Hero

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

AU: Superhero, A/B/O

"-News reports say that Team Go was on the scene last night to fight off the Hollows and Mad Doctor-" "-Go Team, consisting of the Flame Prince, Aero, Afterlife, and Invisible Bandit-" "-Mass destruction, but thanks to combined efforts of the Go Team-" "-Huge monsters came out of nowhere! I'm lucky to be alive! Thanks, Team Go-!"

A remote slammed down in a coffee table as the TV went dark. A man with pure white eyes hunched over a table with a snarl on his face. The Go Team. Oh, they just wouldn't let up. The man just couldn't believe that his Hollows had been defeated by his old nemesis and her bunch of teenagers. Stupid. He needed to get better. He needed a new plan. The man thought and thought. What could he do? How did he defeat The Peregrine and her band of misfits? Then it came to him at the same time the broken bulb above his came alive and bathed the room in harsh yellow light.

He laughed maniacally, "Oh, Peregrine. You've made an awful mistake." A slow, shark-toothed smile spread across the man's face revealing pointed white teeth.

"I'm coming for you."

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Miss Alma le Fay, the headmistress of the School for Heroes, smiled as she observed four of her brightest students helping the younger kids with their powers. They'd all done well, keeping up with crime, keeping their secrets. She prayed they continued keeping the Hollows back. She never wanted them to meet the maker of the Hollows. He was far too dangerous for her children to face, far too dangerous for anyone to face. Alma shook her head, clearing those thoughts from her mind. She was being ridiculous. She needed to stop. She focused back on her kids.

She focused on the way that Jake took the Twins' hands and led them through complicated moves that had her head spinning. Just in case their eyes were bound and they couldn't use their powers. She watched how Emma would show Claire how to bite and break the skin, how to use Claire's first mouth as well as her second. She observed Olive's smile as Horace learned how to brighten his eyes to almost unbearable lights. As he learned how to project his Peculiarity and make people cower before it. She examined Enoch's instruction as he guided Fiona to a patch of plants for her to practice on. Alma saw Enoch's lips twitch just a bit as Fiona grew roses and petunias out of a simple hedge. She watched and she smiled.

Her children were growing up and while she was proud of them, she didn't want to think about what that truly meant.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

The man grinned as he set up the last on his traps.

A cage underground for the one who controlled the air.

A solid, airtight, cell for the one who controlled fire.

A cell in the air for the one who could raise the dead.

A simple, pair of handcuffs for the one who could see it all.

He'd get them. Then he'd show them just how powerful he was and there would be no Peregrine to stop him.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

The device on his belt beeped and Jake Portman immediately locked eyes with each of the members on his team. They politely (or just a bit brashly) excused themselves from the children they were helping and quickly ran to the underground lair and changed into their superhero outfits.

"What do we have, Afterlife?" Invisible Bandit questioned, sliding over to the other's station.

"It's Mad Doctor; he's released Hollows in the main square. Monkey's there too, and Freeze," Afterlife replied, spinning around and standing, pulling on his black mask.

Invisible Bandit nodded. "Flame, Aero, run recon. Scan the perimeter and if there are more, let me know. Oh, and take care of Freeze and Monkey while you're at it," he ordered.

Aero nodded and Flame Princess's hands sparked.

"Afterlife, stick with me. We'll run the Hollows off to the less populated parts of town, and then end them."

Afterlife's grin was sharp, scary, and dangerous. It sent shivers down his spine.

"Let's go!"

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Flame Princess lit her hands and sent a plume of fire towards Freeze. She tossed a few balls of flame towards him for good measure to send him running. Aero laughed, sending tunnels of air sweeping around Monkey's feet, knocking her around and keeping her down. They looked at each other and nodded, standing back to back with twin smirks and watching the minions run away. There was a laugh and both heroes whipped around.

Mad Doctor stood high above them on a broken beam. He was the picture of calm, a smile on his face, hair wild, and hands relaxed. "No one has ever sent my minions running that fast. That's for sure," the man chuckled.

Flame Princess lifted her hands, sparks flying off her fingertips. Twin balls of highly compressed air swirled in Aero's palms.

Mad Doctor clicked his tongue, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now, now. That's no way to treat your elders." He laughed and suddenly, Flame Princess's fire went out and she swooned.

"Aero? What's happening?" she groaned, falling to the ground with a grunt as she lost balance and consciousness.

"Flame!" Aero cried, catching the younger hero and sliding to her knees with a gasp. She checked the ginger over, brushing the ginger's bangs back as she placed her palm on Flame Princess's forehead. The Omega's skin was cold and she shivered despite her unconsciousness. Aero's eyes blazed, a storm brewing in the ocean pools, "What have you done?" Her voice cracked like lightning, harsh and cutting, it roared like thunder, rumbling and ear-piercing.

Mad Doctor laughed. "Don't worry, Aero, it's nothing bad. Just a minor freezing pellet so she can't use any fire. So she won't fight back."

Aero's eyes went wide. "No, you can't do that, you'll kill her!" she cried, suddenly afraid. See, there was a small problem with Flame Princess's inner fire. She was timid and shy, so her fire wasn't as big as it was supposed to be. So if she froze too much, got too cold, her inner fire could go out and she could quite possibly die.

"No, I've studied all the right temperatures and how cold she'd have to be before shutting down and such. She won't die; just have a bad cold for a while." Mad Doctor replied with a wave, and then he frowned. "However, getting blasted with another freezing pellet will be fatal. So unless you'd like her death on your conscience, I suggest you surrender and come with me."

