A figure sat on a chair, his features mired in shadows due to the darkness of the room. He puffed out a breath of smoke from his Cuban cigar while looking out a panoramic window. The view was breathtaking; he could see the star spangled space and the curved sea below that merged with it in the sky due to how high he was. Below him were a few scattered clouds and above him was the shattered moon and its field of debris that encircled the earth like a ring.

The embers on the cigar lit his face and his eyes, glowing from the orange light, gleamed as he turned the chair and watched Katelyn who was waiting behind him. Neither spoke, but Katelyn was clear on why he was looking at her. She felt goosebumps travel up her body when she realized that he was smiling.

"Do you know what happened tonight?" The shadowy figure asked but Katelyn remained silent and he shrugged after watching her for a while. "Four bases, a hundred and twenty-seven mercenaries dead. A hundred and twenty-seven… dead. In a span of a few hours. A few hours."

The figure stood up from his chair and walked to Katelyn. "All because of your little ... visit. What? You thought I didn't know?"

The figure was about to take a step forward when Yu barged in. His clothes were soaked in water, and his disheveled and aggravated look made him appear more miserable.

"You …" he glared at the smoking man with barely concealed anger. "You said he was weakened. That he was cornered. You lied!"

"Oh? Mr. Yu, to what exactly are you referring to?" The figure still concealed in shadows asked, a frown evident from his surprised voice.

"I did as you suggested," Yu said. "I trapped him after he was tired and I beat him senseless. But when I went to deliver a killing blow, he struck back. With Qi. He's a Practitioner!"

The smoking man looked taken aback and he smoked his cigar instead of replying. After contemplating he turned to a surprised Katelyn. "Were you aware that he was a Practitioner?"

Katelyn shook her head as she felt even more remorse. After training for two years, she herself became a Practitioner at the earth stage Elite level, so she knew very well how strong a Practitioner is. Knowing that Jason was a Practitioner, yet the fact that he never needed to use his abilities as one, proved just how strong he was and just how foolish she was to previously turn to the enemy for help.

"Well, well," the man said as he puffed some more smoke. The embers lit his amused face and the lingering smile he had. "What do you know. It appears he didn't trust you back then either."

"Who is she?" Yu asked, finally looking at her when he noticed that the smoking man was asking her about Jason.

"His … jilted lover," the hidden figure said with relish. He intentionally revealed this to Yu as he was curious what the latter would do to Katelyn.

Yu turned to look at Katelyn, his eyes filled with killing intent. He flashed to her position, leaving afterimages in his wake, and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her into the air while choking her.

"I lost all my of sect members, the most talented of them, because of him," Yu said quietly; only he and a handful of masters had managed to escape the missile's blast. "Tell me … if I kill you, will he mourn?"

"That's not necessary, Mr, Yu," the figure said as he inhaled another puff from his cigar. "There are better ways to torture someone other than death. Besides, she wants her alive."

The smoking man turned to Katelyn while Yu reluctantly released her.

"I think it's time we tell you the truth about Alice," the figure leaned forward and whispered into Katelyn's ears. Katelyn's face changed into horror as he spoke and she looked at the figure pleadingly.

"Please, don't," Katelyn almost sobbed when he finished and pulled back with a satisfied smile. "You're her -"

"She is nothing but a tool," the figure sneered. He turned away from Katelyn and walked back to the window.

"I won't let you -!" Katelyn said as she pulled her kukris out. She lunged forward to strike the smoking figure. Yu appeared in front of her and struck her at her solar plexus causing her to call to get knees.

"Take her away and lock her up," the smoking man said and two guards entered and grabbed Katelyn, dragging her away. "I want her to watch as Jason and this city burns."

"What now?" Yu asked as a conference table, along with chairs, appeared from the ground.

"Accelerant is proceeding as planned," the smoking man answered as he also sat down on a chair. "But it isn't enough to destroy the balance. We need to rile the population even more. And I know just the thing to do so."

