Chapter 8: A Reunion

Arc 1: Out of Shadows

*Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or anything Marvel-related, all I own are my OCs.

November 2009 - New York City

Mikayla Beaumont lay in her hospital bed in her gown as the television in the room was on causing mere background noise for her. She wasn't really watching it but rather had a book in her face. She was trying to at least do something productive rather than simply just watch television and do nothing.

To put it lightly, Mikayla hated hospitals. She hated the smell, the sound, the atmosphere, the look. Everything about a hospital, she hated. The reason for her hatred stemmed from the day that she lost her mother in a hospital when her sister was born at the sacrifice of her mother's life. That's why her father named Mireya it meant "miracle" in Spanish. That's what he believed she was, the miracle child that survived despite the odds she was given.

Mikayla wasn't super close to her family. Her lifestyle choices were the factors that unfortunately caused the rift in her family. Growing up, she excelled in school and was the head of the cheerleading squad. She was Student Body President for her junior and senior years of high school. She was your stereotypical model student. And it helped her earn a scholarship to Princeton University. She took the scholarship but ultimately dropped out after her first year and decided to move back to New York to become an actress but ultimately ended up becoming a model and a waitress at nightclubs on the side instead of living her daddy's dream and becoming a doctor or a lawyer.

Her dad didn't agree with her decisions stating that they were unruly and unjustified. He believed that she was throwing away her future. He believed that her actions were harming her mother's legacy.

On the contrary, her sister, Mireya, didn't share this same mentality. Mireya did everything by the book and lived her life that way. It seemed like her ultimate goal in life was simply to please her father and fulfill his wishes of a daughter with what he claimed was a stable career as a doctor or lawyer.

When her relationship with her father really became strained, that's when she met Vanessa. Vanessa changed her life for the better and gave her a true fighting chance in the model world, signing her at such a young age and giving her the chance she needed.

Her thoughts would be cut off as she heard the click coming from the door handle making her look up. A smile crept its way onto her face as she saw a familiar face walk through the door. It was Vanessa, holding a duffle bag, which earned a bit of confusion from Mikayla's account but she simply ignored it and focused on her friend/ mentor. Vanessa dropped the bag off at the door and walked toward Mikayla with her arms out, to give her a hug. The two ladies had huge smiles on their faces as they both hugged each other.

"I heard about what happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can't speak for my apartment though. I was told earlier the entire building was burned down so now I have to find another place. I'm just ready to get out of here so I can start looking."

"Well, I can help with that. My place is pretty big, you can stay with me until you find a place." The smile that was already on Mikayla's face seemingly widen.

"Yes, I would like that. But what about Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome."

Vanessa chuckled hearing the way that the young girl referred to her nephew.

"Between me and you, I heard he's been looking at a studio apartment down in Manhattan. He thinks I didn't hear him but I did."

"How does that make you feel?" Mikayla asked making Vanessa look down at the ground before answering.

"I'll miss him, for sure, I always knew it was temporary but I thought I had just a little bit more time with him. He reminds me so much of-" Vanessa was about to say but began to get choked up as she looked down at the floor. Mikayla placed a hand on Vanessa's shoulder making her look up to look at her, offering a friendly, reassuring smile.

"It's so long since I lost him, yet it feels like yesterday. Cedric was only 8 when Jason died. Jason was a big influence on him. When Jason's father died, a part of me died. I was depressed for a long time but seeing the smile on that boy's face made me continue to keep going. When I see Cedric's smile, I see Jason in my head and I'm not ready to let go of that image in my head." There was some silence in the room after Vanessa's statement.

"Well, maybe you don't have to. If he does move out, you guys will at least be in the same city so one taxi fare and you'll be able to see him. Plus if I know Cedric like I think I do, he won't be able to stay away from your cooking. I would kill for a plate right now."

Vanessa chuckled hearing Mikayla's statement about her food. Mikayla was a soft soul that made her smile at times of peril much like Cedric did.

"Well, what if I told you that you could join me for dinner tonight?"

"Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight."

