A/N: Hi everyone, this is later than I expected to post, but Happy Valentine's Day. I hope you all had a great one. Please enjoy this chapter.
"We just can't go in there, Thalen. She's in school," Abigail said trying to grab the other teen.
"Pfft, I didn't go to school and look how smart I am," Thalen boasted putting a hand to his chest. Alex rolled his eyes, but didn't comment.
"Might as well go into the school," Catalina said dropping her altitude. "They already set an alarm. I'll find her less than a minute. And she can go back to her school work."
"Ha. That's a joke. I bet I can find her faster," Thalen said arrogantly.
Catalina grinned, "Let's race than. Whoever can find Sylvia first gets to pick the movie we watch tonight. Okay? Okay. Ready, Set, Go!" The woman sped toward the school. Thalen quickly overtook the woman as he jetted into the school. Catalina looked over her shoulder to see Abigail and Alex maintaining their position. She shrugged figuring that the race was between Thalen and herself.
She smirked to herself; she could already feel the ecto-signature of the halfa in question. She sped toward the source turning intangible to fly into the room.
DP~DP~DP~
Sylvia stared wide-eyed as the woman jetted into the room, her white boots skidding across the ground. Sylvia lowered herself lower to the ground. For all she knew this ghost was friends with the evil ghost that was attacking nearby cities. The ghost's solid red eyes glossed over the room as if she was looking for something. Sylvia's dark teal eyes met red before the ghost smiled showing off a pair of fangs.
The teen shrunk back; the ghost had to be a vampire, maybe she drank blood. White boots clinked against the tile of the room as the ghost neared Sylvia's hiding spot. The few students in the class took this time to run from the classroom leaving Sylvia with the ghost alone. "Oh good, I thought they would never leave," the ghost woman said with a chuckle. "Hi there, don't worry I'm not here to hurt you," the woman said holding out her hands in a calming manner.
Sylvia backed away slowly from the advancing ghost. It had to be a trick; the ghost had to be drawing her into a false sense of security before attacking. "I let you win on purpose," a male voice said before another ghost entered the room. Sylvia looked from one to the other coming up with various scenarios on how this could come out and none of them were good. "Look at that she's scared of you," the male ghost mocked the female ghost.
The woman rolled her red eyes. "Sylvia, ignore him. Here let me show you that we mean no harm," the woman said. A pair of white rings appeared around her waist before traveling up the length of her body. A very human looking woman stood in the ghost's place. "My name's Catalina and I'm a halfa just like you." Catalina lowered herself to the ground so she was eye to eye with the teen. "I've been waiting for a long time to meet you."
"Why me?" Sylvia asked finally finding her voice.
"Because she's a crazy stalker," the male ghost said from behind the woman.
"No," the woman said with a chuckle, "that's Vlad." She shook her head as if she got off topic, "That's Thalen by the way. He's one of the other halfas that I've gathered together. We're planning on beating Dan."
"Dan?" Sylvia asked.
"That's what Vlad and I call the ghost that has been on the news lately," Catalina explained, "Well, actually Vlad calls him Dan. I prefer to call him Danny. But that's not important. We can talk more after school lets out. We'll be at the football field. I really hope to see you there. That's a nice drawing by the way." Woman said this while pointing to Sylvia's forgotten sketchbook. "May I look at it?"
Sylvia debated whether showing the woman the sketchbook was a good idea. She eventually decided that the woman was kind enough to compliment her on it, so she scooted over to the older halfa. Catalina smiled as she picked up the sketchbook and flipped through the pages. "Poindexter, Skulker, Dan, and even Plasmius." The woman paused at the last two ghost's pictures. "You're an amazing artist. All I can draw is stick figures," the woman chuckled to herself while still focused on the drawings. "Here you go. I forgot that I was supposed to be going now."
"You're just getting old, Cat," the teen said.
"Yup, there's no denying that. And please don't call me Cat," Catalina said with a smile. The woman waved to Sylvia before changing back into her ghost form and flying through the ceiling with the other ghost in tow.
Sylvia looked up at where the pair disappeared and wondered if she should meet with them later.
DP~DP~DP
The young artist walked quickly out of the school. She shifted her backpack once before changing directions to the football field. She thought through every scenario and decided that she would talk with the older halfa. Sylvia knew that if she had wanted to the older halfa could have taken her out, but for whatever reason, she didn't. Sylvia neared the football field faster than she intended.
She looked up at the bleachers and easily spotted the woman from before. Surrounding the woman were three teens. There was a girl with dark purple hair tied back into a ponytail talking with a teenage boy with a black buzz cut. The last of the teens was another teen with black spiky hair. "Hey, I knew you would show up," Catalina's voice said excitedly as she bounded down the bleachers.
"I can't go with you," Sylvia answered after the older woman explained herself. "My family will notice that I'm missing and then they would send out a search party and then…"
"Oh great, a worry wart," the teen with the black buzzcut hair said.
"Thalen, be nice," the teen girl said.
"It's okay if you don't want to come and stay with us. You live close enough to our base that you could probably could come after school. It would be just like a club and your parents won't suspect a thing. The least I can do is help you with your abilities," Catalina said rather quickly.
Sylvia thought over this. If she only went after school, she could learn a lot from the older halfa. She also would have others like her that she could talk to. Of course the woman could be lying and this is all a trap. She looked at the teenage boy with the black spikey hair and blushed at his gaze. "Sure, I can come over for an hour or two."
Catalina cheered before pulling the teen into a quick hug. Sylvia flinched at the spontaneous display of affection. "Come on time's a wasting. Vlad will be so glad to see that we are all together."
DP~DP~DP
Catalina skipped into the living room that Vlad had set up weeks ago. She could hear the four teens filing into room. Vlad looked up briefly from his book at the two new additions to the team. "So he's you're sugar daddy?" the teen with the black buzz cut said.
Vlad narrowed his dark blue eyes, "Catalina and my relationship is purely platonic."
"Aww, he doesn't like you, Cat," the teen continued before Abigail gave him a glare.
"That's Thalen," Catalina explained and Vlad nodded. He had heard the entire story from Catalina. "And this is Sylvia. She won't be staying here because she lives close enough. And don't worry, I'm going to escort her back before it gets too late."
Vlad nodded his understanding. "I guess I should say a few words before this operation become too serious."
"Sure, take the floor, Vlad," Catalina said before sitting down on the end table next to Vlad.
Vlad looked over once at the woman knowing that an argument was sure to follow his statement. "If you choose to follow Catalina, you will more than likely die." Vlad could feel the woman's glare more than see it. The teens looked a little unsure of what to do. "You have two choices. One, you follow through with Catalina and you'll train and eventually will fight Dan. Two, you return to your homes and forget that you ever met us."
"Or three, you can remain here and I'll still train you, but you won't have to fight Dan. Whether or not you join me, I'm not going to be idle anymore," Catalina said interrupting Vlad.
Vlad wanted to point out that the tunnel system was owned by him, but decided against it. If any of these teens were captured by Dan, they could easily reveal their location. "You don't have to answer today, but I expect one soon." With that Vlad stood up and left the room.