***

Raphael walked into his office and sighed. He was exhausted since the past few nights, he hadn't been to sleep properly but his body was used to it as a soldier. The only problem was that he was feeling stressed today after the Reaper's second appearance. As he rubbed his eyes, a knock on his door interrupted him and he raised his head.

"Come in," he said and the door opened to reveal Junco. She had two mugs of coffee with her and Raphael gratefully took the one she handed him. "Thanks."

"What now, major?" Junco asked and Raphael quietly sipped his coffee without answering her.

He knew she was referring to the sole survivor of the attack, Markus Jones. Raphael wanted to put him in protective custody, but the boy was just a teenager; a teenager who had school. What was worse, the higher-ups didn't want to make a scene, so Markus suddenly leaving out being escorted by armed men was out of the question.

"If I may, sir?" Junco cleared he throat and Raphael nodded at her, eager to hear her suggestion. "I suggest we have someone guard him while at school. Like someone who also goes to school, like a certain honorary -"

"No, absolutely not," Raphael shook his head, knowing who Junco was referring to.

Junco was silent, studying Raphael before carefully choosing her words. "... She wants to volunteer for AEM missions."

Raphael looked surprised before shrugging.

"Nope. With Watson at the helm, she won't be accepted," Raphael said.

"Maybe," Junco replied. "But what if she decides to go on her own? Would that be safer?"

"She wouldn't …"

"As I recall, you did," Junco said before noticing Raphael's face and hastily adding, "Sir."

Raphael sighed and didn't say anything while Junco sat down on the table next to him.

"You know that you and Watson are her heroes, right?" Junco said quietly to him while cradling her mug with both her hands. "She adores you. Both of you."

"I know, I know," Raphael said. "But you've seen what I had to do, it's not like being a police officer, we're not here to serve and protect. We're an army."

"She's not that naive, Raph," Junco replied. "She knows the risks, the grays, trust me."

Raphael sighed once more before nodding his head. "Fine, we'll assign here to bodyguard duty -"

"Oui!" A small voice full of excitement hissed loudly, and Raphael turned to the half-closed door with a glare.

"Alright, come out. I know you're there," Raphael said and Michelle slowly opened the door while appearing guiltily.

"Sorry, frère," Michelle said while looking down at her feet.

Raphael shook his head exasperatedly before standing up straight.

"Michelle LeBlanc, as an honorary member of AEM, I hereby order you to complete your first assignment as a PPO. Your mission is to escort and protect your target from being harmed, is that understood?" Raphael spoke in an authoritative voice, indicating that he was speaking to Michelle not as her brother, but as her superior officer. [1]

"Chef, Oui Chef!" Michelle saluted and stated while standing up straight. Her grateful eyes moved to Junco who winked back at her.

"Chef, who am I to garde?" Michelle asked as Raphael gestured at her to follow him.

"You should know him," Raphael answered. He led her to an isolated room that was heavily guarded and nodded at a guard who opened the door.

"En aucune façon," Michelle muttered. She saw a boy with multiple piercings and blonde hair that was clearly dyed. With a glance, she recognized him: Markus Jones, the resident bully of their classroom.

***

Alice crawled out of bed, sneakily tiptoeing past Alina's room to not alert the latter. She was about to enter the hallway when a voice interrupted her, frightening her so much that she jumped a few feet into the air.

"What are you doing, Alice?" Ava asked and Alice turned to hush her while using her hands to indicate that they speak in whispers. Ava tilted her head bemused; she didn't understand the need to whisper. Was it a game they were playing?

"Hey, hey," Alice looked around like a sneaky thief before scuttling up to Ava. "Do you know how to cook?"

"... My databases do contain several cookbooks and I can access even more through the internet," Ava answered with confusion.

"Great! And you're an adult, too!" Alice said excitedly but not forgetting to whisper. "Follow me."

Ava followed Alice to the kitchen where the two began a war that every person must face; the war of cooking.

