Private The Channels [18+]

Levi lay on a public bench, mumbling himself awake from a troubled sleep. He gazed up at the muggy sky and slowly but surely began to clear it. He stretched his limbs and felt the wonderful sensation coarse through his arms, as he stretches his legs and begins to feel the same thing he hears an 'oof'.

With haste Levi sits up. "I'm sorry m'lady." He said, his bench hair sticking up in all different directions. "That's alright." The elderly lady in the yellow jacket said, giving an uncomfortable smile. He pats at his pockets and finds his phone, opening up his contacts to send a message.

'Hey mum, I'm really sorry for how we left things. I still don't know why you had to leave and why you didn't tell me, but it led to new friendships and even though I still think you were wrong I just-'

He backspaces the whole thing.

"Mum. Come back?!"

Sent.

Walking the streets he truly realized how alone he was, and it didn't matter. He didn't need other people, he decided he'd try and treasure the time he had with people but try and enjoy his alone time also. It was corny and it would not work. As Levi walks and sends his message he goes onto Channel Surfing and notices an alert coming from his inbox. Expecting it to be Alice or Evelyn, he eagerly awaits as he loads his inbox page.

Participants: ProbablyNotFamous, Machine Girl
Subject: Alice needs your help

Levi

We don't have a lot of time so I've got to be brief. You already know that Alice (Starpebble) and I (my RL name is Jessica) know each other IRL and that, obviously, we're both Channels. She told me about your phone conversation yesterday and your desire to meet her in person. If you still want to that it needs to be now. The SDD is outside our school right now and they have Alice. They say they're protecting her from another Channel, a guy named Alexi. They're treating Alice like a normal girl and she's being very cooperative but she's scared. She's in danger and we need to help her. You can fly right? Get over to the Chantilly High School in the D.C area. if you have an iphone, turn on your personal hotspot and I can track you. Reply to this message so I know you got it but keep it short. We don't have much time.

Please hurry. Alice is my best friend and you mean a lot to her. She talked to me for over an hour yesterday about you. She really likes you Levi. I've got to go. I'm in the school bathroom texting this on my phone and someone's going to get suspicious soon. Text me if you need to. (703) 414 4487. Call me Jess.

She should have listened to him, he thought. He could have protected her and now he has to save her. He put his phone in his cargo pants and began to levitate before launching into the air. He flew in at his top speed, whizzing past buildings, he needed to save Alice. He felt like a shooting star, fulfilling a wish of Alice's safety. Plenty of thoughts flew through his brain, he was about to meet her and he had to save her. Did his hair look okay? What an odd impression he might make. But her safety was first and foremost, if he had to commit a monstrous act to save her then a monster he would become.

He got his phone out and used maps to locate the school, getting a general direction was all he needed as he had a birds eye view. He was clumsier while on his phone but the lack of traffic meant this wasn't a problem.

"Jess," he began to type, "I am on my way. Hotspot is on. Am I being used so you can remain incognito?" His paranoia showed, but he was okay with being used as a tool for Alice's sake. "Remember that song hero that was in shrek by that girl? That's me. Not sure what my plan is but as I get nearer I get nauseous of how Alice will think of me. If I kill for her sake she will hate it. Jess, if you can please send me somewhere to take her. Get her parents and meet me wherever you may find me."

He sent the message and flew forward, using gravity to help him fly in faster at an angle. He smiled at the thought of her talking about him. He flew past the school, seeing cars drive away to join a convoy on the highway. The SDD were recognizable.

There was an armored truck and two smaller vehicles, Levi assumed her to be in the armored truck. He flew in and landed on one of the cars, using his powers to stabilize himself. Focusing his mind to create a storm, he called in vicious winds to help ease his momentum as he jumped onto the armored truck. The soldiers inside began yelling for the truck to halt and it slammed the brakes, causing Levi to come tumbling off.

As he lay on the ground his nose began to bleed and he could feel grazes under his clothes. He slowly stood up to see six soldiers aiming assault rifles at him, the truck was now empty. He raised his arms and intensified the storm, without lowering his arms he brought lighting down the middle of the six, instantly killing two soldiers. He flew straight up into the air, the surviving soldiers stood up as the two cars began backing up away from the destruction.

Levi hurled himself toward the earth, using his telekinetic powers to create a powerful barrier to protect himself from impact, he sunk himself as deep into the ground he could. He shattered right through the road of the highway and into the turf beneath. The remaining six are destroyed. He slowly levitates through the hole he has create, larger than he expected, and watches the armored truck fall into the hole and land on a dead soldier. The scene is gorier than he expected.

