A long deep breath escaped the lips of a hooded dark skinned man as he sat cross legged on the cave floor. He breathed in, closing his eyes and exhaling once more, trying to put behind him, the fact that his mentor had could be dying in this very moment.

'The future depends on me, I cannot fail' The man thought to himself and he concentrated, focusing on the past and willing himself to become part of that past.

The world drew to a stop as his skin tingled and grew numb, his mind became light and all thinking ceased to exist with the exception of one single thought; the past. The room grew stagnant with silence until the man was thrust into a world of pain as his body seemingly dissolved from the room. In these moments Tarquinn was no longer a part of an existing time line, in fact in moments of going back and forth through time he himself no longer existed. He was pulled into a dark void where time passed around him but did not touch him. As he sunk further and further into this black hole his mind exploded with pain and it was all he could think about.

Never before had he attempted to go back this far, and he could already feel his body taking damage from it. Limply, his body floated through this timeless black space, until he began free falling and fast. Pain took him hold of him, wrapping its grimy hands around his body and pulled him further into the black, the man tried to fight back, but he could feel himself becoming weaker with every passing moment. A panic like none he had ever felt ran down his spine and chilled him to the bone. He was dying, he could feel his life force being drained and that pain kept on pulling at him until that is all there was and Tarquinn's mind went blank.

A young boy about the age of eight stood in a line, amongst a mass of people who also wore the same rope around their wrists and ankles as he did.

"Mommy I'm scared" The boy whimpered, turning his head and facing the tall slender and dark skinned woman behind him. Tears welled up in the woman's eyes as she looked helplessly down at her son.

"Everything will be ok Tarquinn, mommy's here" She said, choking back the tears. All of a sudden the line jolted forward and the boy was pulled to the ground, causing the others in the line to come to a halt.

"What is this? Why has the line stopped?" A deep voice shouted and not long after a man in concealing black drab appeared before the woman and her child.

"Get up" The man demanded, through his mask. It was the type of mask you would imagine a terrorist or a robber wearing.

"I said get up!" The man yelled and the boy stood up after struggling with the rope for a moment, and with the help of his mother.

"You wanna die kid? Better stop holding up the line or the boss is gonna kill ya for sure!" The man dressed in dark drab said with a dark laugh, glaring down at the boy.

"Don't you talk to my son like that!" The woman behind the boy shouted, stepping toward the guard, as much as the tightly bound rope would allow her.

"That's assault against a guard" The man accused.

"What? I haven't even touched you!" The woman protested, Her voice shaky with fear for both herself and her son but mostly her son. The guard shoved the woman back, nearly causing her to fall, and she would have had it not been for the person behind her who stopped kept her up.

"Well just see what the boss has to say about this" The guard taunted, then turned around sharply when he heard the unmistakable voice of his "boss".

"What is going on here? Why has the line stopped?" An angry voice could be heard over all others.

"It's these two sir, they were holding up the line" The guard said, standing at attention.

"And I'm sure you had nothing to do with it" The tall blonde haired man accused.

"Sir?" The guard asked.

"Worthless! You're all worthless scum!" The man yelled, lethal electricity cackled around his hands. The man then grabbed the guard by the neck and fried him to a grotesque crispy black, before dropping his body which had already begun to fall away to the ground.

"You, boy!" The man said, pointing at the young boy.

"You're not human are you? I can sense it, you're a mutant" He said, eyeing the boy. The young boy looked up at the man, taking in his hardened stare, discolored right eye and the scar that accompanied it. The man untied the rope around the boy's wrists and ankles.

"Kill the rest of them" He order and a panic washed over the mass of people.

"Disgusting humans! You all will pay!" The blonde haired man bellowed, and watched as his "guards" gunned down the rest of the people, with the boy under his arm in a firm grasp. The young boy watched; horrified as the people fell one after another, limply to the ground.

"Wait!" The man called of his men, when there was only one person left in the line, and that was the woman who so resembled the boy by his side.