Aero hesitated, lips parting to tell Mad Doctor off, but then she felt the ginger Omega in her arms shudder and she pulled her closer; pressing her forehead to the ginger's and rubbing her arms, hoping to create some kind of heat. Flame Princess's breathing was shaky and uneven, she was almost too cold. Aero pressed a warm kiss to her forehead and then pulled her up with one hand around the smaller's waist and one of her arms around her shoulders. "Alright."

Mad Doctor smiled a fanged grin. Two down. Two to go.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

One thing Mad Doctor knew was if you want to control an Alpha you threaten their Pack or Mate. For Invisible Bandit, he'd need to subdue Afterlife before he did anything. Mad Doctor wasn't stupid, he had eyes and he knew a Mating Mark when he saw one. He knew that if he managed to check, he'd likely find that the Mating Mark on Afterlife's neck would likely be a perfect match of Invisible Bandit's bite pattern. So, as difficult as it may have been, he'd have to be quick about subduing the hero. He knew very well how strong Afterlife was, and how quick Invisible Bandit could be when Afterlife was threatened. A content sigh pushed passed his lips.

This was going to be so much fun.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

The Invisible Bandit knew that his partner was a strong person. He knew that Afterlife could take care of himself, that he was extremely capable. He also knew that despite that, Afterlife tended to get himself into more trouble than he could usually handle. Raising the dead? No problem. Handling a Hollow? Not a big deal. Handling five or six Hollows while simultaneously keeping track of and alive roughly sixteen skeletons and watching Invisible Bandit's back so he didn't get killed? Much more of a problem.

"How much longer, Bandit?" Afterlife asked through a hiss.

"I'm almost done!" he replied, clipping the last wire and tearing out the core of the bomb.

"There!" he turned, seeing Afterlife struggle against a Hollow with a sword.

Afterlife had needed to deal with this one himself, none of the skeleton's had come to his aid, most of them busy with the other three Hollows, the others laying on the ground with their limbs torn and reanimated hearts ripped out of their chests. The Hollow with the sword was bearing down on Afterlife, using brute strength to its advantage. Afterlife's arms trembled as he tried to keep the Hollow from stabbing him in the neck. One of his arms was crossed over the other, blocking the sword on his metal black wrist protectors. The other arm was held up by the Hollow's hand around Afterlife's wrist.

Invisible Bandit chuckled. "Need some help?" he asked.

"I've got it." Afterlife grunted, eyes never leaving the space where the Hollow's eyes should've been.

Invisible Bandit leaned back, crossing his arms and waiting, knowing that all it would take to turn the tables was one single opening. Sure enough, Afterlife found his opening and pushed off one foot, bringing the other up and driving it into the Hollow's stomach and as the Hollow's sword hand came down, Afterlife brought his other hand up, stabbing the Hollow's unprotected skull. Black sludge covered Afterlife's knife and front as he was dropped gracelessly to the ground. He groaned and Invisible Bandit stepped gingerly over the Hollow's body to help his Mate to his feet. "Are you alright?" She asked.

Afterlife chuckled as he accepted the ebony's hand. "Yeah, I'm alright," he replied, pulling himself to his feet. "Thanks."

Invisible Bandit grinned and nodded, pulling Afterlife in for a hug. It was reciprocated briefly, just as long as it took Afterlife to marginally relax before the Omega was pulling back with a sigh. They nodded to each other and began walking back to meet up with Flame Princess and Aero.

An evil cackle stopped them dead in their tracks and both groaned, then turned, Invisible Bandit with a throwing knife ready and Afterlife with his hands up and ready to call forth another undead skeleton as dark, inky black surrounded them. "Do I finally get to meet the famous Invisible Bandit?" asked a new voice.

Afterlife glanced at his partner, but Invisible Bandit had no clue. Neither of them noticed a shadow creeping up behind them. Invisible Bandit did notice when two hands shot out and locked around Afterlife's waist, carrying him into the shadows.

"Hey!" he shouted, chasing after his Mate, but finding only a building where Afterlife once stood. "You bring him back!" Bandit looked around with harsh blue eyes, looking every bit the Alpha he was.

There was a laugh from the shadows around him, and Bandit was reminded of the darkness Afterlife had once caused when he'd tried to summon too much at once. That had ended up with Afterlife being unconscious for three weeks. Bandit hoped that didn't happen this time, it was scary enough when it happened the first time; he didn't need another three weeks of worry and stress and anxiety.

"Poor Bandit. He can't go one minute without worrying about Afterlife," the voice echoed through the darkness.

"What have you done with him?" Bandit snarled.

The voice chuckled and the darkness warped. From it, appeared Afterlife, stumbling as though drugged, which was entirely possible.

"Afterlife!" he cried, rushing forwards.

Afterlife looked up, eyes wide and pupils dilated. His lips parted, but the confusion was visible; he saw the mask on Bandit's face but he couldn't remember why he wore it. He started to speak, managing to get out a whispered beginning of Bandit's real name before he was gone again and Bandit hit a wall once more. He growled, banging his fist against it.

"Come quietly, Bandit," the voice spoke, "And he won't get hurt."

"I'll come with you. But I want to see him at all times." Bandit allowed his voice to take on a more desperate tone, so he might be able to get his way.

"Oh, very good. Alright, let it never be said that I'm not heartless." the voice faded and the darkness warped again.

Afterlife was returned to Bandit's arms. He looked up again, sluggish and groggy. "J-... B-Bandit," he mumbled. He'd seemingly worked out what they were doing and where they were.

Bandit pulled Afterlife tighter against his chest. "Shh. I'll get us out of this, I promise," he murmured, stroking his hair gently. There was something like a purr that came from Afterlife's mouth and Bandit knew that he must be drugged. This would never happen (under the circumstances) if Afterlife where himself.