"Oh thank god, I'm being discharged. I hate these places." Mikayla said as she smiled looking at Vanessa.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna step out. I brought you a change of clothes." Vanessa said as she sat the duffle bag on Mikayla's bed and stood up looking at her with a smile before she stepped out of the room leaving her there alone.

Cedric sat on the passenger side of the SUV as Paul sat on the driver's side driving the vehicle through New York. Cedric was looking at the file that Paul had on the "Enhanced" individual known as Sebastian Del Sol. The name had been familiar as Kala had done some articles on him and his supposed abilities. To put it lightly he was pyrokinetic. He had the ability to generate and manipulate fire. His ability had the potential to be dangerous to any and everyone that he targets.

He was a threat to innocent people in this city. Hell, he showed it when he hurt Mikayla when he burned down her apartment building. His powers weren't the only thing that made him harmful, his connection to the Del Sol Crime Family made him a threat to some of the organized crime families in the city. And just about everybody knows that Crime Families don't like to be challenged and damn sure don't like sharing their domain.

"You've been quiet ever since we left the scene. You alright?" Paul asked, breaking the silence in the SUV and made Cedric take a deep breath before he started to speak.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking."

"About?"

"A lot."

"Like what?"

"Trust me you wouldn't want to know."

Paul chuckled and took a quick glance at Cedric before he said, "Come on you can tell me,"

Cedric rolled his eyes and took another deep breath before he revealed one of the many thoughts on his brain at the moment.

"You ever feel like you're just destined to be in the friend zone forever?" Cedric asked he looked down picking at his nails.

"Yeah, I've had the feeling once."

"Her name is Kalani and we've been friends since we were young kids and for as long as I can remember, I've had a crush on her but I was too damn afraid to say anything. And I tried pushing her away but it didn't work. I tried forgetting about her and once again it didn't work. But then I met, Mikayla and Nancy."

"Alright, there playboy," Paul joked making Cedric chuckle as he shook his head.

"Nancy and I had a few dates and I thought things were going well,"

"But?"

"She ghosted me, almost as if she had completely disappeared off the face of the earth. I went to her apartment to see if she was there and to see if I could possibly talk to her but she wasn't there and everyone said they don't remember a Nancy Rushman ever living there," Paul frowned as he heard the name that Cedric spoke, he knew the true person it belonged to and now he had to have a word with her.

"Mikayla is the only girl who even compares to Kala but at the end of the day she's not Kala."

Paul took a deep breath before he spoke, "Okay, I know you didn't ask for any advice but here's just a little bit of advice on how you should approach this. You're in love with Kala, there is no doubt about it, but she's your best friend and a failed relationship would ruin that so try it with Mikayla, she's the safe option man."

Cedric took a deep breath and turned his head to gaze out of the window. Maybe, Paul was right. Mikayla was something new, someone, that he actually knew liked him. She was the safe option but damn she wasn't Kala.

It was a few hours later and the super-powered human-alien hybrid walked into the kitchen to grab himself a bottle of water. He had just gotten out of the shower and was getting ready for his night out with Kala and thus was the reason that he stood along in an olive green v-neck with a pair of black jeans and black timberland boots. He didn't recognize that Mikayla, his mother and his aunt were all sitting on the couch talking to each other laughing and giggling along.

He screwed the top off his water and took a sip as Mikayla stood up walked over to him with a smile on her face.

"You okay? I know you're probably tired of that question given everything that's happened to you in the past 24 hours but I would like to know" he asked Mikayla making her turn her head to look at him. He watched her eyes quickly go from his dark brown orbs to get a quick glance at his arms. She tried to hide and play it off but you can't hide from a being with super powers.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just wishing I had my apartment back."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I'm sure you'll find another place soon. Where are you staying tonight?"

"I'm staying here. I talked to your aunt about it and she's fine with it."

"Okay, well if you need anything I'm here for you," He said offering a reassuring smile, she nodded and placed a hand on his chest before walking over grabbing a wine bottle off the counter and make her way back to the couch with a grin.

Mikayla knew that she was in his mind and she loved the fact that she was in his head. Cedric shook his head looking at her as he bit his lip while his mother had gotten up and walked into the kitchen this time.

