The man vaguely remembered a time when he used to double and triple check his rituals for holes, and the stress of the day was almost enough to pull him into those old habits. But it had been many years and many more rituals since he had cast his first invisibility. He gripped his staff, holding onto himself. His companion was sitting in the grass, nervously pulling up blade after blade before tearing them up between her fingers. If he closed his eyes, he could feel the stress pouring off of her. He had to keep focused though, making sure to not take his eyes off of the ceremony.

It was a quiet funeral, nothing too showy or emotional. His former partner’s wife made a show of her grief, making him want to drop his ritual and begin a much stronger, violent one against her. The scar on his chest burned beneath his coat and he forced himself to wash away the anger. The staff kept him grounded, but its power grew weaker with each day. Too many breaks in reality often left him confused. His companion, Lily, usually kept him focused on the current, but she was going through her own problems.

The small smattering of family and friends said their peace and took off into the sunny day. The crew was soon behind, filling in the plot with dirt, talking about the previous night’s football game, and making jokes. Jay couldn’t hold that against them. He had known for a very long time that any job that required being around that much death also demanded the ability to humor your way through it. He had been in the Traitor’s employ for nearly fifteen years, and knew the only way he had survived it was through good friends and hearty laughs. As the crew finished, Lily finally stood up and placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, she nodded, and the two made their way down the hill.

“It’s a bit pitiful, isn’t it? A wife who caused his death, her family, and a few professional acquaintances from the office. Where are his real friends? Where are the ones who had their lives saved by him and those of us who saved his ass too many times to count?” She chuckled at a memory only known to her.

“His real friends know the deal he made, Lily,” Jay said quietly, “and they know we’re here to make sure the Traitor gets his end of the deal.”

He stuck his staff into the ground and moved away from its influence. He closed his eyes, chanting softly as the magic moved through his body, a familiar friend in an unfamiliar time.

As he did this, Lily began waving her left hand from the right side of her body to the left. With each wave of her arm, piles of dirt removed themselves from the freshly buried plot. The pair kept up their jobs until the casket shone from the bottom. Lily turned to Jay who finished chanting, and the two approached the hole. After a few seconds, there was a soft knock on the lid.

Lily snapped her fingers and the door opened. Mark sat up, stretching his arms above his head and letting out a long moan. He coughed a few times, black matter spewing from his mouth as he did. A splotch landed on his shirt, which he saw, and let out an annoyed grunt. He looked up at the pair, rolled his eyes, and stood up in his casket, outstretching his hand. Jay reached in and grabbed it, pulling his old friend up out of the hole.

“Thanks, man,” Mark said, before quickly cocking his fist back, and striking Jay directly in his jaw. Jay reached for his staff to catch him, but fell to the ground with the pole out of reach. Mark began coughing anti-life matter again, cleared his throat, and held out a hand to Jay.

“Sorry. Had to get that out of my system,” Mark laughed.

“Hey,” Jay responded, wiping the blood trickling from his lip, “I’m just glad you did it now and not when your powers resurfaced. Should be as soon as you cough the rest of that shit out.”

Mark nodded, then turned to Lily. “Hey, kid,” he said. She ran up to him and he caught her in his arms, wrapping her in a tight hug.

“You’re a bastard, Marcus.”

“Me? I made that deal with the thought that I would die of old age and the Traitor would bring me back young and strong. I didn’t know I would get shot.”

“Yeah, about that. Do you know who shot you?” Lily whispered. The two had decided it would be best for her to tell him. Jay was prone to shifts, which caused him to get things mixed up. Plus, he could never get too mad at Lily.

“No, but I assume I’m not going to like it.”

Jay laughed, “What makes you say that?”

Mark looked at him with a stupid smirk, and the three burst into a quick fit of giggles. The Traitor, formerly Guardian, took his new name too seriously. When anything negative happened to any of his followers, there tended to be some sort of betrayal about it.

Mark stopped laughing first, “It was Evelyn, wasn’t it?”

Lily stopped abruptly, then nodded, “She hired an assassin. She thought it was just some gun for hire, but the people at Knowledge let us know it was Strategy. They knew who she was. Knowledge wouldn’t tell us anything else.”

Mark nodded solemnly, “And I’m sure the mail from my life insurance company that I never got around to opening probably would tell me the rest.”

“Money is a powerful motivator. We have enemies that will tell you it’s the only one worth talking about. Or do you forget your training?”

“No. No matter how much I may have tried, I knew that even with the life I was given, I would have to go back eventually. I was just hoping retirement would have been longer than five years.”

