-Secret Warriors HQ, A Few Hours Later-

"How the hell did she get you in the first place?" Gwen asked as soon as she had entered into the HQ's medical wing. Gwen had rushed from the band practice in her garage to their headquarters medical wing upon receiving a text from Dante.

"I didn't actually see Zayla, or Mimi." Daisy said as she adjusted the ice pack on her neck meant to numb the pain from the injection site, courtesy of the syringe that had been used to render her unconscious. "I noticed a crate was open, went to look inside of it, felt a sharp pain in my neck followed by hands clamping over my mouth, and then nothing." Daisy said in an ashamed tone as she couldn't help but sulk at how easily she had been subdued and had her powers temporarily stolen. True she had them back now, but she was mentally kicking herself do to how badly her teammates had been injured due to her being rendered useless during the fight.

"Don't blame yourself Daisy." Gwen said as she placed a comforting hand upon her leaders shoulder. "Zayla was tricky the first time we met her, and she seemed to be even trickier now–"

"And a lot more deadly." Dante said as he entered the room and decided to finish Gwen's sentence. "Big leap from a petty thief to an attempted murderer. Can't help but wonder how she and Mimi both escalated so quickly to lethal force." Dante said angrily as his right hand lit with fire.

"Revenge can turn even a normal person from civilized to savage within the blink of an eye." Gwen said wisely, and it was clear to Daisy and Dante that she was talking about herself after Kevin had been murdered by Sheath, and how she had almost lost a lot more due to her lust for revenge.

"I agree with you to an extent Gwen, but I feel as though there are still a few pieces missing to this puzzle–"

"What's missing Dante?" Gwen began in a serious tone. "We stopped both of them, locked them up, and they wanted revenge for us doing so. As much as I hate to say this, it's pretty black and white." Gwen concluded in a firm tone, which earned a sigh from Dante.

"I hope your right Gwen." Dante began in a serious tone that was matched by the serious expression on his face. But suddenly it turned to fear. "But I still have an inkling of doubt that I cant shake. No matter how many questions are answered by seemingly obvious answers, more questions take their place." Dante said as he turned around and left to go check on Kamala, who was recovering a few doors down.

"I hate to admit it." Daisy began a soon as Dante was out of ear-shot. "But I'm in slight agreement with Dante. I've read the police and psyche reports on both Zayla and Mimi well before we encountered them today. It could be argued that both had a massive inferiority complex, but neither showed murderous tendencies–"

"Sorry to interrupt, but Zayla stole five of our powers, mine included, last time we faced her, and she threatened to possibly trap us in a webbed prison, before she decided to try and roast us alive." Gwen countered Daisy's argument, which earned a sigh from Daisy.

"Maybe your right Gwen." Daisy admitted after a few moments of silent contemplation. "Let's change the subject: I'm still in shock at what Vulpine did." Daisy admitted bluntly.

"You and me both. He broke her nose and several bones in her face–"

"I'm not talking about just that." Daisy interrupted. "He saved us, we're technically indebted to him–"

"And I don't like that one bit." Gwen said as she crossed her arms with a slight look of annoyance on her face.

"Agreed. I still have deep doubts and serious suspicions about who he is and where he came from. But he did save not just my life, but everyone else who was present on that mission." Daisy said in a grateful, yet bitter tone.

"What should we do?" Gwen asked after a moment of silent contemplation.

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." Daisy said as she couldn't think of any better words to describe their situation.

"Hopefully he doesn't get close enough to stab us in the back..." Gwen hissed angrily.

'Why did I feel such rage?' Vulpine thought to himself as he sat on a wooden chair outside of Vixen's room. He was currently waiting for her to wake up, but it had been hours since the battle and she had still not stirred, and for some unknown reason he was beginning to worry about her health. 'She's the enemy, and if she discovered who I truly am, and what I've done she would kill me in an instant.' he kept thinking to himself as he put his hands on his face and tried to silence his feelings.

"How is she?" a voice called out to Vulpine, and upon raising his head he saw an unarmored Riri standing a few feet away from him, and despite having surgical bandage wrapped around her upper torso and chest, she still had a look of deep concern upon her face.

"She still hasn't woken up." Vulpine said sadly. "That bitch used Vixen's own aura magic against her, and trust me, that shit hurts." Vulpine hissed angrily as he pounded a fist into the wall beside him.

"I'll bluntly ask this question: will she be ok?" Riri asked in a deeply concerned tone.

"Possibly... screw it, I'm not taking any chances." Vulpine hissed as he stood up from his chair and pressed the button to open Vixen's closed bedroom door. Upon entering the room he couldn't help but feel sadness tickling his hear strings as he looked at her unconscious form laying on top of her bed covers. Standing to her left, Vulpine raised both hands towards her, opened his palms and began to chant in a language that was unknown to Riri.

"What are you doing?" Riri asked in a slightly suspicious tone as Vulpine's chanting grew more intense.

"Healing ritual." Vulpine answered quickly between chants, which earned a head nod from Riri as Vulpine continued to chant firmly and quickly. This continued for seemingly a long time, but in reality it was only for several minutes as Vulpine suddenly stopped chanting and closed his palms, dropping his hands to his side. Roughly a minute or two later, Vixen groaned and began to stir.

"It seems to have worked." Riri said in a surprised tone.

"Only partially." Vulpine said as Vixen kept stirring slightly. "It's takes a lot more people to be fully effective. But as you said, it seems to have worked. I did partially heal her aura, and I tried to restore as much of her strength and stamina as possible. I'd still recommend she be limited to bed rest and light activities for a day or two–"

"What the hell hit me?" Vixen said with a slight groan as she opened her yellow eyes and sat up slowly on her bed.

"Welcome back." Vulpine said as he couldn't help but feel a feeling of accomplishment for healing her, be it slightly. Vixen swept her legs around and shakily got to her feet. "Easy Vixen, you just had your own aura magic used against you. While I managed to partially heal your aura and restore your strength and stamina, it's still going to be a few days till your back to your chipper self." Vulpine said in a concerned and caring tone that was not fake at all.

"Riri, can you give us some time alone?" Vixen asked after thinking about what Vulpine had just told her. In response Riri proceeded to leave the room, closing the door behind her.

"My father told me our people where strong magic users, now I know how it feels to have your own aura used against you." Vixen said in a low tone.

"Consider yourself lucky she didn't try and steal it, that could have killed you if she tried to and was successful." Vulpine said grimly.

"Thankfully she didn't know how." Vixen said with a small smile upon her face despite her weakened state.

"Luckily indeed." Vulpine said with a small smile of his own, which made Vixen's smile blighter.

"I want to thank you for saving not only my life, but also the lives of my friends." Vixen said after a few seconds of silence between them.

"No thanks is–" Vulpine was cut off by Vixen planting a kiss upon his lips...

To Be Continued...