something similar to the soulmate principal. Only it's more to do with friendship and it's in larger groups. I'm part of such a group. We do have it purely for couples too, and it is plausibly possible to belong to more than one group, but that rarely happens.

I'm part of a group of four, two guys, two girls. We were on a rescue mission before I got here: our leader had been 'captured' and wouldn't have lasted much longer without our help. She plays spy in an illegal research facility. I been in there, and it is not a pretty sight. We freed all the prisoners, got them through portals, but before we could go, the last portal turned scatter. We were split up and dumped in a random universes.

Good news is I can still use all my powers. I'm empathic, can turn invisible, change peoples' emotions, teletransport and skim surface thoughts, among… other things. This does have downsides, for example, I'm influenced by the emotions in a room,I pick them up and amplify them. It has a spiraling effects. I know I need to find the others and get home, but in reality, it won't be that easy. Not only are my friends looking for me, but also there are many enemies I've made over the years. I can't let you get mixed up in this without some serious oathmaking. Otherwise if you attack them, or I attack your enemies, the veils between our worlds will fall, and hell will, quite literally, break out."

A/N: Please, Please, Please review! Give me ideas for this story. Should Rueben's friends find him? What of his enemies? Who should turn up? Thanks for reading!