One car has emptied, there are two unarmored SDD. These must be the ones who went into the school, or just made a public appearance. One aims a pistol at him. "Where is Alice?" Levi calls out. The winds are dying down, but they are still drowning out the sound of his voice. The officer calls out that he cannot hear Levi, so Levi lifts the officer and brings him forward. The SDD officer is unable to move his body, and is left looking around with his head. He is looking at Levi at an angle, with his legs in the sky and his head toward Levi.

"Where is Alice?"

"I refuse to disclose that information to a hunter."

Levi gives a grim smile, a facade. "Please tell me?" Genuine desperation in his voice.

The SDD man remain silent. Levi gives up and throws the man toward his partner, who is still aiming a gun at him. Raising his arm and pushing it left, he sends a large gust of wind to knock the men over the edge of the elevated highway. The car is pushed but not strong enough to topple over. The other car hasn't driven off but instead a singular man has left his car and began to approach Levi. "If you don't tell me where she is-" Levi begins, pointing an accusing finger at the suited man. "I assure you we do not have who you are looking for. Our car contains-" The man begins to say, the car begins to drive, turning back the way it came. Levi throws the man he was speaking to backward with his powers, believing him to be dead. Levi engages in a short flight to the vehicle and lands above it, using his powers he smashes the windscreen and creates an invisible barrier for the car to crash into. It comes to a halt and the man is lifted through the broken glass. Levi avoids seeing the mans face as he throws him backward, hearing a thump.

Levi jumps off the car and goes to open a locked car door. He knocks. He stands back as two older looking people step out, and a younger, much more beautiful woman steps out. He stares at her in disbelief, then looks over to what he assumed to be her parents. "Alice?" He says, choking up a little, "I'm sorry for what I've done I-, your friend Jess, I had to save you."

Alexei's eyes slowly opened, his ears picking off the sound from a news report. Turning his head he could see TV turned on. I don't remember even picking up the remote he thought. He turned his head further right to see no other but Jenna, who was staring at him the whole time. As soon as their eyes met she clapped her hands, releasing an unbelievably loud noise. Scared by the whole situation, and not fully woken from his sleep, Alexei fell from his bed, his head hitting the wooden floor quite hard. She laughed as Alexei struggled to get up. "How...did you get here?" he asked more confused than angry. She turned off the TV as she laid in Alexei's bed. "Say that again." He rose up and looked at her comfortably laying with her eyes closed. "Okay... How di-" She started laughing again. Alexei's lips were flapping but no sound came from his mouth. Her trick was probably to remind him that she can fully control sound. Alexei still didn't knew the full extent of her powers - she seemed to be able to control more than her own noises. Controlling the sound like that...she must be quite skilled at sneaking "Aight Alexei-" she jumped from the bed "Got good and bad news" He rose an eyebrow. "Good ones - go!" he said with a slightly authoritative tone. "Natham got himself in the big house" she said chuckling. Alexei was surprised. Natham wasn't one to go down easily "Really?" "Yup." she smiled as she approached him "And we're set to go. Croshaw is at her school, not too far from here." "Best of luck to you. With Natham gone I don't have to go through this bullpl*ps" "Yes you do. Natham ratted you out. The SDD know all about you." Alexei slightly laughed, getting closer to Jenna. "Naham wouldn't turn on his only means of escape. Besides, he didn't even knew I was a channel" "Nope-" she smiled as she rested her hands on his shoulders "But I do. We're now partners in crime!" she said with a tint of excitement in her voice as she moved in for a kiss. Their lips only met for like a second before Alexei pushed her away. He placed his hands on his forehead and eyes as he tried to understand the situation. Thanks to her, the SDD knew about him. "Do you have any idea what you did to me!?" he shouted at her while she stood confused. "For years I have avoided the SDD, acted as normal as possible. I killed to remain undetected, and you just threw that all away!"
He started circling around the room, bursting with anger. "You were living the wrong life then." she replied with a serious tone. "Hunters don't hide and blend with the crowd, Alexei. We are meant to be known, to be feared.". He shook his head "I am not a hunter, I am a channel. I don't want to be part of your genocide squad." he paused for a moment. "I'l get this job done, then I don't want to see you or your people ever again, is that clear?"

She was shocked, but calmly replied "Fine. I'l try and intercept Chris. You get Alice and bring her to Natham's drop off point."