"Mommy!" The boy cried out, and tried to run to her but a large hand lashed out and struck the boy in the head, sending him to the ground.

"Tarquinn!" The woman cried, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"If you smart kid, you'll stay on the ground" He said in a stern voice then slowly made his way toward the woman who was now shaking.

"You will all pay for you did...you killed them, and now all of you will die in return!" The man yelled, then reached out and wrapped a hand around the woman's neck.

"Mommy! no!" The boy on the ground yelled, and tried to get up, but the man holding his mother sent a bolt of electricity at the ground before the boy and he remained in his spot for fear of being struck.

"Are you watching this child?" The man asked, glancing at the young boy from the corner of his eye.

"I want you to watch" He said, motioning for a guard to grab the kid. Moments later and the boy was pulled from the ground, a firm hand clasping his own tiny hands behind his back and another digging it's nails into his scalp and forcing the boy to look his mother in the face.

"This is the way I taught" The blonde said "Anyone you so much as get close to…will only be killed in the end" He quoted a line from his past that he heard all too often, often enough for every word to be burned into the back of his mind.

"Please.." The woman whimpered under the man's grasp.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of him" The man said with a sickening smile before his expression turned dark and he snapped the woman's neck.

"Mommy!" The boy screamed, struggling against the guard.

The limp body of a man in his mid to late twenties materialized on a dirt clotted and breaking apart sidewalk. Either the man's breathing was so shallow he didn't appear to be breathing at all, or that is just it, he wasn't.

Blue eyes fluttered open, before they squeezed shut one again. A moment later and they reopened, looking from side to side but not really seeing anything. Everywhere around him was darkness. Then he spotted it, a faint light in the distance. He stood up and cautiously made his way toward the light, shielding his eyes as he did. He paused for a moment when a silhouette appeared in the middle of the circle of light. He strained his eyes to see the silhouette but to no avail, the figure remained a dark, blurry shadow.

"Hello?" The boy called out, slowly closing the distance between him and the shadowed figure.

"Who are you?" The boy asked. He paused for a moment when he was close enough to the figure to see the limbs apart from the body instead of just one massive shadowy blob. As the boy came closer to the figure, the figure came closer to him.

Soon the boy and the figure were no more than a few feet apart.

"Hello?" The boy asked, waving his right hand in an attempt to gain the shadow's attention. As the boy raised his right arm, the shadow raised its right arm, and as the boy waved, the shadow waved.

Confusion made itself clear on the boys features. He took a step to the right, and so did the shadow. It was as if he was staring into a mirror, only he couldn't see his reflection.

"Who are you?" The boy asked once again, and the shadow shrugged its shoulder as if saying I don't know. This time the boy followed the shadow and his shoulders went up and down in perfect unison with the shadow.

Soon everything faded to black and once again the boy was left alone, but not for long.

"Wake up" A soft voice cooed, breaking through the silence like a knife through thick fog.

"Wake up" The voice came again, this time paving a path in the darkness. The boy followed the lite up path and found himself at the foot of a door. He paused a moment before reaching for the handle. Slowly he opened the door, and emerged from the dark.

"Hey" A soft voice greeted the boy as his eyes fluttered open. His eyes widened before they narrowed on the woman before him and he sat up abruptly, startling Jannie.

"You probably shouldn't do that, you could open up your stitches again" She said, moving to place a hand on the boy's shoulder and push him back on the bed but he flinched away from the movement and stood up on the other side of the bed.

"Who the fuck are you and where the hell am I?" He asked in French, backing away from the bed.

"Do you…speak English?" The girl asked, not understanding a word the injured boy had just spoken.

"Yes" He replied quickly "Where am I?" He asked again, this time in English but with a heavy French accent.

"You're safe, but you need to sit down, I don't want to risk you opening your wounds again, we don't have the supplies to keep stitching you up" She replied, gesturing to the boy's chest. His eyes followed the girl's movement and found the bandages at his torso, images from the night before came back to him and he felt over the bandages.