"Follow the trails of light, Bandit. They'll tell you where to go." the voice said, and the darkness warped a third time to make a path.

"C'mon, one foot in front of the other." Bandit mumbled, transferring Afterlife from his front to his side.

They walked a while before they reached some kind of black van. The back opened and two henchmen stepped out. One held out his hands to take Afterlife and Bandit wanted to snap and snarl. But he figured that this man didn't have to be so gentle and he was grateful for the brief breather. Much as he loved him, Afterlife wasn't light when he was dead weight and as strong as Bandit was, carrying his Omega for a while when he couldn't support himself wasn't a picnic.

He stepped up into the van and the henchmen gently laid Afterlife next to him. He looked at them and they gave Bandit brief nods. Bandit nodded back, gathering Afterlife into his arms and settling brown curls on his lap.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Afterlife woke up in a cell. He didn't open his eyes, but he knew. He could tell. He also could tell it was high above the ground. Why? Because when he was on the ground, he could sense every dead thing for miles out, even in a room of steel. In the air, his powers were muted and he couldn't sense much at all. That made it dangerous for him and those around him. He could summon something that he couldn't control. Afterlife opened his eyes and blinked the blurry vision and grogginess away.

Below him, there where people arguing. He could just make it out. One voice was a softer, gentler tone and even if he was blind he'd know the owner of the voice anywhere. It was Bandit. The other he'd known since he was six years old. It was sharp and harsher and he wanted her to stop and see sense. Her shouting was ridiculous. It was Aero. When he'd finally had enough, it had been fifteen minutes and another, much softer voice that was completely run over by the other two had joined the argument. Flame Princess.

"Hey!" he shouted, getting up to his knees and clinging to the bars with cold fingers. "If you're going to shout, do it later! We still need a plan out of here!" he looked down and is amazed at how high up he was. There were at least twenty feet between him and the ground.

"Afterlife!" called Bandit. "You feel alright?"

"I feel like I've been drugged, thanks," he replied, "Why are you yelling?"

"Aero's upset that I can't get her out. She doesn't like her underground cage." Bandit replied, "She wants out badly, but as you can see," chains rattled and Afterlife's attention was drawn to the cuffs around Bandit's wrist that keep him pinned to the floor, "We're all pretty unavailable."

Afterlife glanced toward Flame Princess. She was shut inside an airtight cell that looked suffocating. It likely was, Flame Princess looked pale and her breathing was kind of shallow. "Do they intend on killing us?" he asked, looking back at Invisible Bandit.

Bandit shook his head. "No, but if we don't get out soon, they might just change their minds."

Afterlife nodded. What's the plan, Bandit?

Talking here now? Why not out loud?

Who knows who might be listening, Portman. At least here, they can't listen in. Even from several feet above the ground, Afterlife could still feel the smile.

Fair point. We don't want to go shouting the plan all over, so I'll communicate down here and relay everything back to you. Alright?

Afterlife nodded, Yes. I'll be waiting. I'm certainly not going anywhere.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Twenty minutes later, no one had a solid plan. The villains couldn't block their powers, but they could make them difficult to use. Afterlife had eventually given up, laying back on the floor of the cage and closing his eyes. He was keeping an ear on the words floating through the Bond, but mostly he was drifting. Bandit could tell; he had spent years learning how Afterlife worked. Years learning mental patterns, voice tones, eyebrow quirks, and such. Every unspoken word, every quirk of the lips, every twitch of an eyebrow, Bandit knew Afterlife better than anyone else. Right now, Bandit knew that Afterlife was on his last leg. They were all tired, all upset. All four of them were quite done with this situation. No one liked being pinned down or trapped. Those specific four heroes hated it even more.

Bandit sighed. "Are they planning on boring us to death to you think?" he asked out loud, relaying the question up to Afterlife through the Bond. He heard a light scoff from above him, felt the pull at the Bond and amusement spiraling towards him as clearly as he felt the boredom.

It seems like it, doesn't it? Afterlife asked.

Bandit put his head against the cuffs, the cool metal feeling nice against his skin. You are not joking.

Flame Princess was getting paler and Aero wasn't happy about that, and still unhappy about her forced confinement, so she was twice as irritable. "Anyone have any ideas yet?" Bandit questioned, not looking up.

"Nope," Aero replied.

"Nothing," Flame Princess added.

I could summon something, but you know the dangers of that. Afterlife sounded as bored as Bandit felt, which happened to be a bad thing. Afterlife got very unpredictable when he was bored.

Well. Can't be any worse than the mess we're in now. Do you think you can contain it? Bandit asked.

Yes.

Then do it. I'll let Aero and Flame know. "Aero, Flame, I have an idea," he continued in hushed whispers, conveying the plan quickly and efficiently.

"Will Afterlife be able to hold it? He's already had a battle today, and we all know summoning without a heart is difficult enough for him," Flame Princess bit at her lip, wondering and worrying.

"He'll have to be able to. At this point, it's our only way out," Bandit replied.

Aero and Flame Princess glanced at each other and nodded. "We're ready and willing," Aero told him.

Alright. Try it. Bandit sent up to Afterlife. Good luck.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Alma was worried. The Go Team hadn't been back for supper that night, which was odd unless the call they got was in the middle of or before their dining, and it was getting later and later and honestly, it was getting ridiculous. If her kids were this late then something was wrong. As far as Alma knew, the four would never do something without telling her. She knew that their communicators had gone off, alerting them that the city needed them.

Alma headed down to the hidden lair beneath the house, down to the place the Go Team used for tracking and information. She looked around, hoping to find something easily accessed. The Go Team had passwords on many of their screens and computers because the younger children would wander in and mess with the controls. The big center screen flickered on as she walked past it and brought up a recent article.