----------

He coughed up blood at the public restroom, a way to limit and better control his powers. If he was to control the blood flow of multiple people at once without messing up he had to control his own blood flow first. He cleaned his hands from the blood before stepping outside, only to see 3 SDD trucks in a ruckus, with multiple solders on the ground. He approached the truck while staying out of sight, only to hear the voice of the one who caused all that chaos. "Alice?I'm sorry for what I've done I-, your friend Jess, I had to save you."
He had no idea who that could be. Chris was out of the question, he was to loyal, and didn't had the capability to do something of this scale. It was clearly another channel, but who? She didn't had many friends. As they exited the car he hid behind it. There was almost no way they could hear him. He had a plan. He quickly glanced at the girl then came back into cover. He waved his hand a little, increasing Alice's blood flow. This way she was going to act much more hostile and overexcited. Alexei hoped they could have a fallout before he swooped in to take her. So he stood there, behind the car, patiently waiting for something to happen.

Alice's mother had a protective arm around her daughter's shoulders. They were in the back seats of the sedan speeding down the highway. They were behind another identical sedan and the armoured van from outside the school. Alice was terrified. She had her left arm around her mother's waist and the other was balled up in a fist in her lap on top of her skirt. They sped down an overpass above the highway and Alice's mother did what she could to calm her daughter.

"Hey." She whispered. "It's gonna be okay. We'll meet dad at the station and we'll get this all sorted out. We're gonna be just fine Alice. We're gonna be okay." She didn't really believe her own words but made them convincing enough for Alice. A mixture of fear and resolution kept her from crying but snuggled against her mother for comfort. She's still so young. Her mother thought. Still coming to her mamma when she's scared. If these SDD fluffs touch a hair on her head...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden and heavy rain with howling wind. Mr. Lawson, the SDD officer and Alice's mother all looked out the windows with "what the fluff" looks but a led weight settled into Alice's stomach. Levi was here and he had chosen to be stupid.

Looking out the windshield she could see him land on the armored van in the distance and try to get in. He couldn't of course but the truck slammed on its brakes and both cars immediately followed, yanking Alice and her mother forward in their seat belts. The van doors opened and six SDD soliders with M4 assault rifles and full body armor and closed helmets rushed out. They surrounded Levi but he summoned a lightning bolt and killed two of them instantly. The other four were staggered and Levi flew up in the air and slammed down upon them. He used a telekentic barrier like a wrecking ball and crushed both the soldiers and the overpass, leaving a hole large enough for the van to tip over in. All Alice could hear was the screaming of the two remaining men inside and a deafening explosion, followed by a huge fireball.

"Oh my God...Levi, what have you done?" She said in a quavering voice.

"Levi? Who's Levi? Alice, do you know that boy?" Her mother said, wheeling around to confront her daughter.

"Y-yes. H...He's a boy I've been talking to on Channel Surfing! When we left I...I told Jess to message him! I thought maybe he could help somehow! I didn't think he'd do something like this!"

"What!? Alice, why would you do something like that!? Do you have any idea how much danger you've put us all in!? You didn't give this boy a way to find you did you!? Like your phone number!?" Her mother instinctively scolded her because she was shocked not because Alice was meeting people online but that she was naive enough to think there wouldn't be consequences for it all.

"...I trusted him." Alice pleaded.

"Alice you can't afford to be that naive! When you talk to people online, especially people who...do stuff like you...you CAN'T EVER compromise yourself like that! How did this boy even know where to find you?!"

"I told Jess to message him. I guess she told him where we were. I...I don't feel safe with the SDD mom! We're in danger!"

"You got JESS involved in this!?"

"Ladies, this really isn't the time!" The SDD officer riding shotgun yelled. "We've got a loose hunter and you're both in danger!" The knew he was right. Both officers in the sedan in front of them had gotten out and had been dispatched by Levi. One of them was throw off the overpass. Seeing that, Mr. Lawson and his companion officer got out of the car but turned to their passangers before closing the doors.

"Both of you stay here!" Mr. Lawson shouted over the wind. "Do not open this car to anyone but me or another agent! Understood!?"

They both nodded.

"Good! Whatever you do, stay down and don't panic!"

The officers approached Levi with their guns drawn. Levi shouted something but neither could hear. He pulled the officer off his feet with some kind of levitation powers and yelled in his ear. "Where is Alice!?" He shouted.

"I refuse to disclose that information to a hunter!" The officer shouted. "Please tell me!" Levi pleaded but the man remained silent. Levi then threw him into the hood of the sedan Alice and her mother were in. The hood was undamaged but the man hit it hard. He wasn't moving and there was a nasty wound on the back of his head. Mr. Lawson moved in and kept his gun on Levi.