"So then…you helped me?" He asked, his gaze returning to the woman.

"Yeah, we did"

"We?" He echoed.

"Yes, me and my group. I might have stitched you up but if it hadn't of been for the others; the ones who found you, you wouldn't have made it"

"What do you mean your group?" He asked.

"The people I live with, the people that live here, they are…like family" She replied.

"You care a lot about these people, don't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"I could see it in your expression; when you speak of them, when you called them…family"

"Yes, they do mean a lot to me. They're all I have" She paused "Why do you ask?" She narrowed her eyes.

"You took a risk when you decided to help me, why would you jeopardize the safety of your…family just to save a strangers life?" He asked, unable to understand.

"I couldn't just let you die; the world is cruel enough as it is. People are losing their humanity with the way the world is now, letting you die like that; I might as well have pulled the trigger myself. I'm not going to let myself lose my humanity, even if the world loses its own" She explained.

"Thank you" He said, nodding curtly at the woman.

"What happened anyway?" She asked "Why were you shot like that?"

"I…" He stuttered, searching for an answer but he came up blank "I…don't know" He said slowly, then repeated it "I don't know"

"You don't know why you were shot?" Astrid asked, and the boy shook his head in reply.

"I don't know why I was shot" He said, eyes glazed over "I don't…remember" He said in a quiet voice, a look of defeat on his face.

"I believe you" Asrid reassured the boy, and then tried to move on to another subject "So, then who are you?"

"I don't know" He said, shaking his head "I don't remember anything past waking up the other day" He said, eyes still glazed over and attention on the ground.

"Amnesia…" Astrid trailed off, catching the boy's attention "It not unlikely, I mean with the trauma your body went through with being shot and who knows how long you were in that ice cold water.." She replied, the image of Janine running up to the building, her Mech until following shortly behind, dragging behind it, this boy's unconscious and soaked body up to the building flashing across her mind.

"Do you…think I'll get it back…my memory?" He asked all of a sudden.

"It's possible, I'm no expert but I'm sure it'll come back over time" Astrid said, a small reassuring smile on her face which faltered when she remembered the boy's bag she had brought in with her earlier.

"Here, this is yours, why don't you go through it and see if you can't find anything about yourself inside?" She suggested, handing the amnesiac an old brown knapsack.

"I didn't know if you'd be awake, I would have brought some breakfast down if I had known.." She trailed off as the boy took the bag.

"It's fine, I'm not hungry" He replied, carefully opening the knapsack and pulling out its contents.

"Are you sure? I could go down to the kitchen and bring you something?" She offered.

"No, you've done enough already" He replied, pulling out a piece of clothing which was rolled up in a very condensed manner.

"You haven't told me who you are yet" he spoke up, glancing at the woman before taking a seat on the cot and continuing to search in the bag, his hand landing on something cold and metallic. He gasped silently as he felt the object, automatically the word gun popping into his head. He looked down to be sure and there is was, a small pistol accompanied by a silencer.

"Astrid, my name is Astrid" The girl replied with a small smile.

"Astrid" He said to himself, eyes flickering from his bag then to the girl and back to the bag.

He shoved the gun further back into the bag and decided not to pull it out and instead reached for the next item which turned out to be a dagger. He pulled the dagger out of the bag and unsheathed it, causing the girl to stiffen in response.

"I just want to take a look" He reassured her, but she was still on edge. Unsheathing the dagger slowly, he found a name carved into it.

"Axel" He mumbled the name, tracing the letters with his fingers.

"What does it say?" Astrid asked, wary of the weapon.

"There's a name carved into it…Axel" The boy replied, tilting the dagger so she could see.

"Is that your name…I mean, does it sound familiar?" She asked.

"It is very familiar, but I don't know if it's mine" The boy replied, after thinking to himself for a moment.

Axel…the name is familiar, but there is something very off about it…it doesn't feel right

He thought to himself, and was about to speak again, but his stomach growled loudly and stopped his train of thought.

