The two Traitors made their way to an alley just as a woman was thrown against a dumpster. One dark figure laughed after she connected, and the other two growled at a whisper. Without missing a beat, Mark threw his coin, which turned into a ball about the size of his head, slamming into the lead vampire.

The other two turned to him, and he was met with a familiarity he had all but forgotten about. The three recruits were new, their own features still shining through the dark transformation afforded to them by the Albright Family. As they gathered recruits, they have them powers based on various nighttime fables, such as vampires and zombies. They worked by scaring people and making them fear the the depictions made by the Albrights. As the recruits earned their place amongst the family, they would look like they were almost blood related, all dark hair and dark eyes, with sharp chins and sharper noses.

But until then, they would slowly morph, slowly wish that the Albrights were proud of them. And these guys were no different. They were gifted the powers of vampirism, a favorite of Beatrice Albright, and they used the high speed and strength to attack unsuspecting victims, even feasting on their blood just for the sake of scaring them. Many an Albright victim had found their way to the agency terrified that they would become vampires, only to find relief that it was purely a scare tactic.

That being said, the bites of the wannabe Albright Family vampires, as well as some of the other creatures in their collective, would give the victims visions and dreams. Their fears would forever then be tied to the family, and they would never forget who brought them to that point.

The two vampires left standing charged at the pair. Rylie dodged a swipe from hers and took him down with a swift kick to the side of the head. Mark's was quicker, more used to the power he had, and was matching Mark blow for blow. They exchanged punches, and both found the other to have thicker skin than most.

The metal that had shifted once again sank into a liquid, folding over itself to glide back to Mark. He made it jump into his hand as he held off his vampire, then flipped it in the air as a coin. As he pushed the vampire back, it turned into an anvil and landed on the creature with a satisfying crunch.

Rylie took control of the fight with her opponent, never letting him off of his back foot. She maintained the speed of attack, but the vampire looked less than tired whereas she was beginning to pant in her movement. The lead vampire finally recovered from the attack, taking the opportunity to join its partner, and the fight became two on one. They were advancing on Rylie as Mark was tripped by his recovering opponent, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Suddenly, Rylie was backed up against the wall, with the other two approaching and cackling at her. They swung at her, causing her to lift up her hands to block reflexively. Her hands lit up with a bright light as the two vampires screeched and hissed in agony, backing away from her as the light began burning into them, their flesh slowly flaking off their face. The woman they were attacking was long gone, having chosen her moment to run, and the vampire fighting Mark took off before Rylie could direct her attention to him.

As the other two squealed in pain, Mark chased down the fleeing vampire, summoning a stake into his hand before catching the creature and driving it into his chest. He disappeared into nothingness as Rylie bore down on the others until they followed their compatriot into the afterlife.

The two partners both fell to the ground, panting. They looked at each other, and Rylie chuckled.

"I honestly thought that my power was useless until right this moment."

Mark laughed through catching his breath, "I'm not going to like, rookie. So did I. You were made to fight off the Albrights apparently."

"So, we killed them. Should I feel bad about that?"

Mark sighed, "The people joining the Albrights are a little different than most recruits. They aren't getting power from a Patron. They're getting power from the Patron's monsters. They're little more than victims themselves, yet they chose to join. It's like a really fucked up cult. The Albrights themselves are a family, direct descendants of a man named Victor Albright. He somehow became a patron and gifted his children with powers. They kept passing it down and down the line, making sure to have huge families. Very few of them are dead. And even fewer ever leave the family. Those that do are usually hunted down and disposed of."

"So, these creatures?" Rylie asked.

"They're tools. Constructs. They slowly became members of an army for the Family, earning their spot amongst them. Once they are fully in it, they all look the same. That way, no matter which one you see, you see them all. They feed off fear. And the power of that fear makes the actual Albright who created them stronger. I'd bet my job that these were made by Beatrice. She has a fondness for vampires."

"Have you had to deal with her before?"

Mark nodded, "I've met her a couple of times, but have never had to deal with her directly. She's never made an active move against us or anyone else that we know of. She makes her constructs; we hunt them down. Her brothers are a different story. They often fight alongside their creations, make sure they become what they need. But in the end, they all serve Victor."

