“Eeeek!” Alicia, Caitlin and Lindsey screamed. Chase jumped up to her feet, carving knife in hand. She was about to throw it, when the laughing figure stopped its charge and took off its mask.

The face behind the mask came bearing black lipstick and copious eyeshadow. It was Maxine. “Hahaha, oh man,” she laughed. “You should have seen the looks on your faces. God, that was good. I wish I could have taken a picture. What a bunch of pussies.”

Lindsey pretended to flinch. “Oh god, that makeup! Put the mask back on! It's less scary!”

Maxine rolled her eyes. “Har har.”

Chase looked horrified. “M-Max, that not good!” She dropped the knife and put her hands on Maxine's shoulders, eyes wide with fright. “Was throw knife through Max heart! Max could be dead now! Why put on mask, act as if want to kill cheer?”

“Jeez, lighten up. It was just a joke,” Maxine replied, brushing Chase's hands off her, not understanding how close she'd come to biting it. “You cheerleaders are so sensitive.”

“So, uh, what brings you here, Maxine?” asked Alicia, trying to smooth things over. “Came to take a look at how the maze is coming? It'll be scarier if it's a surprise!”

Maxine looked around. “No, I probably won't be here. Same with my other friends...” she gave Chase a look, “Including Torey.”

“Tor not come?” asked Chase, surprised.

“Nope!” said Maxine. “The Sandman's doing a special Halloween double feature, so we both have to work that night. Candy Corn Killer and Tiger or Treat.”

“Is Tiger or Treat that movie about an escaped man-eating tiger that goes on a teenager-slaying rampage on Halloween?” asked Lindsey.

“That's the one, yes,” said Maxine. From within the cloak she produced a flyer, and handed it to them. “I'm just going around and spreading the word.”

“Why him not tell me?” asked Chase.

“Oh, he would have! He would have!” insisted Maxine. “He's just so busy with preparations. I insisted that he stay there, and offered to tell you personally while I was handing out flyers.”

“How thoughtful,” said Caitlin.

“Of course, you're all welcome to come...” she looked around again. “Although I guess you'll all be too busy with this, huh? Such a shame.” She took off the cloak and tossed it in their box of props, then walked away with a wave. “Well, see ya later! Don't hurt yourself lifting those big, heavy webs, Alicia!” She laughed, and disappeared.

Lindsey shook her head. “God, what a...”

“Max so nice!” observed Chase. “Give us fly, ask come to films, and tell Leash not hurt self.”

Alicia sighed tolerantly and started opening another bag of webbing. “You're pretty nice yourself, Chase,” sighed Alicia.

“You could go, you know. If you wanted to see the movies and see Torey,” said Caitlin. “We wouldn't mind.”

“No, not at all,” agreed Lindsey and Alicia.

Chase shook her head. “No, that fine. Thanks. Want watch films with Tor, but want more to help squad.” She scooped out another wad of pumpkin guts. “Am just sad not go maze with Tor. Did want to do, me and Tor.”

Not only was the maze going to be a festival of frights, it was also going to be an excellent couples activity, a fact the cheerleaders had been heavily advertising. “Yeah...that really sucks, Chase,” sympathized Alicia. “This is right up his alley, too. I think he'd have a lot of fun with it.”

Not wanting to drag everybody down, Chase perked herself up and asked, “Kirk come?”

Alicia smiled to herself. “Yeah, Kirk's coming!” she said happily. She started pulling the webbing apart, as she walked over to a bare stretch of wall. “I can't wait to go through the maze with him, squeezing him tight when I get scared...”

“Do you expect to get scared by a haunted maze you helped build?” asked Caitlin.

“Well, no,” admitted Alicia, “but I can pretend.”

“Will that be believable?” asked Caitlin.

“Honestly, when she's squeezing him tight he's probably not going to be concerned with the whys,” said Lindsey.

….