"If you don't tell me where she is..." "I assure you we do not have what you're looking for. Our cargo contains..." They were both cut off by Alice running out of the car and rushing over to the unconscious officer. "Alice Croshaw what are you doing!?" Her mother shouted. "There are eight men dead because of me and I will not sit by and watch a ninth die! I have to save him!" Alice had gotten her CPR certification in health class less than a week ago and the training was still fresh in her mind. She tried to move the unconscious officer away from the car but couldn't do so. Her mother got out, knowing that this man would die if she did nothing, and helped Alice get him flat on the pavement. Mr. Lawson had been thrown against the curb but Levi stood and watched as Alice got over the officer and began doing compressions. She was exhausted after only about 40 and took her brown leather gloves off and rolled up her tight sleeves to make it easier. Her mother, under Alice's direction, had been holding the officer's head back and been giving breaths. The switched off but after a few minutes they were both exhausted. The officer was breathing again and Alice could feel his heart beat but he was still unconscious. Mr. Lawson said that backup and EMT's were on the way but it would be minutes before they got here. Alice rolled her sleeves back down and put her gloves back on. She looked at Levi with complete disdain.

"Alice?" He said, choking up a little, "I'm sorry for what I've done I-, your friend Jess, I had to save you." Alice was too shocked to say anything but all of a sudden her heart started racing. Her pulse hammered in her neck and wrists and her anxiety levels skyrocketed. Her brain couldn't put two and two together at the moment so Alexi remained anonymous nearby but all of Alice's fear and confusion turned to blind rage. Levi was a murderer, a killer. He was just like those Channels on the news that lived to hurt others. He was a Hunter. Without thinking, Alice hurled a white ball of dark matter at Levi that exploded with the force of a grenade when it hit him. She followed up by wrapping herself in a white corona of dark energy. So much that she levitated two feet off the ground. Her eyes glowed white with power and after five seconds of charging she released a massive bolt of energy. It was so strong that it burned a hole in the bridge. Several secondary bolts arced off of the point of impact, disintegrating three corpses by wrapping them in a white corona of energy and dissipating them into little embers. Nothing remained of them. Not even a burning outline.

(OOC: That was a little different than what we wrote Daryl but I feel like it fit better. Obviously, Alice didn't smash Levi to atoms. You can write how he reactos to her warp attack and energy bolt. Now I guess Alexi will jump both of them.)

After what felt to be ages, Brom rose like the dead. His still naked body frigid from the morning air that wafted throughout the apartment.

His mind reeled as he tried to make sense of what had happened last. Why he was lying naked in a pool of water next to a body.

Wait...body?

"Krys!" Brom shouted, finally sobering up from his nap. He scrambled over to her, picking her up in his arms. He checked her over, hoping that there was some way he could help her.

But he soon found there was nothing he could do. His only friend was now dead, and her killer was walking the streets.

Brom rested his head onto Krys, and he sat there for a moment. Tears tried their best to break from his eyes, but couldn't. Brom knew that sobbing and snotting like a child wasn't going to bring her back.

It certainly didn't make his parents come back to find him, now did it?

After a few more moments, Brom was overrun by a wave of determination. He stood to his feet and ran to Krys' brother's room. Hoping to find something to wear. Finally finding suitable clothing, he sat upon the bed, thinking about what he should do next. His mind immediately went to Krys.

He came up with a plan.

Brom grabbed Krys' phone and called the police. When they answered, he spoke urgently. "Listen. The girl who owns this phone was killed yesterday. Trace the phone call to find the address, I don't remember it. This is where that bastard killed her." The woman then asked him to relax. Then she asked who he was, and how he knew this information. Brom shouted back into the reciever.

"None of that matters, lady. Just get up here and get her. Notify her family." He paused, then answered her question. Sort of. "All I know is that the same guy who killed her also caused the incident at the pier. I'm going out to find the asshole, and I'm going to give him the same treatment." The woman had begun to speak, but Brom had hit the end call button before she could be heard.

He stormed out of the apartment, but stopped to kneel next to Krys once more. He placed a hand on her cheek, and smiled at her. "Thank you. For everything."

With that, he was gone.

Alexei was quite surprised when he saw Alice threw a glowing weird ball at Levi, and even more surprised when the ball exploded the way it did. There was clearly more to her than met the eye, and maybe that's why Jenna's people were so interested in her. But there was no time to theorize, Alice's attack left a wall of smoke, blocking Alexei's view on Levi. He could still see her float, he could still see her fireworks and he could still see her terrified mother. He quickly eyed an empty civilian car by the other side of the bridge. It was time for him to make his move.

In an instant, he jumped out of cover, now meters away from Alice. His eyes turned red, as he rose his hands up, then dropped then. He couldn't see what was going on with Levi, but Alice's mother fell to the ground instantly. Alice wasn't affected, at least she didn't seem so. Alexei eyed her, his eyes slowly turning normal. He breathed heavily as he realized he overused his abilities. He glanced at the car and back at her "Come on, Alice" he said with a weak voice as he approached her "We need to get you out of here!"