"I thought you weren't hungry" Astrid spoke up, laughing lightly "If you want, we can take a break and go down to the kitchen, get some food and maybe introduce you to the other members. They've all been eager to meet you, and you should get acquainted with them, you're not gonna be able to go anywhere for a while in your condition"

"Fine, but…call me Axel" The blonde said, placing the dagger back into the bag and zipping it up.

"So, you think that name carved into that dagger is yours? It would make sense…"

"No, but it's all I have right now" He responded.

"Alright, Axel it is then, until we find out your real name" Astrid said with a curt smile, which Axel returned with a nod of his head.

"Come on, I'll show you to the kitchen" She said, and the two left the room and headed down the hall

"I have to warn you though, Bill is a little on edge about you, he has been since we decided to bring you in. You seem like a good guy, but still I'd be a little cautious around him…he's especially like this around humans and since we don't know if you are human or a mutant…" Astrid trailed off once they were close to the kitchen.

"Mutant?" He echoed curiosity clear in his voice.

"You don't remember what a mutant is, do you?" She asked and upon receiving a shake of his head in response, she continued on to explain what mutants are. All the while Astrid spoke about people with abilities, he kept thinking about what happened with the monitor the day before.

Soon both Axel and Astrid found themselves in front of the kitchen door, which was really a cafeteria door, seeing as they were taking refuge in an old run down school, but that's a minor detail. Axel hesitated before following Astrid into the room, lagging a few steps behind.

The room was large and filled with chatter, on one side there was a line of people serving food out of old pots to the others, and on the other side were the type of tables you would expect in a school. There were people eating, and visiting with one another, others sitting in the corner catching a bit of sleep, and children running about, laughing.

When the two entered the room, everything seemed to stop and everyone turned their attention toward the new comer, some with hate and fear and others with bright smiles, but most with plain curiosity. Almost immediately they were greeted by an angry Bill.

"What the hell is he doing in here?" The twenty three year old demanded, glaring at the slightly shorter boy.

"He's not a prisoner here Bill, were just getting some food" Jannie replied defensively.

"Yeah? And he's not a part of the group either, he's an outsider and he has no business here. I don't want him near the rest of the group" Bill said, eyes never leaving the blonde, who starred at him as well.

"You don't make the rules Bill, he's only staying until he heals. Now, we are getting some food, so back off" Astrid said and the two left a very angry Bill behind.

"This" Astid gestured around the room "is my group, the bandits, I guess you could say, I'm kind of their leader" She said, earning a look of confusion from Axel.

"But you seem so young, these people follow your word regardless?" He asked as they approached the line.

"Well, yes" She paused "In a world like these, age means little, it is your personality, your strength and leadership that gets people to follow you, maybe I'll explain more of what I mean, some other time" She finished. Axel didn't get a chance to reply when they were cut off by a large Hispanic man who held a large spoon in one hand and his other rested on the brim of a pot.

"So he lives" The man spoke with a slight Mexican accent, while filling a small tin bowl of food and handing it to Astrid.

"Manuel, I'd like you to meet Axel" She said, then turned toward Axel "This is Manuel, he is one of our main cooks" She said. Axel only responded with a nod of his head and gratefully took the bowl that was handed to him. The two left the food line with their bowls and found a table where only a few sat. On one side there was a young boy with a mop of messy black hair who kept looking to his side, to the boy's left was an even smaller child with short brown hair who looked away shyly when the two came over. Sitting by herself on the other side of the table, was a young and tiny oriental woman who seemed to be in her own world.

"Everyone, this is Axel" Astrid introduced the amnesiac to the group as the two took their seats.

"Are you human or a mutant?" The boy with black hair asked suddenly, eyes glued to the new comer.

"Jacob, don't be rude. This man has gone through a lot and…"

"It's a legitimate question Astrid; these people have a right to know whether he is human or a mutant" Bill interrupted her, taking a seat directly in front of Axel.

"What does it matter if I am human or a mutant? I'm leaving as soon as I'm healed. You won't have to put up with me for much longer" The amnesiac replied in a monotone voice.