Alina woke up and stretched before heading to the bathroom. After brushing while half asleep, she realized that they were sounds coming from the kitchen and decided to investigate. Coming to the entrance, she froze and the brush she was holding half-heartedly fell from her mouth. The kitchen was a disaster, it was like a hurricane had gone through it. Flour and what she could only guess as sugar or salt coated the counter while cracked eggs were dripping egg whites onto the ground. And a mixture of what seemed to be batter somehow made its way to the roof of the kitchen.

How the fuck …? Alina thought as her eyes stared upwards.

"I ... am unable to comprehend," Ava said sounding confused and slightly frustrated. Her disheveled hair was white with four and sugar. "It shows on the video how easy it is to crack an egg and yet …"

Ava tried cracking an egg on a bowl but it shattered into bits while the contents spilled onto her hand and the counter

"This happens!" Ava said as she raised her slime-covered hand and observed it curiously.

"You're putting too much strength!" Alice said as her head popped out from the other side of the counter.

She got up on a chair and Alina managed to get a better look at her. She has batter on her nose which was also powdered with flour. After mixing the batter, she got down from the chair and trotted to the stove. Climbing another chair, she poured the batter into a pan and made an irregularly shaped pancake which began sizzling due to the excess amount of oil in the frying pan.

"Uh … what're two doing?" Alina asked and the two froze.

"Oh, umm … making … a … uh …" Alice's eyes moved side to side, looking at everything except Alina.

"A surprise breakfast," Ava finished and Alice glared at her before puffing her cheeks and looking away while muttering "Traitor".

"Oh," Alina said while looking around at the mess. "... Does the surprise include the cleanup too?"

Alice and Ava both looked away, the former guiltily while the latter sheepishly stared at a distance, but both were embarrassed.

"Sorry," Alice muttered.

"I'm just curious," Alina looked up at the roof. "How exactly did you get batter all the way up there?"

"Sorry," this time, it was Ava who lowered her head.

"Your pancakes are burning," Alina pointed to the oven and Alice jumped before scurrying to flip them.

"Ava, get the little guys to clean this place up," Alina said as she raised the sleeves of her pajamas. "And I'll help you guys cook something up."

"Even though you don't know how to cook yourself?" Ava asked blithely.

"I at least know how to crack eggs," Alina said and Ava grumbled underneath her breath.

Soon after, as Alina helped the two make more pancakes and waffles, a small battalion of little cleaner droids arrived. The head honcho, the same one that the girls adored, looked around the kitchen and buzzed angrily at Ava, especially when he saw the roof, but scuttled away hurriedly when Ava 'smiled' at it. After an hour, the place was finally back to its original state.

"... He's not coming, is he?" Alice asked as all three waited. It was almost eight in the morning, and Alina and Alice were ready to depart.

Alina saw Alice's disappointment and could sympathize with her. The same thing happened to her when she was younger; Jason was not always there, and she would be saddened when he failed to show up for their get-together.

Alina, to cheer Alice up, started eating the unevenly shaped pancakes. She took a big bite with gusto and made a face and sound to show how delicious it was but stopped halfway when she bit on some eggshells.

Her face changed, but she noticed Alice looking at her with bated breath, so she continued munching on the 'crispy' pancake before painfully swallowing her mouthful.

"It's … uh … it's ... good," Alina said as she used orange juice to wash her mouth. She drowned her entire glass of juice whole Alice punched her fist upwards in joy, feeling victorious at making a wonderful breakfast.

"Why don't you try the dessert too?" Alice handed Alina a bowl. Looking down, Alina's stomach churned when she saw the lumps of white goo mixed with flakes of cereal.

"Uh … what is this?" Alina asked while prodding the contents of the bowl with a spoon; she was certain it would come to life from the way it looked.

"It's yogurt!" Alice said cheerfully, pleased with her creation. "I smashed a whole banana into the yogurt and added frosted flakes into it! Then, I topped it with smarties!"

"Well …" Alina looked down at the bowl again and gulped when a wicked idea crossed her mind. "It looks … divine. Tell you what, why don't you save it for Jason? I'm sure he'd love it."