"You better be careful with that one," Kimberly said, putting a hand on his shoulder making him chuckle as he looked down.

"Guess who I ran into yesterday?"

"Who?"

"Kalani Rose."

"She's here? In New York?"

"Yeah, she is. She's following The Blur. It makes me think about telling her about who I am," he said as he folded his arms watching as his mother shook her head.

"It's your secret so I can't really make any decisions on it for you but I wouldn't do it if I were you only for the simple fact that if she knows, she can become a target and anyone that wants to hurt you can get to her. I know how you feel about her and I know you wouldn't want her to get hurt, so just think about that before you tell her," His mother said as she leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Make sure she gets invited to Thanksgiving, I want to see her before I leave on Friday," Kimberly said as she walked back to her seat leaving him standing there in the kitchen to think about his best friend and his secret.

Cedric and Kala were both laughing as they both were drinking at the bar known as Luke's. Apparently, it was ranked as one of the best bars in the city and a great place for the two best friends to rekindle. Cedric missed this the most. He missed being able to go out and have fun with his best friend. Her smile, her laugh, the way she looked at him. Those butterflies he got in his stomach he got whenever she was around him. Those were just a few of the many reasons why some women were never able to compare.

"I'm happy to see you again," Cedric said with a smile as he took a swig of his beer.

"Likewise, I've missed this. I realize I didn't get to say goodbye to you after graduation. You left, traveled the world for a little bit, and before I knew it you were off to MIT. Geoff left and went to Cornell and I stayed home, got my degree from UChi, and started my career. I have to say I am happy that we're all in one big city again," She said with a smile as she placed her hand on top of Cedric's making his smile widen.

"Yeah after April passed I had to get away," He said as his smile faded away. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry about that, I know she was your friend and I know you loved her," She spoke as he looked down at their entwined hands.

"Yeah, I did. Sometimes I wonder how life would've been if she never died," he said as he watched Kala start to look down, he was inadvertently ruining the mood, "But if she was here right now, she would be telling me to enjoy the moment and enjoy the time with my best friend."

He watched as his statement had made Kala smile. In a way this was his chance to come clean and tell her who he is.

"Kala, I have something I need to-"

She was looking at him as he spoke fully engaged with his statement but a notification coming across her phone screen made her turn her head and look at her phone. She lifted her hand from his and grabbed ahold of her phone.

"Shit, it's my boyfriend, Joey, he wants me to come home. I'm sorry."

"No, you're fine. Go home to your boyfriend. Speaking of which we'll have to talk about that, I want details. And I got this round." Cedric said as Kala smiled giving him one last hug before walking out of the bar completely. His eyes followed watching as she walked away, leaving him with a wide grin on his face.

"Excuse me," Cedric said as he got the bartender's attention making him walk over to him, "Check please," he said politely as the bartender walked away from him to go get the check. Cedric reached down into his pocket to grab a hold of his wallet.

The bartender brought out the check allowing Cedric to reach down into his wallet and put down 4 $20s, "Keep the change man".

The bartender simply nodded and walked away with the money and check in hand.

In the distance, Cedric heard the sound of gunshots from a far distance making him frown. It was close enough for people in the bar to be able to hear it but with his abilities, he was able to hear it.

Cedric stood up and walked out of the bar with that same frown. He quickly turned and walked down an alleyway, looking around making sure it was empty before he bolted up in the sky, changing into his suit as he flew off.

Adam Pierce sat inside of a black armored truck with a group of 5 men. They all looked the same. Tall, athletically built, short black hair tanned skin with dark brown eyes. They all wore black tactical boots, cargo pants and black long sleeve shirts with kevlar vest and tactical helmets. Each one had a special carbine rifle equipped with an extended clip, scope, and flashlight, courtesy of the manufacturer, Miles Maverick. Pearce sat on the front seat cleaning his own Special Carbine. On his wrist, he had a black wristband with a monitor on the side of it. It was the controller mentioned by Miles earlier. Miles believed that the clones could be the future of American warfare. He believed that he could create an army and sell that army to the American government for millions and millions of dollars.