"You could stay here you know, it's safer than being out on your own" Astrid said, glancing at Axel.

"No, I'm obviously not wanted here" Axel replied, pushing away his half eaten food and standing up.

"You're damn right you're not wanted here, you're an outsider" Bill said in an icy tone.

"You were an outsider once too Bill" The oriental girl on the far side of the table spoke in a soft voice.

"That's beside the point!" Bill shouted, gaining the attention of the others in the room.

"Then what is your point Bill? He's a living being, same as us, and he hasn't done any harm" Astrid spat back.

"My point is that we know nothing of him! For all we know he could be a spy and relaying our position to his higher ups, he's a threat Astrid!" Bill yelled, now standing up.

"He's right. None of you know anything about me. I don't understand how you can be so trusting" Axel said, eyes on Astrid.

"You haven't given me a reason not to trust you" She replied.

"And yet I have given you no reason to trust me" Axel replied immediately.

"Then give us a reason to, explain yourself" Bill said "Are you human or a mutant?" He demanded rather then asked.

"I don't know" Axel said simply.

"What do you mean you don't know? Do you have a power or not? It's not rocket science!" Bill yelled, becoming frustrated with the teen.

"I mean just that, I don't know" Axel repeated himself, from out of nowhere a fiery anger began to build up in the pit of his stomach.

"There's a perfectly good reason not to trust him! He won't even tell us what he is, I say that gives proof he is a human!" Bill yelled.

"You don't have to trust me, I never asked for your help! You could have left me there die, I would have had no complaints!" Axel shouted, not really realizing what he was saying "It was your choice to save me, don't act like it was mine" He paused, his anger spiking for no real reason "If I could tell you anything about myself I would, but that's just it! I can't!" He yelled, small sparks of electricity began to dance around his arms.

"…Axel?" Astrid said, noticing the electricity.

"I don't know what I am; I don't know why I was shot, hell I don't even know who I am!" He yelled, the electricity around his arms gaining volume with every word he spoke.

"Axel calm down!" Astrid yelled but her words went un noticed.

"You want me leave? Fine, I'll leave!" He shouted, turning around and heading out of the room.

"See what you did?" Astrid said, standing up and glaring at Bill for a moment before chasing after Axel.

"Axel wait!" She called after him but the blonde didn't stop "You can't leave!" She shouted "Not with wounds like that"

When the blonde didn't respond she began to speak again "Please, Axel don't do this!"

Axel stopped in his tracks and without turning around he asked, "Why, why do you want me to stay so bad?"

"You're injured Axel, you can't make it on your own out there, not in your condition" She paused "Please, just stay, at least until your healed"

Axel once again didn't respond and opened the door to the room he woke up in, the room where his belongings dwelled.

"Look" Astrid sighed, "I know Bill's a bit of an asshole but he's only looking out for the group. I'm sure, with time he'll warm up to you. Please just, give us a chance…we need more muscle around here" She said blocking the door when Axel turned around, bag gripped firmly in hand.

The two starred at each other silently for a moment before Axel sighed heavily in defeat.

"Fine, I'll stay" He said, Astrid's face lighting up with hope "Just until I'm healed, once I'm healed I'm gone, got it?" He said in a hard tone, dropping his bag to the floor by the bed and taking a seat.

"Alright, alright fine, but if you decide you want to stay permanently, you're welcome here" Astrid finished with a smile.

Zachary grunted as he stretched, the crumbled building that had been his nest for the night had not been very comfortable. Not nearly enough blankets to keep the rocks from poking into his side. With a sigh he dug around in his pack for two items. Some stale jerky for breakfast and an old apple core wrapped in scrap plastic. He chewed on the tough jerky as he set the apple core down. Holding his hand up he transformed the rotting apple into a rather smalled bird. He yawned as it flew off with little instruction from him. He would use the bird to scope out the area and be sure he wasn't about to walk into any sort of trap.