Alma wondered what made this article so special. She knew her kids had reprogrammed some software to scan news clips, news articles, and so on for keywords regarding villains like Mad Doctor, Minions, Freeze, kidnapped, break-in, robbery, and other such words and phrases so they could get to the crime scenes quicker and be more efficient heroes.

Alma scanned the article and suddenly found out why it popped up.

Breaking News: There's still no sign of the Go Team after the battle with Mad Doctor. Witnesses say the Mad Doctor approached the Alphas of the team and spoke to them. "All I saw was black, then there was Invisible Bandit and he was arguing with something that I didn't see," speaks one witness. "Then I saw Mad Doctor high above the darkness and he was talking, but I couldn't hear him. Invisible Bandit said "I'll come with you" and that's all I heard. I saw Mad Doctor gesture to someone and the Afterlife came stumbling out of the darkness and that's it. That's all I saw. "Another witness reported seeing Aero "standing over Flame Princess and looking up at Mad Doctor with hatred in her eyes. We have no news regarding the whereabouts of our four heroes and while we hope they're all okay, we also wonder if our heroes want to return. Until then, stay safe, Go Team, wherever you are. You may be missing, but we still need you. Come back soon.

Alma's eyes caught.

You may be missing.

May be missing.

Be missing.

Missing.

Alma's eyes widened. It was happening.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Jake was beginning to get restless. Being chained to the floor was no fun anyway, but being held there against your will under threat of killing the people closest to you... Not good. He knew that his Omega, Enoch, was doing everything in his power, but it wasn't easy for him to Summon something he couldn't feel beneath his feet. Jake would ask how it was going, but he knew from experience that all that would do was likely get him mentally yelled at. Enoch knew Jake worried over him, that was established years ago after a battle went wrong, so they'd come up with a compromise for this because Enoch had told Jake early on in their relationship that he didn't handle 'overprotective' well.

Their compromise was that Enoch would keep the link open and let his emotions flow through the Bond so Jake knew he was okay and Jake would do his best to accommodate Enoch's wish for him not to be so overprotective. So, for now, all he could do was wait. He focused on the Bond and the emotion coming through it. There was agitation at their situation and because Enoch was so high up. There was the usual restlessness that came with being caged. There was the kind of calm that came with intense concentration.

It was twenty minutes before any of that changed.

Finally, with a soft growl, Enoch's frustration came floating through. This is ridiculous. It shouldn't take this long for me to find something. A sigh. I think it's the drug messing with my powers. Jake knew it very well could've been, there were underground rumors of Mad Doctor toying with some chemicals to see if he could enhance a Peculiar's powers. Or take them away completely.

It's alright. You tried. That's all we can ask. Jake replied.

Well, I can try one more thing, but I'll need your help. There was hesitation.

What do you need?

For this to work, I need more power than I can give on my own right now. I'll need more strength than I can currently provide.

You need my strength too? Jake asked.

Yes.

Jake focused his entire mind on the Bond, giving everything over to Enoch, trusting him completely. There was a moment of gratitude, then the ground rumbled and a skeletal hand ripped out of the ground. Jake panted as the being came fully from the ground. With his energy zapped, he shook his head. Jeez, if that was how he felt now, then he could only imagine how Enoch felt any time he overtaxed himself.

His energy slowly returned as the thing Enoch had Summoned lowered the cage by the lever on the far wall. The bars were ripped off and Enoch staggered briefly before shaking his head and stepping out of the cage. He narrowed his eyes at the airtight cage. The creature heard a silent command and it moved at his will. Enoch pulled a lock pick off the belt around his hips and set to work on the cuffs around Jake's wrists. "Thank you." he murmured as the cuffs came loose.

Jake smiled. "You're welcome," he replied.

Olive pried open the lock and set Emma free. The four looked at each other for a moment. "Alright, Fearless Leader. What's the plan?" Emma asked.

Jake's mind moved lightning quick.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Alma was scared. She didn't know where her four oldest kids were and it was terrifying. Alma had always known that when Barron came back for her, he'd try to go for her kids. That was why she'd tried so hard to make sure they were prepared because she couldn't keep them from the darkness that was coming but she could give them a fighting chance. She paced around her bedroom and wondered because that was all that she could do at the moment. The latch on her belt blinked and beeped with a message and she paused. It could be her kids, but it could also be Barron. She quickly raced to the panel by her bed and opened it, pulling out the mask she hadn't used since she retired to look after Peculiar kids. They used to call her the Peregrine Falcon, Keeper of Time. Now, she was just Miss le Fay, mistress of her Home. Alma sighed, steeling herself and closing her eyes. None of that mattered now, her kids were in danger. She breathed in, then out, and slipped the mask on over her eyes. The adhesive stuck firmly to her skin and she held up her wrist. The message was from Afterlife. Was it really him?

She accepted the call with a quick tap of her pointer finger and thumb. "Afterlife?" she asked.

A man with silver hair and white eyes grinned back at her with a mouth of fangs. "Peregrine! Hello, how are you?"

"Barron," Alma replied coldly. "What have you done with Afterlife?"

"Would you believe me if I told you he gave me his watch?" Barron asked.

"No."

Barron laughed. "I didn't think so. I've just contacted you to tell you I have Afterlife and all your little Heroes right here in my lair. You're welcome to come to see them if you'd like."

Instinct told Alma that it was a trap, but she didn't need it to know that. She'd fought with Barron long enough to know that he wasn't offering an invitation. "Oh?" she questioned, "Are they safe? Have you harmed them?"

"Now, Peregrine, I am hurt that you think I'd harm a hair on their heads!"

Alma narrowed her piercing, steel blue eyes behind her mask.