Amy was terrified. She had been too busy to be afraid five minutes ago. She had that SDD officer to help save and Alice, her little Alice, to protect from this insane boy and his psychic powers. Obviously he had very strong feelings for Alice and knew that they were both in danger, as if it were a mystery, but how he went about it was simple madness. He'd killed almost ten men in just as many minutes and she and Alice were right in the middle of it. This was going to shake her daughter to the core if not scar her for years to come. She certainly have a hard time sleeping after today.

Amy watched Alice and the boy, Levi, face off. He said he was her to save her and Jess led him to her. Alice was, understandably, too shocked to answer but then she did something that filled Amy with both fear and awe. Alice suddenly drew an incredibly anxious look and summoned some sort of white energy ball. She hurled it at Levi and it exploded with the force and deafening sound of a grenade. Amy closed her eyes and covered her ears and when she looked she could see only smoke. Than she saw a bright corona of energy and Alice started to float, writhing with purple energy. She was radiating power Amy couldn't comprehend. Alice seemed lost in her own power. Amy covered her eyes again as Alice released a huge purple lightning bolt that left a burning hole in the bridge. Amy shook with fear when the dust cleared. She thought she had lost her daughter. That she'd become a hunter like on the news. That they would never see each other again. But that isn't what happened. Alice floated back down to the ground and her eyes were hers again. She looked exhausted and looked horrified at what she'd done. Amy wanted to hold her daughter and keep back the crushing guilt she was about to feel but she was also relieved that her little faerie was still who she was.

She suddenly got queasy and laid down on the asphalt. She wanted to get up and run to Alice, to hug her, to protect her, but she couldn't. Her heart slowed to a crawl all of a sudden and the last thing she saw before she fainted was a tall thin man in a suit walking through the carnage.

Alice couldn't find the words to describe what she'd just done. She couldn't believe she had really disintegrated Levi but she couldn't find him. The smoke was too thick and when she saw Levi when it cleared it offered no comfort. He was in bad shape. She tried to call out to him and to her mom when she saw her on the ground terrified but her hear slowed. She felt sick. It was all she could do to stay on her feet. What was going on here? First she feel inexplicable rage and now she can't walk straight? This was more than just stress. Something or someone was manipulating her and she had to get out.

Then she saw the man she knew was Russian. The man from her visions yesterday. As soon as he walked by her mother and Levi they both fainted and every step he took she felt weaker. As if her blood was in his hands.

"Alexi..." Alice slurred. "So you found me...pl***..." She intended to mutter something more profound than that but her brain was a little slow right now.

"C'mon Alice." He said in a weak voice. Obviously he had taxed himself to put all of them under. Alice couldn't take advantage of this because her display of power had sapped her strength and she was under the influence of whatever power he radiated. "We need to get you out of here!"

"No..." Alice said weakly. "I've seen you...I've seen you in my dreams. You're a Hunter. The SDD said they were keeping me safe. You're going to...tooooo..."

She was too weak to finish her sentence. She stumbled onto her hands and knees. Her arms were shaking under her own weight and she fought to stay awake but it was too much. She laid down on the increasingly soft asphalt on her stomach and closed her eyes, unable to fight any longer.

Alexei wanted to change her mind, to show her he was not the evil man the SDD made him out to be. But before he could speak, she was already unconscious on the ground. Maybe that was for the best, as he could hear a chopper in the distance behind him. Looking back, the smoke was still there, too thick for him to see anything. He'd assume the man Alice fought died off or got knocked out, but there was no time to check. He grabbed Alice and made a run for the car. The girl was quite light, he shouldn't have problems carrying her, but he was taxed by the use of his abilities. He panted all the way to the car until he finally placed her to lay in the back seats. He got to the wheel and left the scene. Looking back, the Chopper had almost arrived.

Troy turned to face Brom, who was standing before him, his hands ablaze, looking quite upset.

Poor kid thought that just because he was a little fired up from losing his girlfriend that he would be able to overtake him.

Big mistake.

He lifted his hands, weaving a torrent of water that wrapped around him beautifully.

That was the danger of water. How could something so clear and pure be so deadly?

This bastard was about to find out.

He sent the torrent at Brom, who ducked and dodged all of it. Troy sent another, but Brom repeated the motion again, this time sending a fireball at Troy, who just absorbed it. The look on the kid's face was priceless.

Did he really think that would work?

After catching the kid off guard, Troy sent another, knocking Brom back, and sending him flat on his ass.