A woman with jet black hair and ruby red lips adorned in black clothing watched the boy from a large window. She tilted her head to the side and watched with curious eyes behind dark sunglasses as the boy transformed the apple core into a bird. Her painted lips curled into a wicked smile as she pushed away from the window and headed into the next room.

"I'm heading out" She said simply, alerting the other woman in the room, before quickly heading out the door.

Zachary stood from his spot, pacing forward a bit and running a hand through his dark brown hair. He frowned at the strands making a note that he should find a place to clean up and cut it shorter. He closed his eyes for a moment, scrubbing his face in an effort to wake himself. The roof that had become the floor of this building was far too uncomfortable. He doubted he'd be very awake for the rest of the day.

"Bed of leaves that is not."he muttered to himself. He blinked and looked skyward when he felt a twinge from his creation, like someone had plucked a string in his mind. Someone, a woman it seemed, was coming. With a sigh he went to grab his pack, hoping to make a quick escape before he was confronted for being on someone's turf.

Pandora walked with a quick gate and a long stride as she made her way down the road in her current disguise; the one she so often chose instead of her own skin. She was tall, curvy in all the right places with a beautifully shaped face and long flowing silky hair. It pleased Pandora to wear the skin of someone so different then herself, and she found it amusing how easily she could wheedle people into doing what she wanted while in this disguise. She kept her head held high and her eye on the boy as she walked, never letting him out of sight.

He swallowed when he caught sight of her. She really was beautiful and made all those boyish fantasies push to the forefront of his mind. But at the same time he knew that beauty was an awful go disguise for those who were truely ugly underneth. He wasn't about to let animal instinct cause his fall. So instead he quickly moved out of the building keeping distance from her, his intentions clear. He wasn't going to stick around, if this was her turf she could have it.

"A chase it is then" Pandora said under her breath, with a slightly amuzed tone as she followed after the dark haired teen.

Zach glanced back at her and frowned, picking up the pace, hoping she would eventually loose interest. But time passed and after a couple of blocks he finally had to stop and ask.

"Why the hell are you following me?"he asked, body tense and ready to put up a fight if need be.

"You have something I want" Pandora replied in a low monotone voice, eyeing the boy behind her sunglasses.

He shifted uncomfortably, his frown becoming a glare. "And what exactly would that be?"he asked, wishing he could see her eyes so he could judge her emotions.

"Ah, now that is a good question. It could be anything from a simple chat to all of your pocessions and your life" She said, amuzment clear in her voice as she watched the boy squirm under her gaze. He took a cautious step backwards, his heart thundering against his ribs but he was glad he was able to keep some calm control on the outside. This was dangerous, he didn't know who or what this woman was. She could be working for the government for all he knew.

hmm let me change that, it sounds awkward "Ah, now that is a good question. It could be anything from dirty old jacket you are wearing, to your very life"

"aw, no reaction? How boring" Pandora said, her smile fading and a serious look over coming her face "I was only kidding, not need to be so tense".

"Being tense has saved my life plenty of times over miss. Rather keep my head if you know what I mean. Now if you don't mind, tell me what you want or I walk away."he said.

"You're cautious, good. This world is full of bad people, you never know who you're going to run into. A seemingly sweet, attractive young woman could turn out to be a deadly snake" Pandora said, amuzement returning to her voice.

"On a serious note, I have a proposition for you" She stated.

"Oh really. A proposition. And what exactly are you proposing?" he asked, curious, eager even. He wasn't about to join some gang but food, shelter, things like that, for even just a few nights would be invaluable. Still he erred on the side of caution, he wouldn't be convinced by words alone.

"Would you be my Delta" Pandora asked simply.

He frowned and gave her an incredulous look. He was unsure how exactly to react, tension leaving him in favor of pure confusion. "Your...Delta?"he asked, scratching the back of his head.

"That's not some weird sex thing is it? I mean I'm flattered but we don't know eachother that well" he spouted without really thinking.

"Oh, naieve child" Pandora laughed under her breath.