Barron dropped the act. "Come soon. Come alone. You know where to go. 24 hours, Peregrine. Or I'll kill them all." The video cut out and Alma's eyes watered.

Her kids were in danger. Her eyes narrowed once more and she blinked away her tears. She called for Horace. "Yes, Miss le Fay?" he asked, appearing at her side.

"I'm going out. I don't know when I shall return. I need you to look after things until myself or the Go Team returns. Do you understand?"

Horace nodded. Alma smiled, "Take care of them, yes?"

Horace smiled back and nodded again, "You can count on me."

Alma nodded, "Good." Horace took his leave and Alma turned back to her panel and pulled out the Peregrine suit. Barron was going down.

Alma would make sure of it this time.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Olive was quiet as she watched Emma and Jake go over the plan. She knew what she was to do, she was to help Enoch find the computer. Olive took her role very seriously when the task was up to her because when the task fell to Olive, it meant that Enoch was overtaxing himself and Jake wouldn't be able to look after Enoch himself. Enoch's protest fell quickly from his lips, just as expected, but a glance from Jake, a soft call of his name, and Enoch was falling silent, sighing, and nodding once. Olive smiled as Enoch's eyes fell to her and Enoch nodded back, both understanding what that meant. Olive would do her best not to crowd and hover and rush. Enoch would try very hard not to snap, growl, and get frustrated. Because both of them knew that if Jake couldn't look after Enoch himself, it meant that he was going to do something possible suicidal and may not make it back. Enoch was never happy with it, but no Omega could deny their Alpha for very long.

"Bandit?" Enoch asked, voice uncharacteristically soft.

The Alpha paused at the door and gestured Aero through. "Yes, Afterlife?" Bandit asked, coming to stand in front of his Omega. "Is there something you don't understand?"

"No, I understand the plan perfectly, I just..." Enoch sighed and did something that surprised both Olive and Jake (if the look of shock on his face was anything to go by). Enoch threw his arms around Jake's neck and hugged him. Hard. "Be careful, yeah?" Enoch whispered after a bit. By this time, Jake had wrapped his arms around Enoch's waist. He smiled and whispered something into Enoch's ear.

Olive turned away, giving them whatever privacy they had left. She felt Enoch's skeleton lean over her after a few moments and a dull thud made Olive turn. For the first time, Olive got a good look at the 15 foot creature Enoch had created. It was gruesome, like something out of a horror movie. Enoch sat on the skeleton's left shoulder, holding the collar bone with pale white fingers. Olive climbed up onto the skeleton's hand and it lifted her to the opposite shoulder. It started walking, heading for a destination Enoch had set.

Olive began her job, doing as Jake had asked, even as she slipped from Olive Elephanta to Flame Princess. Flame Princess glanced at Afterlife and silently checked him for signs of overexertion. When he saw Afterlife was fine, Flame nodded to herself and focussed on the mission.

Peculiar~Pecuiar~Pecuiar

Aero (Emma Bloom) was easily irritated. Like right now, her Omega had nearly been suffocated and frozen to death because of Barron. She also knew that there had been a civilian nearby and they'd likely seen the whole thing. Well, Aero didn't know exactly what the person had seen, but she hoped it wasn't twisted into lies.

She was also fairly irritated with Bandit at this moment. She'd been waiting for two minutes and sixteen, seventeen, eighteen seconds for the Go Team's "Fearless Leader" to come out. When she peeked in to see what was happening, she felt her irritation fade. Because she'd known Afterlife since she was six years old and he didn't hug people for no reason. Aero didn't know her friend like Bandit did, but she knew him well enough to know that he was scared. She didn't blame him. Aero was scared too.

As she stepped back and waiting more patiently for her leader, Aero took up a defensive position. Nothing was getting past her without a fight. Bandit came out after five more minutes and nodded to Aero. Both of them slipped into the shadows and ran down the hall. Room after room, they checked for the monster known as Mad Doctor. They made sure the way was clear for Flame Princess and Afterlife.

They managed to find the place where the minions got fixed up. Aero wanted to destroy the whole place, but Bandit didn't let her. "Just one shot, they won't feel a thing," she growled.

Bandit grabbed her arm. "That's not how we work, Aero. We don't attack unless provoked and we don't hit people who can't defend themselves. Be it because they don't know how, they're too weak, or simply won't." Blue eyes glared into grey, "Or does everything Falcon taught us mean nothing?"

Aero backed away with a huff. She didn't mention that just twenty minutes ago Bandit was thinking about doing just as she had. Mostly because she knew that Afterlife wouldn't have let Bandit think that for long.

"Well, well," a voice behind the pair spoke up, "The birds have broken out of their cages."

Aero whipped around and tightly compressed balls of air swirled to life in her palms. Bandit didn't think, he simply pulled a knife from his boot and turned, throwing it before his mind could aim. It didn't seem to matter, Bandit's knife went soaring through the air and buried itself in the Mad Doctor's arm. He cried out and ripped the knife out, pitching it to the ground and covering his bleeding arm with a hand.

Aero had wondered for a while if Mad Doctor had preformed the same experiments he'd done to the Hollows on himself. Bandit gasped. Aero didn't blame him, knowing Bandit saw the same black sludge that kept the Hollows alive dripping from Mad Doctor's arm. The man looked up, eyes murderous and Aero was glad that Flame and Afterlife weren't there. "You shouldn't have done that." Mad Doctor whispered.

Aero most definitely agreed. It wasn't her who was irritated now.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Enoch was fine. He was fine. Sure there was sweat running down the back of his neck and his mind wasn't running as fast as it usually did, but it was fine. He was fine. Or, at least he was until a burst of overwhelming pain hit his mind and he screamed.

