-=To Shine, Not Fall=-

[Teetaw89]

Core was as shocked as Desiree. "Do you mean she's going to talk to the President of the United States?"

He blinked and looked at Desiree. "Is that what she's saying?" He figured he might feel like an idiot if that wasn't the case, but what else was he supposed to think? After all, he wasn't human.

_____

Tren was surprised at the sound of no bullet flying when they appeared before her, but he got over it quick.

He said nothing as Francine made the reason they were there obvious. He was still silent when they began to walk down the halls.

He was there for protection's sake. He knew Francine would need it the most, though she was very capible. Mirage would need it, but he wasn't about to tell her that. He merely planned on saving her when the time came.

After they had entered the room, and the man had shown himself, Tren knew what he was dealing with. Mere humans. As the man's finger began to get closer to the button, he decided it was time to intimidate the man by just speed alone.

In the instant that the button went down only slightly, not enough to give them away, he suddenly swiped the button out of the man's hand quicker then anyone could possibly see, and was back in his first spot faster then a milosecond could tick by, knowing that man would only realize that the button was gone, and have no idea what happened.

He smiled. This might be kinda fun, now that he thought about it.

[||Megs||]

Desiree nodded slowly, and Echidna did it as well.

"Desiree, I suggest you go clean up. Core and I will wait in the living room, and I will open the speak network as well." Echidna said, smiling softly at Desiree.

Desiree nodded, smiled briefly at them, then walked back into her room to find some decent clothes and find a cloth to wash herself up.


Echidna led the way to the living room, where Aidan sat, looking a lot more alive than he had before. He smiled at Core, and stood. His gaze came to rest on Echidna.

"Will she do it?"

"Yes. The hard part is opening the speak netwrok, though. After all, we are trying to contact the President of the United States, after all." Echidna said, crossing over to the large T.V. screen. Aidan came to stand near Core as he watched Echidna, who had turned the T.V. on and had pushed a button, a small and dainty control panel coming to slide out near the base of it. Kneeling down, Echidna began to gently push in codes, once in a while looking up at the screen, which was display various options in white letters that stood out against the gray background.

"I have faith in Desiree, but...it will probably take more than just nerves to speak with him, if you know what I mean." Aidan said to Core, hands crossing comfortably behind his back.

-----

Gregory jumped in surprise as the device was suddenly gone, face paling as he stared at Tren, unable to believe it. What the heck!

Mirage lowerc her gun, fiddled with it, then aimed at the man again. She shot it, but instead of a bullet flying out, a small white ball did. Gregory fell over, out cold. Mirage looked back to Tren, and offered him a small smile.

"Impressive, I must say. Keep that tucked in your pocket, it may come in handy later on."

Francine nodded to Tren, but couldn't find any words to speak.

They continued onward, coming to yet another door. This time Mirage did not hesitate, her mind focused on her goal. The layout of the Guild was in her mind, and she knew where she was going. The door opened, leading into a long hallway with faint white light above. The walls were blank and gray, the floor a cold cement. Mirage paused, frowning.

"...This is new. Better be careful." So, there had been some modifications since her last visit, eh...

Mirage walked into the hallway first, on guard. Her eyes swept the walls, but she did not see anything out of the ordinary. There were no cameras, nothing to trigger a trap, or anything. Just blank walls.

They came to yet another door, and this time Mirage paused.

"Be ready." Was her only warning as she opened the door, darting in. It was a very large circular domed room, reaching high up to a single large round window at the top, which filtered in weak light onto the floor and the people that stood assembled there. Around the edges of the room stood crates and boxes, filled with who knows what. There were many other doors that led to who knows where. Enough said for the while, for as soon as the three entered the room, gunfire poured upon them.

Mirage was able to duck and roll behind a crate, but something stung her left shoulder quite painfully. Looking briefly to it, she saw blood leaking through her shirt, dripping onto the floor. She winced slightly, but she didn't have time to pay attention to it. She focused her mind on the current mission, setting her gun back to its orignal setting of bullets. A quick glance to her left told her that Francine had dove behind a set of crates opposite her, and she didn't seem to be harmed...

[Teetaw89]

Core didn't know what the heck to say. He merely followed Echidna and watched her work. Desiree was going to talk to the President of the US! He hadn't been on earth for too long, but he did know that it was very hard to do what they planned on doing.

