Happy birthday to me! You know what Mady's birthday means? That's right: THREE NEW CHAPTERS! So, you're getting the prologue and first chapter of Arrows, the sequel to Animo (aka, this) as well as the next chapter in Tower Falling. Sound good? I hope you are all excited for this sequel, because I definitely am. Love you all! Enjoy!

Prologue: Moving On

Mo's P.O.V.

My iPod was sitting beside me on the carpeted floor of my living room, blaring Fall Out Boy's "Tiffany Blews" from the tiny speakers. I hummed along as I leaned my back against the couch behind me. A sketchpad sat in my lap, a mechanical pencil in my hand. It wasn't professional by any means, but it was good enough for me. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing. Brendon's name was scrawled all across the page, along with little doodles of his eyes and the curve of his lips. But as I hummed and eventually sang along to my music, I forgot what I was doing and began scratching out the names of my friends on the Avengers team.

I thought about them every day since I was returned home. They never left my mind. Before I knew it, I was sketching out Barton's profile, shading the dark blue of his eyes with my graphite, keeping his skin lighter to coordinate with it. I didn't have a picture to look at. It was completely from memory. I never realized just how much I'd studied his face in the entire year I'd known him.

Almost a year had passed since I left New York and joined up with school and my family again. I came back a couple of months into my senior year, and I was welcomed back with open arms. Grace and Jenna, my best friends, were thrilled to see me again, as was Brendon. The initial enthusiasm at going back to school faded quickly. I hated school. It sucked. But at least everyone I loved was there with me, suffering as I was.

The grip on my pencil tightened. Suffering. They didn't know suffering. Suffering was watching your friend bleeding on a rooftop. Suffering was finding out that an alien invasion revolved around your imminent capture. Suffering was trying to rescue your brother from being tortured on your behalf and getting tortured yourself instead. Suffering was becoming infected with an alien virus that made you nearly kill the people around you. They didn't know suffering.

My earpiece beeped and I dropped my pencil onto the sketchpad, creating a speck of graphite on Barton's otherwise flawless face. I pressed my finger to my ear, just like when I was back in New York. But it wasn't Nick Fury's voice I heard in my head; it was Sergeant Walker, the police chief in my town. I'd been directly linked to the police force since I returned home for the simple fact that I knew how to fight the aliens and they did not. I also knew what they wanted, and I knew how desperate they were to attain it. They'd kidnap, torture, possibly murder anyone who stood in the way of getting their target: me. And I wasn't about to let that happen.

"Yeah?" I spoke aloud. There was nobody home but me.

"Agent, we need you to come in. There's a suspected drug deal scheduled to take place over on Cherry Street in the next half hour."

Unfortunately, there were no alien appearances in the almost year that I left New York. So, instead, I was stuck dealing with average criminals when the local crime fighters were busy doing bigger and better things. The only perk of the job was that I got to leave school early if there was something serious that they needed me for. And they called me "Agent".

I stood, stretching out my back. "I'm on my way. Have a cell ready for me. This shouldn't take long."

oOoOo

Barton's P.O.V.

Sorry, I'm unable to come to the phone right now. But, if you're important enough, I'll call you back. Bye now!

I kicked at a piece of concrete with the toe of my boot, rolling it back and forth across the rooftop. Mo's voice mail recording played over again in my mind, just as it'd done since the day she'd left us almost an entire year ago. I sighed. I guess I wasn't important to her after all. She'd never called back. I'd never called again. Rejection had a way of making you never want to emerge from your apartment again.

Unfortunately, I had duties to attend to as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. I couldn't just sit around and mope forever. That's what brought me to the rooftop of some random building, walking in circles with my bow clutched tightly in my hand. Scouting for any alien appearances was boring; they hadn't shown up since we stole Adam back from them. I couldn't help but hope that they had decided to leave and never come back. But things never have been that simple.

The sound of boots scraping against cement reached my ears just as someone clamped a hand over my mouth. Automatically, I went into defense mode, bringing my elbows back and digging them into my assaiant's stomach. The heels of my feet smashed into their toes, but their grip on me didn't loosen. Thinking fast, I dropped down to my knees, dragging the attacker with me, and rolled forward, sending them flying over my back. Soon enough, I was back on my feet. I crouched down, mirroring the stance of the alien standing across from me, a fierce scowl on my face. "You know," I spat, the corners of my lips tugging upward into a smirk. "Sneak attacks are hardly fair."

The arrogance faded quickly as soon as the alien, a tall male with shaggy red hair and tanned skin, grew an additional two arms. "Oh, shit," I cursed. This wasn't going to be good.

oOoOo

Mo's P.O.V.