Agent Han stepped off the bus, her boots clomping onto the sidewalk. Her sword hung at her side. She looked around. So this was Sunnycrest.

It was very different from D.C. Only a couple buildings stretched higher than two stories. There weren't many cars, or people. It was a very sleepy little town. That concerned her. It would be harder to blend in as a stranger here, to do what she needed to do without arousing attention.

The status of Han's government employ was a highly secretive matter. Her security clearance was about two levels higher than what most people in her organization thought the highest level of clearance was. The number of individuals who knew of her existence could be counted on one hand.

This would be reason enough to keep a low profile, but she was also technically classified as a secret weapon. Advanced, experimental technology. For these reasons, completing her mission discreetly was of the utmost importance.

The sun was below the horizon, leaving only a few lingering shades of daylight remaining in the sky, as gilded edges on the surrounding mountains and splashed on the undersides of clouds. A pair of kids ran past her, carrying plastic jack-o-lanterns for trick-or-treating. One was dressed as a ghost, and another as a devil.

Then again, maybe she'd do alright. On this night, maybe nothing would seem unusual.

She was hungry, so she picked out the nearest diner and stepped inside.

On Halloween night, it wasn't very busy. The only customer there was a middle-aged man, and he was standing up from his booth and putting his coat on as Han walked inside.

She sat down at the bar as the middle-aged man put on his hat and left. A young waitress set down a glass in front of her and filled it with water. “What can I start you out with, sweetie?”

Sweetie? A tin napkin dispenser was sitting on the counter next to a pair of mustard and ketchup bottles, which were colored a bright, featureless yellow and red, respectively. In front of these was a bowl of assorted Halloween candy. Han didn't take a piece. “Just a menu, please.”

The waitress handed her a menu. A name tag pinned to her uniform read 'Betty.'

Han calmly perused the menu. The stool she was sitting on didn't have a backrest, but she was sitting up straight as an arrow anyway. Back in the research center, her meals were carefully prepared for her to efficiently provide the nourishment needed for her to complete her daily training regimens. She had to say, none of the food on this menu looked particularly nutritious.

She closed the menu, and handed it back to the waitress. “I would like something that can be eaten briskly, but which is also filling and strength-building.” The waitress brought her biscuits and gravy.

Agent Han had never seen anything like it before. She poked it suspiciously with her fork, then picked up a knife and cut herself a piece. She took a bite, and chewed. Well, it was going to be filling, if nothing else. It was rather tasty, but that was inconsequential.

Betty had nothing better to do, so she kept Han company. “You from out of town, sweetie?”

Han paused, halfway through cutting off another piece of biscuit. Then, she calmly continued. “Yes, I am.”

“Where from?”

Agent Han had a cover ready. “Wilmington. North Carolina.”

“Oh! Cool, I've never been to the East Coast.” She looked the stranger over, taking in her costume of a crisp black suit and a sword hanging from her hip. “So what are you? Are you one of the X-Men? Er, no, wait, I'm thinking of that other chick...”

Agent Han looked at her, perplexed. “The what?”

“The X-Men,” Betty repeated. Han's expression told her the misunderstanding wasn't due to the clarity of Betty's speech. “You've never heard of the X-Men?”

After Betty explained it to her, Han nodded. “Ah, yes. Comic books. My education briefly touched on such topics. But I have never partaken in such a pointless activity as to read one.”

Betty smirked. “Well excuse me. Not even when you were a kid yourself?”

“No.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense. You probably thought that was boy stuff. I bet you had a lot of dolls, huh?”

That confused Han a little. Comic books? Dolls? Was that something people considered fun? She was born and raised in the research center, under Director Abraham's supervision. The way she grew up...killing was fun. Hunting the people Director Abraham told her to hunt was fun. It was a pleasure to kill, almost like a game.

A bell rang behind her, and she looked over her shoulder. A cop, an average-sized man, looking about in his forties, was walking into the diner. The bell sounded again as the door closed behind him.