"Must be tough for the ones who run away," she mumbled, looking out of the alley as the citizens of the city walked past, "Any of those still alive?"

"There was a kid before I left. About eleven or twelve. Looked exactly like you would expect him to as an Albright. Perfect posture, rich boy aesthetic. He was terrified, wanting to get away from the family. Coming to us for protection. So, we gave it to him. Holed him up in some secure place only Hanna knows about. And hell, she might not even know. Might be a bosses' boss situation. Anyway, this is something we both have to deal with now."

She swiveled her head to face him, her arms wrapped around her knees, "What's that?"

"We killed people. Since they were not directly a monster, a person died. Or three. So, we have to talk to the therapist before going back out in the field."

"You guys really are like supernatural cops, aren't you?"

Mark laughed, "Yeah. No uniforms though. But, don't worry. Nat is pretty great at her job. She fooled around with therapy for a while when she was human, but her need to learn everything about magic was enough for Knowledge to scoop her up and set her sights on us."

The two walked back to the agency and in silence and Mark showed Rylie to Natalie's office, then reported what had happened to Hanna. He sat at his desk with Guardian curled at his feet, waiting for his partner to get back. When she finally did, she grabbed a couple of things off her desk, gave him her number if he needed it, and said she had some errands to run. He didn't press, patted his dog on the head, and went to Natalie's door.

Natalie Donovan was a tall woman, with blonde hair mixed with silver streaks down to her shoulders. She smiled at him as he walked in, her smile reaching her pale green eyes, and gestured for him to sit down.

"It's great to see you again, Mark. Though I did tell Hanna that you should have seen me first before returning to the field."

"You know how she is, Nat. And how I am. But, I've got to show some responsibility to the rookie, so here I am."

She nodded, taking a sip from a mug, "And I appreciate that. Rylie is an interesting young lady. It seems she'll go far working here, and she seems to enjoy learning from you. So, about the Albrights you fought today?"

"Yeah," Mark said. "A quick scrap. Nothing too bad. Always feels weird to kill the constructs. Not quite human, and not quite monster. No way to sever that kind of connection. Rylie's powers came through and finished two of them off as I managed to grab the last one."

"More or less the story I've gotten from your partner. Any concerns with killing this early? Is it going to distract you? Did you enjoy it?"

He shook his head, "Nope. No worries on that front...But I do have some other problems going on."

This piqued her interest, "Offering me information without me having to drag it out of you? My, five years really can change a person. Well then, what seems to be the problem?"

"I'm still torn up with my wife who had me killed. I fit right back into this life like I had never left. I can't look my sister in the eye, or talk to Jay or Lily without getting mad. I don't want to put it on Rylie, she's still a recruit. I got a dog though, so that should help some." He felt himself rattling off his problems like a list, stopping before he accidentally brought up Lane.

"That is a lot, though I do suspect dying and coming back to be plenty hard on its own. Let alone finding out that your wife had something to do with it. As for you slipping right back in, that was more or less part of the deal with Traitor as I understand it, wasn't it?"

He nodded, "Yeah, that's fair. As soon as my powers were back, I was ready to get back into it."

"Then, there you go. Don't worry too much about that one. As for the rest, talk to them when you're ready. Your sister will never force it or get mad at you for it. It's my understanding that she knows you more than anyone else, really. The Jay and Lily situation is...difficult. I wish I could be more helpful on that, but none of you seem to really remember everything that happened. Or, has that changed?"

He shook his head. He remembered what he was allowed to remember, as did they, but nothing else. Nat continued, "Well, until we can figure that out, we're kind of deadlocked on that one. Your last point I think we can talk about if you're finally willing to. I still kick myself off on your papers to let you return to work after that one."

"Wait, what does Rylie have to do with that?" Mark asked, near ready to walk out rather than discuss this with her.

"Calm down, Mark," Natalie continued, "Rylie has the same thing to do with it as Lily did. Absolutely nothing. But you let whatever happened there affect your ability to bond with Lily properly. And, if you don't let it off your chest, you'll end up doing the same with Ms. Shaw."

"Jay forgave me. Told me it wasn't my fault."

"And he's right. But you're still blaming yourself for what happened to him. So, you need to talk about it." Mark nodded and she took another sip from her mug before continuing, "Good. Now. Tell me what happened in Boston."