"Alpha, Brave, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Gamma. Don't tell me, you don't know your military abcs?" She said, her tone switching from light hearted to serious without missing a beat.

Zachary frowned at her and answered with a shrug, "Can't know everything. You are talking to a man who's mostly self taught. So, you going to tell me what's this delta stuff about or what?"

Pandora sighed "Can't have all the good traits, at least he has survival instincts" She said under her breath.

"You see, you and I" She paused "We have something in common" She said, shifting back into her own form. She shrunk in size considerably,and the hair that shaped her face so perfectly was now gone and in it's place was a bald head with the acception of one black and blonde strand of hair which curled about her forehead. The woman was slender with little to no shape and now stood at about 5 feet. She wasn't necessarily ugly; her face was beautifully shaped, with a large forehead, arched eyesbrows, bow shaped lips and those large almond shaped eyes hiding behind those sunglasses.

Zachary corked a brow in interest as the woman changed shape before him. She was now a good deal shorter than him, by about 7 or so inches, and that weird hair style reminded him of cartoons he used to watch as a kid.

"Well that's...interesting. So another mutant...I'm guessing this delta thing has to do with some group you formed" he said mulling this new information over.

"I see and what make your group so special? And why exactly would you need me?" he asked curiously though not entirely into the idea.

"My "group" goes by the name of Medusa, and I am the leader, you may call me Pandora" She said.

"Mmm, that rings a bell."he said putting his hand on his chin in a classic thinking pose. He looked up where the little bird he created circled over head, it certainly didn't have the answers.

"You may have heard of me, after all I did infiltrate the white house and personally threaten the vice president. But that was years ago, I can't expect you to remember, after all, you would have been, what? 14, 15 at the time? And what kid that age pays attention to the news?" She paused.

"Anyway, since then I have created a resistance group called Medusa and our number one target is the government. I need strong mutants with certain skills in my team to form an unstopable force" She paused once again, then continued "So, what do you say?"

"True 'nough, had other things on my mind than the news at that age" Zachary said, holding his hand open as the little bird swooped down and landed in his palm.

"As for joining your uh, heh, unstopable force. I'd have to say no. I've got other obligations to attend to. Now if you were to suggest making a deal to do fair and equal trading when I pass by here, if I pass by here again, well then I'd might just take you up on that offer miss" he said with a smirked as he ran his fingers over the soft feathered chickadee in his hand.

"Awe, pitty, and I really didn't want to kill you" Pandora said, shifting back into the tall woman from before, her ruby red lips pouting in dissapointment.

"I'd like to see you try miss."he stated calmly. He was sure he could protect himself, but you never knew with mutants. Shape shifting into beautiful women might not be her only power.

"No, no I don't think you would. Honestly, do you think you could take me on? How do you think I made it this far hmm? There is always more then what meets the eye child, never underestime your oponent. You don't know who your dealing with" Pandora stated simply in a monotone.

"Oh I'm not miss. But you don't know me either. We're both in the dark about eachother. Now if you don't want my offer that's fine by me. Much rather walk away without a fight. Afterall, killing eachother will only aide the government" he suggested, taking a step back. His fingers twitched, feeling for material to work with. There was plenty of it, all around them, enough at least to protect him.

"I don't think you understand. I'm working underground here, and no one is to know about Medusa. You know too much, besides, you've seen my true form, can't have that now can I?" She said, fingiring her sunglasses.

"I don't play around, boy. Do you think I'd target you without knowing your power? There is a reason why I went to you after all" Pandora paused for a moment.

"Right now you're analyzing your position and from the looks of your stance, you're unsure of yourself. You've made your choice, and so you shall die. Now, either you can struggle and attempt to fight back, or you can go quietly. Don't think for a moment I'd recruit someone I couldn't handle" She finished, all hint of amuzment from her voice lost.

Zachary swallowed thickly, tensing again as he readied himself to bolt.

"Now miss, maybe there's still a chance for agreement. I never got to tell you what I was trading" he said, hoping that info would be enough to let him slip by.