Adam waited for the right moment. Currently, The Hounds were at war with a gang with a gang lead by Sebastian Del Sol.

"Now." Adam said as he pressed something on his wrist making the clones hop out of the truck and ran towards the battle with their guns held up. Adam smirked as he got out of the truck and held his gun up getting in position to fight.

Adam and his clones started to shoot at their targets taking out as many as they could. Adam looked around and saw another truck posing as a Taco Truck. He recognized it as the trucks that The Hounds would use to use to run their shipments out whether it be counterfeit cash, drugs or whatever. Adam ran to the truck while his men continued to shoot at the others left standing. Adam shot the window before reaching in to open the door. He looked in the back of the truck and smiled as he saw a shipment of weapons. Weapons that were probably worth around 1.2 million. If he brought this to Miles, he might get a good fraction of it.

He lost his smile once he heard the gunfire cease. He heard the sound of someone screaming and frowned as he heard it cease quickly. He turned his head and looked on with a frown as he saw a tall figure with a blue cape standing on the side of the truck with a his head held down. The figure slowly raised his head showing his glowing blue eyes.

"Shit. The Black-and-Blue Blur." Adam said as he lifted his gun and started to shoot at The Blur. The Blur then floated up into the air making Adam breathe frantically as he thought The Blur had disappeared. He exited the car and ran away from the van but The Blur landed in front of him and pushed him back-first into the van. Adam looked at The Blur in fear as he stared into The Blur's glowing blue eyes.

"I got you now," The Blur spoke before he turned his head to see Sebastian Del Sol standing holding his left arm. The bullet had apparently went through his arm but his other arm still worked and so did his abilities. Sebastian raised his arm and let out a blast of intense fire. The Blur was able to put a hand out blocking it away from himself but burned some of the clothes on his body in the process.

The Blur dropped Adam and bolted towards Sebastian hitting him with his shoulder and sending him flying back-first into the wall. Sebastian groaned in pain as The Blur stood tall over him. The Blur was about to put his hands on Sebastian but heard screams making him frown as he turned his head to see Adam lying on the ground rolling in pain as his body was engulfed in flames. It must have happened when Sebastian attacked The Blur with his powers.

Cedric didn't stop to think about Adam when he was blocking the flames and the pain that Adam was experiencing was because of it.

"Shit." The Blur muttered as he ran towards Adam and tried to put out the fires by running around in a cyclone taking the oxygen out of the fire. He looked up to see Sebastian Del Sol running away holding his arm as the sound of siren could be heard coming closer.

"Dammit," The Blur cursed before he bolted up into the air leaving Adam laying there in pain.

Paul Hondo stood on the rooftop of a building looking out among the city. He was waiting for his contact to meet him. Who was his contact? Well to be put it plainly she went by several names, several aliases so no one really knew the real woman. Even if you knew her name, there still was a chance that you didn't know the woman and she liked to keep it that way to keep herself safe.

"This better be something good and not just a waste of my time," A female voice said making Paul let out a deep breath as he turned around to see the red-headed vixen known as "Nancy Rushman" or at least Cedric knew her by that name.

"You got too close," Paul said as he looked her in the eyes with a frown.

"Director Fury already gave me this speech, I don't need another one."

"I know. I was told you were reassigned. But he's relentless, he's still searching for you. In a way, I think you left an impression on him. You're still on his mind. And he's not gonna forget you which might end up hurting him later on down the line. I just want to make sure you're prepared for that later on down the line," He said as she folded her arms looking at him as scowl snaked its way on her face.

"I appreciate the concern but I'm not worried about him," She said as he shook his head and let out a sigh as he walked towards her.

"You should be, Natasha, he's a god among men," Paul said as he walked away leaving Nat standing there on the roof alone.

A/N: So I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and I know it's been a while since I last updated this story and I'm sorry for that I've been a bit busy with other things in my life so I didn't really have time to be able to write this story but I was able to get this chapter out and hopefully the next one won't take so long to get out. The next chapter will be Chapter 9: Business As Usual.

Let me know what you thought with a review and with that being said I'll see you when I see you.

Later Guys and Gals!