The skeleton stopped dead in its tracks and doubled over, as if in pain. Enoch nearly fell off the shoulder of the skeleton. He would've too, but Olive jumped around to get to Enoch and grabbed his shoulders. The pain receded and Enoch was left panting from the phantom feeling.

"Afterlife?" Olive asked.

"Something's happened. Something went wrong. Bandit's in trouble."

"Turn. Go the other way. Find Jake." Enoch commanded. The skeleton followed Enoch's silent commands. Enoch felt sick to his stomach. What had happened that the pain was that bad? Jake? He asked. Jake, are you alright?

There wasn't a response.

"Move faster," Enoch snapped at the skeleton. The skeleton complied, completely compliant, docile, and helpless against Enoch's will.

Jake, please answer me, I need to know you're okay. He pleaded through the Bond. He could still feel him, a constant presence in his mind, something that was always there, so he knew Jake wasn't dead. Jake, please, he begged.

I'm alright, came the shaky reply.

"Jake," he breathed, silently urging the skeleton to go faster.

Don't come for me Enoch, I'm fine. You don't need to put yourself in danger for me.

Like Hell! I'm on my way, Jake, please. I'm so close, don't send me away.

Enoch... Jake trailed off and Enoch got worried again. No, no, none of that. I'm alright. Just be careful when you come this way, alright? We ran into Mad Doctor and Receptor(1) and they're not being friendly. The Bond went fuzzy for a bit, then came back clearly.

The skeleton turned a corner and ran into Hollows that were easily defeated, they only came up to the skeleton's waist. Enoch commanded the skeleton to move forwards, demanding that it move faster. It rounded another corner and Enoch's heart stopped. Jake laid on the ground gasping. Emma was a few feet away unconscious, Mad Doctor stood over Enoch's Alpha with a bleeding arm and a murderous look. Enoch's spine snapped straighter and his eyes glowed a harsh, dark black. Enoch noticed Olive shudder, but paid no mind. It was the price people paid for staying so close to him when he used so much of his powers; cold chills, feelings of dread, feeling heavier.

Mad Doctor shuddered and turned. He caught sight of the skeleton and its master sitting on the skeleton's shoulder. "Afterlife," he laughed, spreading his arms, "Welcome. I wasn't expecting you for another few moments."

"What did you do?" Enoch snarled voice warping and deepening, channeling the voices of the dead.

"Now, this is not what it looks like."

"What did you do?" Enoch shouted, hard-edged and sharp and dark and Mad Doctor visibly shuddered.

"Take Olive down. Let her go to Emma." Enoch commanded his puppet and the skeleton complied with his demand. Olive hurried over to her fallen Mate and began brushing back her hair, Enoch turned his attention to Mad Doctor and his Mate. A low level of pain radiated from Enoch's stomach, an approximate of where Jake was injured.

Enoch's mindset shifted from civilian to hero and Afterlife took to the scene, scanning the room. When he found what he was looking for, he paused and examined it. Yes. This he could work with. Time seemed to speed up around him. A scream, a cry of his name, and Enoch suddenly felt like he was watching from above.

He couldn't stop, he couldn't stop.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

In all his time as a hero, Jake had seen many unusual or strange things. A Hollow with higher intelligence, Miss le Fay's superhero outfit from her days as the city's protector, Horace's underpants, but he hadn't seen anything like this. The thing was, he wasn't even sure what was happening.

When Omegas where under stress or feeling extreme emotions, their eyes would glow a pale blue. Enoch's where perfectly black. Maybe it was because of his powers; when he used them in massive amounts, Enoch's eyes did glow pure black at times, but it didn't feel like it was Enoch's power. When Enoch would use copious amounts of power, the air grew cooler and feelings like dread and fear would wash over anyone in the room; a side effect of being so close. The air wasn't any cooler, nor was Jewel feeling scared or anything of the sort. So what in the world was going on?

Suddenly, Enoch moved and Jake understood. Puppet(2) had arrived as Mad Doctor's back-up. Damn it! Jake gasped in his mind. He tried to get up, but every time he moved, a new wave of pain hit him and he'd curse Receptor's existence all over again. "Flame! Is Aero up?" he called to the ginger-haired female, looking over that way.

Flame Princess shook her head, "No, she's still out cold."

"Get her up if you can. If not, see what you can do about Receptor and Puppet." Jake growled, steeling himself. He began to stand, pushing himself up on shaky legs, pushing past the pain Receptor was causing. He chuckled darkly. "I've faced worse pains than your pathetic power, Receptor. Come and get me!" he taunted, gathering up the feeling and pushing it away. He was Alpha and his Pack was in danger.

Time to be a leader.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Alma cursed under her breath as she hit another dead end. "I don't know how the kids do it anymore." she murmured to herself. Perhaps it had been too long since she'd been in the field, this was her third dead-end tonight. She needed to find Barron's lair soon. Her kids were in trouble. Alma le Fay turned to go back the way she came and ran directly into a woman with a monkey's lower half. "And you are?" she asked the lady.

"I believe the media calls me 'Monkey'. Hardly a good name." the lady replied.

Alma chuckled. "Yes, I've had my share of the media. They called me Peregrine some days, on others it was Falcon. They never seemed able to make up their minds."

Monkey threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, I like you. Pity we're on different sides. I've been sent here to stall you."

Alma nodded. "Yes, I understand."

Then Monkey screeched and flung herself at Alma. Alma ducked and brought her arm up and around, crashing it down onto Monkey's neck, immediately throwing her to the ground.

Monkey chuckled, "I think it would be a waste to fight you. Perhaps, another time."

Alma narrowed her piercing eyes. "Whatever would Barron think?"