As he stood by Aidan and listened to the clicking of the control pad, he suddenly realized how big this whole thing really was. He also realized he really had little idea of what exactly Desiree had been doing her whole life. He knew she had been important stuff, and finishing her father's work, but how much did he really understand?

He was dealing with far more things than he knew. How much danger was Desiree and her mother really in? He decided he would have to find out some more info before he got in way over his head.

_____

As soon as the door opened, after they had past the cement walls of the rather empty halls, he was instantly behind crates. Bullets were flying everywhere.

He glanced in the direction Mirage had gone. He could see the two women from where he was, though not well.

He knew the bullets would not hurt him, except that they were future stuff, and might give a bit of a sting, so he decided he'd better put his super skills to work.

He glanced up slightly at the window above, and put his mind to work. If he let the girls go on ahead while he handled this, it would get done faster, but, if by some chance there was more gunfire behind one of the doors they went through, he'd have to stop them too.

He also knew he wouldn't be able to stop every bullet, and someone was bound to get hurt, but it was his job to make sure they got to where they were going as safe as he could manage.

"Okay then, I'll get them out of this as quick as possible." He disappeared.

Suddenly, and too quickly to be seen, he zipped through the room, knocking guns out of random hands and throwing people in different directions, as softly as he could manage.

After he had done so, he was at Mirage's side. "You and Francine go ahead and go, I'll take care of this and meet you in just a few minutes. Now go."

He disappeared again, once more stopping flying bullets.

[||Megs||]

Mirage blinked at Tren's swiftness, as he once again surprised her. But she nodded to him before he could leave, shifting her left wounded shoulder. She would have to get that bullet out before long. Francine glanced atMirage, then at the same time, they darted from behind their shelters and charged into the storm of flailing bullets, guns, and flying people.

There was but a single man who stood calmly, leaning against the far wall as he saw his men try to figure out what the heck was roaming among there, barely noticing as Mirage and Francine charged within. He grinned, arms crossing. So, she was back. And he had a good guess about what all of this was about.

Mirage and Francine came to spot him, and they were soon before him, guns ready to fire.

The man laughed, seeing Mirage's bleeding shoulder.

"I am surprised at you. You actually got hit...now there's a first." he took a step forward, not at all afraid of their guns. He was but a few feet before he stopped, looking at Mirage, but keeping Francine in his sight by the corner of his eye.

"I don't suppose you have come to tell me that the job is finished?" The head assassin asked, a bit too casually for Mirage's taste.

"No. I came to finish this." Mirage replied coolly.

"Aah. And you had to bring help."

"No--they volunteered themselves. They wanted the ride, so here they are."

"Then it is a ride they will get." Asase said with a grin, taking a small square device from his pocket, at which had four different buttons at each point. Mirage paled slightly.

"You would kill your whole Guild?" Mirage couldn't help but ask, a bit confused. She didn't think he was that desperate!

"If they are strong enough, they will escape." Came the casual reply, his thumb pressing all but two of the buttons. Mirage reacted by kicking up, hitting Asase's hand, and the detonator flew up into the air. That's when Asase lunged for Mirage, knocking her down, pressing purposly into her wound.

"Francine, get that detonator!" she gasped, rolling out from Asase's grip. Francine didn't hesitate, plunging herself admist the other people. Mirage would do her job, and Francine would do hers.

Spotting the gleam of the black metallic surface of the foul thing, Francine lunged down to grab it. Before her fingers could grasp around its slick surface, a man came to trip on her, landing heavily on top of her. Then another person came to trip on them, adding to the wieght. Ugh! These were heavy guys! Francine stretched her fingers, and was able to get a hold of the detonator, accidentaly pressing the third button. She paled. If the last button was pressed, then boom!

-----

Aidan glanced to Core as he remained silent, giving a concerned frown.

"Hey, are you okay?" Aidan asked. He liked Core, and even considered him a friend. Which was good, it also proved worthy to have a friend that was litteraly off-planet!

Echidna stood, and stepped back.

"There. Now we just wait for Desiree."

[Teetaw89]

Core looked at Aidan and smiled. "I'm fine, thanks. Just thinking." He looked back at the screen, wondering what exactly was going to take place tonight.