My feet thundered against the rooftop as I sprinted after the drug dealer. His hair was crazy long for a guy and as black as a person's pupils. It was waving behind him like a flag. A part of me wanted to catch up to him just so I could grab a fistful of it and yank him to the ground. The other part just wanted to shove him off the roof. Either one would work just fine for me.

"You do realize that there's no where you can go that I can't follow you, right?" I yelled at him, hardly even out of breath. I'd been working out since returning home from New York. Morning jogs became a daily habit, and they really came in handy. "Anywhere! I can chase you anywhere!" I insist. "Except maybe the men's room!"

He skidded to a stop just as he reached the edge of the building's roof. It was a library, or at least I was pretty sure it was. The light was quickly fading from the sky, and the surrounding businesses were beginning to blur into one long chain, like an outlet mall. His heels pressed against the short ledge, he clenched his fists and turned to face me. "You really think that now is the time for jokes, little girl?" he sneered.

I snorted out a laugh. "Did you seriously just call me a little girl? How old do I look to you? Twelve? Bitch please."

In the lights of the streetlamps, I could see his eyebrows raise. "You've got quite a mouth on you, kid. Didn't your mommy teach you any manners?"

"Not at all. But Daddy taught me how to take out the trash." I pressed a button on my bracelet and felt my boots begin to warm around my feet. "I'll give you three seconds to put your hands in the air and kneel on the ground. And I don't intend to ask twice."

He laughed coldly and shook his head. "You overestimate your talents, little girl."

I ran at him suddenly, prepared to tackle him to the ground, but instead he flopped to the ground and flattened himself out, sending me sailing over his head and over the side of the building. I don't scream, however; not like the first time I was sent off the top of a building. I only found myself thanking Tony Stark as my boots kicked in and sparks spit out the bottoms of them and I flew back up into the air. My hair blew wildly around my face but came to a stop on my shoulders as I hovered right in front of the criminal's face. He was laughing when I showed up in front of him, thinking I'd surely broken every bone in my body. Now he only looked shocked. Idiot.

My hand darted out and latched onto his wrist. I landed gently on the roof's ledge and twisted his arm around behind him. My foot kicked out the backs of his knees, causing him to kneel on the cement roof. He gasped in pain, doubling over and bracing his free hand on the roof. Chuckling softly, I leaned over and whispered in his ear. "You just got your ass beaten by a seventeen-year-old. Now, tell me: how does that make you feel?"

oOoOo

Barton's P.O.V.

I take a few steps back. I'd dropped my bow when I'd rolled across the rooftop, and it was now sitting solitary beneath the alien's black boot. I could throw my arrows like a javelin, but the impact wouldn't be near as great.

The alien wasted no time in rushing at me, all four of his arms outstretched and aimed for my throat. I ducked out of the way, stumbling a little and scratching the heels of my hands against the concrete. They bled just a little, but I paid it no mind and instead made a mad dash for my bow. If I can just get to in time, one arrow is all it will take to drop him, I told myself, moving so fast that my legs were numb.

A hand wrapped around my ankle, bringing me crashing into the roof. My pants tore when they came into contact with the ground, in turn causing the new scrapes in my knees to leak blood. I hissed with pain and flipped around onto my back, aiming a kick at the alien's head. But he wasn't alone anymore. As he grabbed onto my other ankle with one of his other three hands, a second alien came around my side and latched onto my wrists, holding them above my face. Yet another alien approached me as my two captors lifted me into the air. His eyes were as dark as his hair, and he wore a menacing grin. "Hello, Barton. Have you missed me?" he sneered.

"Garfield," I hissed, struggling against the hold on my limbs. Chris Garfield laughed at my expense. "You bastard. What do you want with me?"

"Just a little chat. And then you can go free." He gave me a twisted grin. "I promise."

I curled my lip at him, attempting to kick the creature holding onto my ankles. "Excuse me if I don't believe a word you're saying."

He laughs. "I'm not offended. Don't worry."

"This is about Mo, isn't it?" I accused.

Garfield's eyes glinted in the fading light. "Very good. I see they keep you around for more than just your skills with a bow, then."

I turned my face away from him, disgusted at speaking to him for so long. The aliens carried me toward what looked like a helicopter. How they managed to get their hands on one of those, I had no idea, but it didn't matter much right then. They threw me unceremoniously inside and climbed in after me, slamming the doors shut and bathing me in darkness. The only thought running through my mind in that moment was I am so freaking screwed before I lost consciousness.