"I'll take care of Barron, Alma le Fay, let me worry about him. I've never agreed with his experiments and now he's taken it too far. Maybe it's the mother in me, but I'm not okay with him hurting kids. They're about three blocks from here, on your left, big building with Hollow flags on the front, you can't miss it. Go and save your children, Alma le Fay." Monkey smiled, then she paused, "I'll let you knock me out. Be quick."

Alma hesitated for a moment, then Money chattered impatiently, "You're wasting time."

Alma nodded. "Alright. Thank you." Then, the Ymbryn's hand cured into a fist and hit Monkey's left cheek. Monkey went down like she was a puppet with her strings cut and Alma shook out her hand. "Damn. It's been a while," Alma sighed, then she knelt and brushed a hand over Monkey's face. "Thank you," she whispered, then she stood and rushed away.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Barron thought for sure he was done for when Afterlife showed earlier, but then Puppet had signaled from behind him and Barron had to hold back his laughter. It was unsettling to see Afterlife's glowing back eyes because that meant he was about to unleash Hell on whoever the focus of his ire was, but then his face went lax and the eyes stopped glowing and Puppet had taken control. The skeleton Afterlife had come with collapsed in a pile of dust and bones.

"Afterlife?" cried Flame Princess, "Afterlife, what's wrong?"

"Afterlife's not here anymore," the hero rasped slowly, but it wasn't his voice in which he spoke. Puppet came from the shadows, coming to stand next to his captured human.

Invisible Bandit finally managed to struggle to his feet and his growl echoed through the air, "What do you think you're going to accomplish?" he snarled.

Barron cackled, "What else is there, Bandit?"

Puppet raised his hand and, like a zombie, Afterlife's hand followed. Afterlife spoke on Puppet's command, "Immortality will taste all the sweeter."

Bandit growled again, "You'll never get away with this."

Barron laughed again, "I think I will, Bandit. Would you like to see why?" Barron turned to Puppet and nodded. Puppet grinned, wide and fearsome, and leaned down to whispered in Afterlife's ear. In response, Afterlife mechanically took one of the knives hanging at his belt and brought it to his neck.

Bandit cried out. "Don't!" There was a flicker of recognition in Afterlife's face, but the knife didn't slow and Afterlife didn't stop. "Please, don't!" Bandit begged.

Barron smiled, jerking his chin at Puppet. Puppet flicked his wrist and Afterlife dropped the knife.

"Please. Please, don't hurt him," Bandit pleaded.

Barron cackled. I've got you. "I'm sure we can come up with something."

"You'll come up with nothing, Barron!" cried a new voice.

Barron's head snapped up and he snarled. "No!"

Because Peregrine, Keeper of Time, stood in the rafters of the building and everything would come crumbling down.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Emma woke up suddenly to Olive shaking her and Jake yelling. When she opened her eyes, Olive stood over her with worried sea-green eyes and Emma had never been more in love, "Hey, Olive."

"Emma," Olive breathed, dropping down and hugging the Alpha tightly.

"When this is all over, you and I are taking a vacation. We'll go to the beach. We can even have that chicken with the spices that you love so much."

Olive laughed through her tears and got up. Emma hated the beach but knew Olive loved it. "I'll hold you to that."

Emma grunted as she climbed to her feet. "What's going on?"

Olive's eyes sparked with a familiar flame. "When we got here, Afterlife kind of lost it, seeing you unconscious and Bandit in pain. His eyes glowed like they do when Hell's about to be unleashed. Then Barron brought Puppet in to play, now Afterlife's under his control, Bandit's not exactly the happiest Alpha in the world, and-"

"You'll come up with nothing Barron!"

"Peregrine's here," Olive finished.

Aero tilted her head from side to side and heard her neck pop, "Let's get to work then."

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Enoch was having what you'd call an "out of body experience". He could see what was going on, know exactly what was happening, but he couldn't control anything. It was very... frightening to find that he was a passenger in his mind. He could see the fight, could feel his own body moving against his will, but he could do nothing about it. Fear was not something that often touched the brunette boy's mind, but when he heard Puppet's command, "Take your knife and slit your throat," he couldn't stop himself from taking the knife at his belt and Enoch panicked.

Stop me. Help me. Don't let me die. Enoch screamed in his head, trying to call forth a skeleton, but nothing was happening. He was completely at Puppet's mercy and Puppet worked for the Mad Doctor and Mad Doctor couldn't have cared less if Afterlife lived or died. Enoch heard Jake call for Barron to stop and Puppet's voice echoed in his mind, "Drop the knife."

Suddenly, there's a flurry of noise and he finds himself helpless to Puppet's commands as he is directed this way and that. "You want to fight Bandit, don't you?" whispered the voice in his head. Just like that, his knives are in his hands and he's running at his Mate and he can't bear to watch but he can't look away. Please, I love him.

"Kill him." the voice whispered and Enoch was forced to obey. Forgive me. Enoch sincerely hoped his lover would. His knives clashed against the armored bands on Jake's shoulders. "I know you're in there Enoch. Can you take back control?"

If Enoch was able, he would've snapped back about how "if I could don't you think I would've by now?"

Jake chuckled a bit and Enoch felt his knives make another swing that was blocked. "Don't you glare at me, that was a legitimate question." with a flick of Jake's wrist, Enoch was disarmed in the right hand. Silently, Enoch was relieved. "I know you have it in you to throw this off. You've just gotta fight past it."

"What are you waiting for, puppet? Kill him." whispered the voice and Enoch growled in his head.

"Hey, I heard that growl. Keep that up and you'll be free." Jake said, blocking another hit.