He smirked. How simple this was going to be.

Alice woke up to the muffled sounds of the road. Her eyes slowly opened in response to the light of day shining through car windows and she groggily looked around. She was laid out in the back seat of a car with Alexi driving and talking on the phone with someone. Likely whomever he was taking her to. Despite being fully aware that she had been kidnapped Alice wasn't in a panic. She was groggy from her unexpected nap and really quite comfortable back here. She enjoyed sleeping in cars and even though it really wasn't safe being laid out across leather seats was very comfortable. She was warm thanks to her outfit and the sun had warmed the black seats up nicely. She also noticed her stuff was beside her at the foot of the seats. Considering she was picked up from school she had her backpack and brown leather jacket with her. She also had a night bag she had packed just in case things got weird today, which they most certainly had. Her backpack had her usual school stuff. Books, spiral notebooks, binders for her classes, but it also had girl stuff she often needed. A small collapsible umbrella, a simple change of clothes for if she had to stay the night somewhere, a phone charger, a water bottle and some snacks, a pack of tissues, some basic makeup, a brush and small mirror a thumb drive and a pack of menstrual pads for...incidents. The night bag, her mom's idea that she executed, had bath stuff like shampoo and bath oil, toothbrush and toothpaste, a pair of footie pajamas and some more clothes, including a neatly folded black skirt and suit coat, white blouse, black tie, pair of pantyhose and a pair of black polished knee high stiletto boots in case she had to dress for success. Like a trial for being a Channel or a forced job interview with the SDD. Alice gave a small smile, knowing that even though she was being held against her will she was at least prepared for a stay. Plus her phone's personal hotspot was still on so Jess knew exactly where she was. Unless...

She got out her phone and saw it was at 10% power. "pl***." She muttered. "I forgot how much that sucks down battery life. I might as well post on Channel Surfing with music blaring at full volume. Drains the battery just as fast." She entered her passcode to unlock her phone and try an text Jess and her mom but as soon as she typed three letters her phone died. "fluff."She muttered. Alice talked to herself when she was stressed, in deep thought, nervous, scared or felt she was in danger. Right now all of the above applied. She thought over her situation, keeping calm, and decided that all she could do at the moment was do what Alexi asked of her. She was stuck here and she wasn't about to let Levi cause ANOTHER road wreck so she figured she might as well enjoy the ride.

Alice sat up, swung her legs off the seat and buckled up in the middle seat where she could see the rear view mirror and Alexi could see her. She sat with her knees together, comfortably wrapped in leggings, and with her feet apart, protected along with everything below her knees in her brown knee high riding boots. She still had her thin leather gloves on and she folded her hands in her lap on top of her blue dress.

"It's Alexi right?" Alice asked, speaking up over the road noise. "Can I ask you something?"

The moment she sat up he eyed her in the mirror. He didn't knew what the girl was up to, nor did he really care. He was quite sure she wouldn't blow up the car. He chuckled at the thought though. Then, when Alice wanted to ask him something, he stopped the car at another red light.
"Ask away." he replied with a calm tone.

Alexi's tone was much calmer than Alice expected. He was strained when she last saw him and she expected him to be exhausted. Instead he seemed fine, and totally in control. Funny how Alice was more curious than scared about her kidnapper but she had never really met another Channel besides Jess before and never one with such a power. "What exactly did you do to me?" She asked loudly. "You made everyone in that scene pass out and before that my heart suddenly started racing and all I could think about was hurting Levi. I sometimes get panic attacks and let me tell you this was something completely different."

Levi huh...It takes balls to do what he did Alexei thought as she talked about what happened."Magicians never reveal their secrets." he paused for a brief moment, only to realize that information about him was actually leaked. There was no point in hiding anymore "Didn't your SDD buddies tell you anyway? I control the blood cells in any sapient organism. Blood flow, heart beats, open wounds all that...You were already stressed, all I had to do was push you a little bit more. It worked, one way or the other."

Alice listened intently as Alexei explained his powers. "Interesting. I suppose someone like me would be easy to control. Especially under stress." Then there was an awkward silence until Alexei blurted out"I'm not gonna do it Alice." It had been almost twenty minutes and she was just zoning out but this perked her ears up. "Not gonna do what Alexei?"

"Not gonna handle you over to them. We're going to a friend who might take better care of you than I can, in the meantime, you must keep a low-" he stopped the car in the middle of the road, luckily there was no one behind him. Alexei started coughing blood in his palm. Using his powers like that was a mistake and he knew it. He looked away from his hand as he cleaned himself with a tissue, trying not to see the blood. He looked more scared than he cared to admit.