The three had begun walking immediately, with Lily summoning teleportation portals in between rest to restore her magic. They were finally approaching a large, gray building that, to the untrained eye, blended into the field and sky behind it. But those who know how to look would see the solid pewter steps, and the large, black door that sat at the top.

Mark stopped as the other two began climbing. They turned around, soft expressions lining their faces. Mark coughed up a bit more of the matter, sighed wistfully, then began the ascent.

The trio swiftly made their way through the halls, passing anyone who looked twice at them or said anything more than ‘good morning’. Magic would tip them off to others, even the smallest of charms. They needed to get to the Chief’s office without anyone realizing what was going on. Luckily, the employees of the Guardian Post were either incredibly busy, or too new to realize who it was. The old, graying security guard Hugh nodded at him with a twinkle in his eye, and gave Mark a wink. Hugh was pushing a couple of centuries, but the man never forgot a face. Mark winked back, then they continued their journey.

They all but ran into the office before slamming the door behind them. Chief Hanna James stood in front of them, a smile beaming on her face. Mark crossed the room, shook her hand, then was quickly pulled into a hug.

“They just let anyone come back from the dead these days, don’t they?”

“Look who’s talking. I thought it took talent to become chief. Guess you just have to be the most annoying person on the planet.”

“Hell, you’re a shoo-in then, aren’t you?”

The pair laughed, then she hit him in the shoulder, “You asshole.”

“Me?” he feigned shock, “What kind of person doesn’t come to her own brother’s funeral?”

She laughed, “The kind of person who knew that her brother wasn’t allowed to stay dead for long. Have your powers come back yet?”

He coughed up some more matter. Jay shook his head, “At this rate, it’ll be another day or two, then he should be ready to go. Until then, we need to find somewhere for him to stay.”

Mark nodded, “The house I spent a bunch of money on is currently owned by my widow, who will probably lose her shit if she finds out that I’m around. Speaking of, was she touched by anything or changed in any way?”

Hanna shook her head softly, “Sorry, little brother. As far as we can tell, she was just normal amounts of greedy. Strategy toyed with some stuff to implant the idea, and had someone on standby to take you out after she made the call. No technical interference on their part.”

“Well, I mean, they shot me, right?”

“No. Just made sure they had someone legitimate who would do it when she decided.

From what we can tell, he was just another person as well.”

Mark sighed. At the very least, he was hoping to take a beating to someone for breaking a divine pact, but of course Strategy would find a way around it. Loopholes were their specialty, and it wasn’t as if Traitor didn’t leave the deal as vague as possible.

“So, what’s the plan then? Riding the desk until I’m needed?”

Hanna shook her head, “I wouldn’t do that to you, even though I’m sure everyone would love to hear you bitching all day. No, we get you a place to stay, let you take a bath and puke up the rest of that crap, get your powers back, and assign you a new partner.”

Mark could feel the tension in the room suddenly rise, then looked around at everyone,

“What, is this where I’m supposed to say some stupid line about working alone and not needing a partner? I worked with Jay, then Lily, for years! I’m sure Lily and I can still do some damage as a team.”

“Actually, Mark,” Lily said, “Jay is back in the field as my partner. Ever since you left.”

Mark snapped his head to Jay, “That can’t be right. Jay, that’s not safe. You left the field for a reason. If something like Boston happens again, I don-”

Jay held up a hand, interrupting his friend, “It’s alright, Mark. It’s been okay for years now. And just like after Boston, I know my limits. If everything gets too big, I’ll pull out and we’ll get Lily a new partner.”

Mark nodded. Jay had been through a lot back then, but he was right. He knew his limits. He looked at both of his former partners, before finally turning back to his sister. She smiled sadly at him, then gestured for him to sit down. The other two left.

“So who do you have in mind? Jerry, Jessica, Hugh?”

She chuckled, “You couldn’t keep up with Hugh, and we both know it. Jessica is dead, and Jerry has been reassigned to the United Kingdom division. Now, remember, this isn’t my fault. When the Traitor let you leave, he stripped your powers with the promise to give them back to you. But since they were removed, that means getting them back starts you over. We’re going to have to stick you on rookie cases."

He groaned, “Fine. That’s fine. It’s fair. Which poor sap has to get stuck with me on rookie cases?”

“Well, we thought it would be kind of stupid to have two vets on rookie cases.”

“Wait, wait. Hanna Denise James, tell me you’re not saying what I think.”

“Sorry, brother. Your new partner’s first day starts in twenty minutes.”