"Talk, and talk quickly" She demanded, not wanting to draw this out any further.

"Information. I track police and military movements via my little friend here,"he held up the little bird still sitting in his palm, "note it down and hand it over to you for a reasonable fee. Some food and a place to sleep, that's all I usually ask."

"That little friend of yours may as well have saved your life" Pandora said, turning around.

"Walk with, talk with me. I'll show you where you'll be staying the night, in return I want all the info you have of the military" She said, glancing back at the dark haired teen.

He let out a relieved sigh and cut his connection to the bird, in an instant it turned to dust. He followed after the woman, shifting his pack so he could reach inside and grab his journal.

"I keep everything in here, copy it in triplicate in case folks like you need the info."he said opening the journal and tearing out several sheets before handing them over to her. What was written there was neat and efficient, time stamps of movements and groupings, tactics used that had been successful, all sorts of information. Despite saying he was self taught it was obvious he was at the very least intelligent.

The sound of a car horn alerted the boy that his fate was soon to be sealed and he would once again be with his brother. Cold wind brushed up against his cheeks as the speeding cars whipped by him. The screech of tire against road pierced the nights air as a car fought against the slick road to come to a stop, but it couldn't get a good enough grip and kept sliding forward toward the boy at a fatal speed. Bright light burned upon the boy's dead eyes, illuminating the fear etched into his face.

A loud rhythmic thunder pounded in the boy's chest, reverberating throughout his body and leaving its deafening ring in his ears. The boy held his breath as the car inched forward, and he awaited the impact that was soon to come, but it never did. Dumbfounded the boy let out the breath he had been holding and tried to focus on where the car would be.

Rain pelted the hood of the cars around the boy, giving him a near perfect image of what was going on around him. Cars were facing this way and that all around him, in a giant mass of metal. Then it caught his attention, a tall slightly hunched over figure stood before him, between him and the should have been bringer of his death.

"Crazy ass kid! What do you think you're doing!" An angry voice came from the figure before the boy.

Silence.

"Why?" A muttered breathy whisper formed on the lips of the boy.

"Why what? Why save your sorry ass? Great question, now answer mine. What the hell were you thinking?" The gruff voice from before came again but this time it was closer.

"You! you took it from me" The boy stuttered angrily.

"Excuse you?" The sandy haired man asked before walking closer to the boy who stood, clutching his left hand to his right wrist.

"I could have been reunited with him, now that chance is gone. You're at fault" The boy said in a monotone voice and continued to mumble to himself.

"Look kid, I didn't have to save your stupid ass alright? I just happened to be headed in this direction and I'm in a hurry, I'm not about to let some stupid ass suicidal punk make me late got it?"

"You shouldn't have done it. It'll only bring more pain... more death" The boy slurred, stepping backward away from the man.

"Alright here's the deal; you are suicidal, mental and obviously really drunk. I'm not about to leave you in the middle of the street so my good deed can go to shit and you can succeed in killing yourself. I'm also not about to be late, you're coming with me, I'll get you sobered up and once you're in your right mind you can leave got it?" The man said, grabbing a hold of the boy.

"Let me go" The boy demanded, he could feel the anger boiling in the pit of his stomach when the man didn't let go.

"I said let me go!" The boy shouted, using his free arm to send a large sound wave at the man. The man was knocked backward, landing on his ass and when he got back on his feet the boy was nowhere in sight.

"Damn punk!" He yelled under his breath, leaving the crash site and heading toward his destination, grumbling all the while.

This man wasn't one for heroic acts and he wasn't quite sure why he stopped the kid, he should have just let him kill himself….perhaps it was instinct…a prospect of the man he once was before? What happened him?

The sandy haired man with a goatee wearing dark blue jeans, brown cowboy boots with the spurs to match, a white tee and a trucker cap which was of course worn backward.

So sorry for the VERY VERY late update! No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I live! ahah well there it is, the next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long to finish since I have a pretty good plan for the chapters ahead.