"Ok!" Alice quickly took the bowl back, covered it carefully, and placed it in the refrigerator. Her face was full of anticipation at how Jason would react to her homemade yogurt.

"In the meantime," Alina looked over at Alice, her voice serious. "I think you should go to school. Second Academy has an elementary section and I could ask Ms. Silvia to try and settle you in. Would you like that?"

"But dad …" Alice hesitated. She wanted to spend as much time with Jason as she could.

"Will be there at school, just a corridor away," Alina said soothingly. "Watching you with pride."

Watching me with pride. Alice thought about it and she almost agreed. She wanted to make Jason proud, it was an inherent ability all children had, the need to make their parents happy.

"Just try one day, today, and see how it is?" Alina suggested and Alice nodded, barely concealing her enthusiasm.

"Great! Then let's get ready and head for school. I'm sure Jason will show up there," Alina said as she took Alice's hand and prepared to dress her.

Later, the two exited the building and Alina turned to Ava, who was accompanying them while a silver coupe came barreling down as soon as Alina pressed a button on her holo-watch. It was a beautiful car with curves like a Maserati, but it had the signature fender and grills like a Rolls-Royce; it was the same hovercar that Jason used after the Baron was destroyed.

"Ava, I'm underage, so can you drive us to school?" Alina asked.

"I have already set the autopilot to the coordinates you desire," Ava said and Alina shook her head.

"No, I mean, can you drive us there yourself?" Alina gestured at Ava and the latter understood that she wanted her to physically drive them both.

"I fail to see the difference," Ava stated with bemusement. "But if you insist."

"Thanks," Alina said.

***

"A.V.A, where's Alice?" Jason asked. He was running from rooftops to rooftops at incredible speed while jumping high. He wasn't able to use his bike as the roads were congested and if he used it in hover mode, perhaps his enemies could track him. He was thinking about getting a flying vehicle that was unidentifiable when he was out as Fenrir.

"I am currently driving Alina and Alice to school," A.V.A said and Jason grimaced, realizing that he was very late.

"How are they?" He asked.

"Annoyed and disappointed at your disappearance since last night," Ava answered.

"I'll make it up to them," Jason muttered. "Somehow."

"Jason … there's something else," A.V.A said after hesitating.

"What is it?"

"After your previous encounter, I set surveillance on Melanie da Pérez and Elizabeth Hyde," A.V.A explained. "I also set one on Katelyn but she noticed and escaped."

"Of course she did," Jason said. "And the other two?"

"It appears they are both aware that they are being monitored," A.V.A said. "The former masturbated in front of the done while the latter …"

Hmm, kinky, Jason thought with slight amusement as he saw a short recording A.V.A sent him. Through the window, he could see Melanie pleasing herself on a couch. Her face was painted with ecstatic delight as one hand caressed her nipples through her shirt while the other rubbed itself between her legs at a steady pace.

"Mmm ... yes - ah - just like that," Melanie moaned and gasped between her words coquettishly with her eyes closed. "Mm, harder - yes! - faster!"

Her hands moved faster and roughly as every muscle in her body contorted with pleasure. Finally, she almost screamed as she orgasmed and her eyes opened and stared straight at the camera.

I'm waiting, Jason, she mouthed silently at the camera. Jason watched the entire clip, that was only a minute, with interest; he couldn't deny that he was aroused in what Melanie did. After all, who would deny a free meal in front of them?

"And Lizzy?" He asked in a controlled voice that was hiding his arousal.

"... Here's a video feed," A.V.A opened a window in Jason's holo-lenses. The tiny window at the bottom of his vision showed her in a bar flirting with a hunk and this almost caused Jason to stumble and almost fall off a building.

He paused and narrowed his eyes before shaking his head.

As much as I'd like to see her and Melanie, Alice comes first, Jason thought as he began running again. I need to - have to keep her safe, keep her happy.

[1] PPO stands for Personal Protection Officer. In Britain, that means special people like the crown or ministers and in other places, it's used as a term by private security companies.