Enoch thought. Then he pushed. The walls around his mind that refused to give; pushed back. Not this time. Enoch pushed against those walls with everything in him and he heard Puppet growl as he pushed back hard. If there was ever anything Enoch hated, it was being confined. So, he pushed back harder and something in his mind snapped back into place.

Puppet screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his head. Mad Doctor yelled, "Oh, for crying out loud. I'll do it."

Mad Doctor came forward, towards Jake, but Enoch snarled. "You won't touch him."

Mad Doctor narrowed his eyes. "You're stronger than most, I'll give you that. Not many can throw off Puppet's influence."

Enoch's eyes flashed. "Not many people are angry Omegas."

"I'll deal with you in just a moment, Afterlife." Mad Doctor chuckled, turning to Jake and morphing his hand into an ax.

Enoch growled, then jumped on Mad Doctor's back and started pulling on the man's hair and snarling. "You won't touch him!" Enoch screamed. But then, Enoch was thrown to the floor and all he could feel was pain-pain-pain. He didn't know how long he'd laid there trying to breathe, but suddenly, there was a guttural scream and Enoch felt sick. He struggled to his feet, looking around. Then he saw it. Jake Portman, his Jake, was grasping Mad Doctor's arm and gasping. Impaled on some kind of sword that Mad Doctor had turned his hand into and lifted about six inches off the ground was his leader, his Alpha.

Enoch felt it like the blow had been struck to him instead. Suddenly, he couldn't get any air into his lungs and everything was covered in a haze of blue. He screamed, painfilled and agonized and inhuman.

Everything went dark.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Alma had seen many Omegas go Feral in her time on Earth but never had she seen anything like Enoch O'Connor going Feral when Jake Portman had been stabbed. As the young man fell to the ground, Enoch's entire body went completely rigid and his eyes flickered to blue, then black, and back to blue. He screamed; a high, unearthly, inhuman sound and the ground below their feet cracked. Skeletal hands pushed up from the cracks and hauled their bodies from the graves. They spread out and Barron twisted around looking at all of them. "Well, this I was not expecting." He grinned, "I could use someone like you on my team, Afterlife."

In response, Enoch's glowing blue eyes narrowed and the skeletons reacted to a silent command. They all converged on Barron and attacked.

Alma was distracted by Receptor, who was incapacitated quickly. She turned her attention to Olive and Emma, who were patching up Jake. She hurried over. "How is he?"

Olive looked up. "He's in and out of consciousness. I've sealed the edges of the wound and he'll live, but he needs stitches."

Emma finished tearing her hood into strips and tying them around Olive's scarf, which was keeping pressure on the wound. "That's all we can do. We really ought to get him to Teagan(3)." Emma added in, tying off the hood. Her blond hair brushed her shoulders and she pushed it away from her white mask when it blinded her.

Alma nodded. "We'll get him there. Right now, I need to know if he's awake enough to speak with Enoch."

Olive gently tapped on Jake's face. "Bandit? Jake, are you awake? Oh, please be awake, Enoch needs you."

Jake moaned softly, pushing Olive's hand away and wincing as she sat up, putting a hand to his stomach. "What the heck hit me?"

"You'll be fine once Teagan sees to you. Right now, your Omega has gone Feral and we need him back." Emma told the Go Team's leader.

Jake groaned, "How does he do that? He's always getting himself into trouble." Then he struggled to his feet and stumbled over to his Feral lover. Alma watched as Jake gently set his hand on Enoch's shoulder and spoke to him quietly. Enoch slowly untensed and the glow of his eyes flickered, then dimmed as if a pair of lights was being slowly turned off. He slumped over and into Jake's arms. The Alpha smiled, "Now, what did I tell you about going Feral?"

"It's dangerous, please don't," Enoch mumbled sleepily, sagging in Jake's grip. Jake pressed her lips to Enoch's hair as the skeletons he'd Summoned mechanically stopped and then fell to the ground in heaps of bones.

Alma wasted no time in pouncing on Barron and putting his hands in Peculiar-proof zip-ties. Barron growled. "I thought I had you this time."

Alma laughed, high and amused. "Barron, you never learned. My kids are more than toys. They are family and a team. You never could've beaten them."

Barron huffed, then fell silent.

Peculiar~Peculiar~Peculiar

Jake gently ran his fingers through Enoch's fluffy brown hair. They'd made it to Teagan so Jake could heal and get back home with no problems and Jake didn't hesitate in getting his exhausted friend to sleep. Enoch didn't raise any protest, he was mostly out of it, so he may not have even known what was going on.

Jake gently changed Enoch out of his hero suit and into a pair of Jake's sleep pants. He slowly lowered Enoch down to his bed pulled the covers over him and sat down on the bed as Enoch's eyes slipped closed and his breathing began to even out. Jake sighed through her nose and leaned down, kissing Enoch's forehead and lingering, breathing in his scent. "I love you," he murmured against pale skin.

Enoch shifted, stirred, then eased out another breath as his eyes fluttered open again, "Stay."

Jake hummed and nodded, "Okay." He laid down and cuddled up to Enoch, who sighed contentedly and snuggled into Jake's embrace. Happy that they where both okay and he wasn't in any danger any longer, Jake closed her eyes and followed Enoch to sleep.

(1) Receptor is the Hollow that followed Emma and Jake out of the theater near the ending of the movie version. His power is causing anyone he can see to feel extreme amounts of pain. To give you an example, think period you haven't felt it, then lucky you. Please ask someone who has.

(2) Puppet is the other Hollow that followed Emma and Jake, his power is that he takes over people's bodies by touch, think Jericho from Teen Titans.

(3) Teagan is one of the Peculiars that lived in Miss Avocet's (sp?) loop before Barron raided it in the 2016 movie.