Alice was concerned that Alexei even mentioned handing her over to the SDD, but she was confused when he said something about handing her over to someone that could take better care of her than he could. Just what did that mean? Where was she supposed to go besides home? The best people to take care of her were her parents and now they had no idea where she was.

Suddenly they stopped. Alexei started coughing violently and Alice could clearly see blood in his right palm! He was coughing up his own blood! Whether related to his powers or another issue altogether this was a serious issue. He needed help. She gasped and put a gloved hand to her nose and mouth. She found the sight and smell of blood nauseating. She had to poke herself to test her blood type in Biology one day and she nearly fainted for it. Blood smelled like salt and rust to her and it dark, viscous appearance, especially when coagulated, made her sick. And there was a LOT of blood here.

"Oh my god." She said weakly, trying to keep her breakfast down and thankful she hadn't had lunch yet. "are you...?" Was all she could say before talking became too much. She was nauseous and felt like she wanted to throw up. She leaned back in her black leather seat, laid her head down between the headrest and windowframe and concentrated on breathing. It helped a little and her stomach subsided but she felt weak and upset. Disturbed really. She simply couldn't stand the sight of blood. She kept her eyes closed and continued to take deep, slow breaths, hoping to God she wouldn't faint.

After he wiped his hand he tried to recover. Looking in the mirror he could see that Alice handled his own blood loss worse than himself. He didn't stand by long after he recovered, starting the car again he talked as if nothing happened "C'mon, it's just a bit of blood, don't be so scared!" he said as he sped up. He wanted to joke about what just happened, but he quickly realized that wasn't the time. At this point he started going over the limit, a smirk slowly forming on his face. "Put your seat belt on, I wanna get to L.A before Christmas!". He passed multiple red lights until he finally got on a crowded street. As he got stuck in traffic he got his suit off and threw it on the passenger seat

"Sorry. I have an...adverse reaction to blood." Alice said apologetically. Alexei seemed to cheer right up after his coughing fit and was suddenly in a joking mood. Apparently they were going to LA. That meant they were probably going to the airport. Alice could charge her phone enough to call her mom but would that really be the best idea? The SDD probably had her and Levi into custody by now and they WILL come for Alice as soon as they find her. And if Alexei was a criminal they wouldn't be nearly as gentle this time. It might be a better idea to wait until Alexei was up to and then try to be rescued. She was scared and she wanted to see her mom but she was also safe and comfortable. That gave her time to think and that wold let her come up with a plan. Right now the best thing she could do was stay the quiet little mouse.

She turned but before closing the door she turned at him‘’ Did you cry, when I said that I see you as a hero? ‘’‘’ No, some spores got into my eyes ‘’he replied quickly. “Sure…” she thought to herself. She smiled at him and closed the door, leaving herself get lost in her thoughts. “If only he would train me so that I could have the revenge I sought out for so long” she whispered as she was heading towards a window, a storm had started. She took a deep breath and exhaled “ I will ask him to train me” She said as she found herself walking towards the door and holding the doorknob, she opened the door and without thinking said “I need you to train me”. Ace’s expression was so priceless that she almost laughed “Excuse me?” He asked. “I need you to train me! To teach me everything you know.” Ace took a serious expression “Why? Why do you want to do this?” “Because I’m tired of hiding! I need to take my fate at my own hands… I want to take revenge for the destruction of my old life. Because I’m tired of looking up to someone who is brave enough to face them. I want to be enough to face them… I need to” Tears started to well up in her eyes. He was clearly confused, but then he walked over to her and took her in his arms… She felt safe for a moment. “I will do everything I can. But first, we need to rest. It was a hard day.” He said. She nodded and walked over to her room “Goodnight” she said softly. She closed the door and after changing into her sleepwear, fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning she got up and donned on a pair of sport shorts and a cropped t-shirt and walked over to the kitchen, Ace was already up and was preparing coffee and breakfast. She slowly walked over to him “Good morning” she said as she stretched a bit. He turned around and he seemed a bit fazed at her appearance but he kept his cool and said “Good morning.” She smiled and walked over to the counter “Need any help with preparing breakfast?” “I don’t think so” He replied. “Unless you want to” He continued on to chop some fruit and quickly set two bowls in front of them and two glasses of iced coffee . “If we are to start training today, you need to have a light breakfast.” He said as he took a swig off his coffee. She did the same and they both started to eat. She was happy with what was happening, although she did feel a bit awkward at some points.