“Coffee, Joe?” asked Betty.

“Yes ma'am,” said the cop, approaching the counter. “And a turkey sandwich, please. This'll probably be my last chance to grab a bite tonight. We're already getting calls about pranksters.” He chuckled. “Usually the little brats wait until it gets dark, at least.”

Betty returned a knowing smile. “Coffee and a turkey sandwich,” she said. She left to give the kitchen his order.

Ignoring him, Han continued to eat her biscuits and gravy. But an unfamiliar face wasn't something Joe saw every day. She caught his eye very quickly, and so did the sword at her side. Of course, on Halloween, seeing a person carrying around a sword wasn't really that unusual. But there was something about this girl, something any cop with enough years behind him would learn to sense, even if he worked a tiny town like Sunnycrest. And that something was trouble. He asked her in a casual voice, “Afternoon, darlin'. New in town?”

“Yes,” said Han calmly. First sweetie, now darling. It was odd to be called something other than her given name. Honestly, she still wasn't completely used to being referred to as Agent Han. C-13 was still what she preferred...

“Little old to be trick-or-treating, aren't you?”

“I should hope so.”

“Then what's with the costume?”

Agent Han speared a piece of biscuit with her fork, scooped some extra gravy on it with the flat of her knife, then popped it into her mouth. Without looking at him, she answered, “I'm going to a Halloween party.”

He detected this lie fairly easily. “That a real sword?”

“Yes.”

He was surprised she didn't bother to lie about that. “Don't you think it's a little dangerous to bring a sword to a party? Somebody might get hurt.”

“I'm not worried.”

“Hmmm,” said the cop thoughtfully. “I'm afraid I'll have to confiscate that weapon, kid. Sorry.” He had every right to do so; the blade was longer than four inches, which was above the legal limit. Normally, on a day like Halloween, he wouldn't look twice at a kid running around with a sword. But the more he talked to this girl, the more convinced he became that she was up to something.

Han didn't look at him. She was cutting another piece of biscuit off as he finished his sentence. His words made her stop for a second, then she resumed. She ate this piece, then took a sip of her coffee. “I suggest abandoning that line of thought, sir.”

The cop felt himself bristle for a confrontation. His hand crept toward his taser. “And why is that?”

“I am here with a certain goal in mind. If I am separated from my weapon, the odds of achieving a desirable outcome sharply decrease. As such, I am willing to use lethal force to keep that from happening.”

Lethal force? The cop's hand slipped the taser from its holster. With his other hand, he gripped the girl's upper arm. “I think you'd better come with me. I don't know what-”

Slash.

All the cop saw was a blur of movement, a glint of sunlight on metal that was there and gone in a fraction of a second.

He saw his hand flying through the air before he felt the pain. “Aaaaggh!” he screamed. The hand hit the bar with a moist thud and bounced over it, disappearing somewhere near the cash register. A bloody blotch was left on the lacquered wood.

Han spun out of her chair and faced the officer. It was only then that he saw her blade was out.

He wouldn't see anything else ever again. The blade flashed again, and his head was somersaulting through the air.

Drawn by the shout, Betty rushed out from the kitchen. She saw the fountain of blood from the cop's neck, saw the head hit one of the large front windows with a bump and fall to the tile floor. She screamed.

Agent Han felt a bit of regret. It was unfortunate that this girl had to witness this. Unfortunate, but, she supposed, unavoidable.

Han jumped up onto the bar, sprang off it toward Betty, sword raised high.

She sliced it downard as she landed, bisecting the girl cleanly. Her two halves collapsed to the floor, organs and innards spilling out of her as if she was a smashed pinata.

Han straightened. She looked down at the dead waitress, then calmly walked over to the napkin dispenser. She extracted a handful of them, then smoothly wiped the blood off her blade in one motion, from hilt to tip. She tossed the napkins to the floor and resheathed her weapon.

The bell above the door jingled as she left.