After they finished their breakfast, Ace went down to open the store and Evelyn started getting ready. After applying her make-up and making her hair into a nice braid, she wore some more decent clothes and went down to the store. “I will close the store a bit earlier today, so we can get you new clothes that will enable you to move more freely and faster.” He said “Why so?” She asked, smiling a bit. He winked at her “We wouldn’t want the SDD to recognize you.” “No we wouldn’t” She gave him a wide smile. She continued to help around with the store, helping customers out and briefly chatting with him. It was now 2 o’clock in the afternoon and customers were nowhere to be found. Destiny leaned back on the counter. “So… anything else you want to tell me?” She said. Giving him a half-smile. “ I was actually thinking about you. What will you… what will we do after I train you? And by the way I have never trained anyone before” he said as he scratched the back of his head “What will we do…” She started moving towards him “Well I was hoping that we would continue working together after the training is done.” She said, looking into his eyes, the last night’s event didn’t mean much at that moment, but, apparently, they influenced their behavior towards each other. He looked back at her and his eyes penetrated her gaze “ No, I mean, there is a reason you want me to train you… As for working together” he shifted seeming to be uncomfortable “we can work on that” he smiled. She was uncomfortable with his statement. “Yeah…” She said awkwardly, refusing to look at him directly. She heard a step, and was surprised when he grabbed her shoulder and pressed his forehead on hers. His eyes were closed and he smiled “I am not going to judge you Evelyn, I just need to know what you really intend to do with your powers. What is your primary goal… and if there is any way that I can help you” he said with a really calming voice. She lowered her head and some loose hair fell perfectly on the edge of her face, a sad expression was painted onto it, while thoughts of her past were painfully flashing in her mind. Everything she loved, it was now gone, she had nowhere she belonged, she had no friends, no family, nothing, only the money from her account, which she hated to use. “I want Revenge…” She muttered sadly, barely holding back her tears. “Everything…” She said as teardrops started falling. She gently pushed him away from her “I need.. to stay alone for a bit” she said, right before she started running towards the room on the back and disappearing from his sight. She entered the room and quickly located a place that she could be at peace, behind some huge boxes in the back. She went over there and sat on the smallest, which seemed sturdy enough for her to sit on and immediately broke into tears. “I can’t believe what has happened… I can’t believe what that bastard has done to me!” Sparks began to swirl around her and her eyes started glowing in a ice blue- neon colour. The colour of lightning “I want to take away everything he loves most, like he did to me! My life was perfect until he came along and wrecked it!” She punched the wall with her fist, which was shrouded in electricity. “I can’t believe that, for so long I’ve been hiding and running away from him! I just can’t… Like dad used to say, you need to face your problems head on. That’s exactly what I’m about to do.” She stood up and wiped the tears off her face. She walked towards the door, just as she was about to open the door Ace opened it “I heard everything” his smile widened and he showed her some keys “We’re going shopping” He winked at her. She giggled and followed him over to his basement where a black and red Kawasaki Z1000 Special Edition was. “Didn’t know you had this beauty hidden down here”. She laughed, “Well I need to have a way to move around.” He said with a playful tone. “You’re full of surprises.” She said with a similar tone, but much more seductive as she took a step towards him. He brushed his hair awkwardly “Shall we go?”. “That was a fail… I thought… Keep it together Eve… He’s Bloodthorn. And besides, you don't have time for a relationship” She thought “Yeah.. Let’s” she said a bit timidly. He paused right next to the bike, he turned and said “Wanna ride?” with a taunting tone. She arched her left eyebrow and smiled “Hmm… Let me think.” She said. He kept on looking at her and tapped on the bike “Oh are you?” She smiled as she walked over and stood near the back seat “Not this time” She winked as he hopped on and started the bike, she took a seat behind him and wrapped her arms around him. “You don’t have a problem with speed, do you?” He asked as he passed her the second helmet. “Not a single one... Besides, speed of electrons etc? Yeah... I know the limits of speed.” She said as he turned it on and opened the garage door “Then hold on tight.”

“Do you have anywhere in particular you want to go?” He asked as they were running circles around the park. “Maybe a mall would be the best idea to find something. I know what I’m looking for.” She said as she was holding him firmly, her hair waving out of the helmet. “Alright.”As soon as the bike stopped, she dismounted and took of her helmet, flipping her hair a bit. “I actually did it without noticing” She thought. He was staring at her with a mixed expression.

They spent the next couple of hours browsing around the stores and chatting.

“That looks good on you. It suits you, it’s a neon colour.” Ace commented when she was trying on a neon blue coat which was short up front, with an ornate neck that reached up to her chin, same sleeves, ¾ and tight, covering it fully and then zipped all the way to the belly button and then hung a little longer in the behind, slightly lower than her waistline. “You think so?” She smiled, turning so that her side was facing the mirror.