____

Tren paused, glancing at the pile of guys that had just tripped over themselves. He laughed, but stopped abruptly as he saw small, female fingers, from the bottom of the pile, reachng for a small, shiny device. Female? He knew of only two females in this building, and there was no way that Mirage would be under so many guys.

Francine!

He dodged an oncoming body, and stepped over to the pile. He reached down and pick up the device carefully and even more carefully placed it in the small hands, a smile on his face.

He then stood and with one hand picked each man off of her at once, holding them in the air, while grinning at her. "There you go Francine. You should be more careful."

He then tossed the pile down across the room, and went back to his work of taking care of the remainder of but a few men.

He did take the time to glance about for Mirage, after all, if Francine had gotten under a pile of guys in such a short time, then maybe Mirage wasn't fairing so well either.

He spotted her and froze. It seemed they had never gotten out of the room at all. She was near another man, this one looking somewhat more intelligent then the rest, which made Tren only assume this was Boss.

Great. This is going to be fun... He made fist contact with a man's gut, causing the poor fool to fall down without much choice, twitching slightly, he then began to walk closer to her. He knew she could handle herself, but he had to close, just in case. If he had too, he'd have to step in and hold the guy so she could make the final blow.

[||Megs||]

(Sorry, this might be a bit to read, but it will get us a long ^^!)

Francine blinked in surprise as the detenator was pressed gently into her palm, and was finally able to breathe as Tren tossed the goons off of her. She would have to think him later, though, as he went off a second or so later. Francine got to her hands and knees, and stayed in that position for a few seconds, to get her body adjusted and breath back. Then she stood, glad to not have broken any thing. Since Tren had reduced the population of men to groaning, shifting shapes on the floor, she didn't have much to worry about, except making sure the detenator's last button was not pressed.

She looked over toward Mirage, and saw that Tren was drawing near the, just in case. Relief flooded through her. Yes, she would definatley have to thank him later!

-----

Mirage hoisted herself up, as did Asase. Before another move could be made on her part, Asase punched her in the gut, then across the forehead. But Mirage was able to gain herself and step out of range.

Dang, he's fast--and strong. Mirage thought with a slight twinge, her head and gut fiery with pain now.

"Mirage, you have weakened more than when we last met." Asase said, almost with a bored expression, and he glanced behind Mirage to see Tren approaching, who he just grinned at. Taking Asase's current distraction, Mirage pulled her wits together and punched and kicked at him, so fast and hard the guy didn't have much of a chance to react. Delivering a final blow to his face, Asase fell, hardly concious.

Mirage leaned down, and whispered loud enough for him to hear.

"No, you are wrong--as usual." Mirage leaned back up, now fully aware of the pain of the bullet wound in her shoulder, and her new hurts. She turned toward Francine, who had come closer as well.

"Francine, let me see that detenator."
----------


Desiree came to join them a minute later, in fresh clothes and nicely combed out hair. She seemed to have her mind in the right place now, and smiled as eyes shifted to her.

"Is it ready Echidna?"

"Yes. Goodluck." Echidna stepped toward the side, gesturing for Aidan and Core to come stand beside her. "So the President and Connector will not see us," she explained as Desiree took her place a few feet away from the large screen.

Desiree paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and talked with a mooth, controled tone.

"Contact Connector, please." The blue screen suddenly came to life, a string of numbers and information flashing breifly across the screen before it was replaced by a woman sitting at a desk, with long brown hair that was pulled back, and wore casual clothes, a single little badge clipped to her shirt to confirm her position.

"Connector, who would you wish to speak with?"

"The President of the United States, please." The woman did not looked surprised at all, and clicked away at a keyboard and computer that was facing toward her at an angle, out of the way so that viewers could see her. "Identification is needed, and a set up appointment from the President."

"Desiree Sant of New York City. I do not have an appointment, but I am sure he will not mind." Desiree said, having had to refrain from saying her last name was now Deep. The Connector looked back at the screen to view Desiree, she now surprised.

"Yes, please wait a moment as I contact him, Miss." There was silence, then the Connector smiled at Desiree. "He was all to eager to respond to this call. I'll send you through." Desiree nodded with her thanks, and steadied herself. Now came the fun part.

The Connector woman was replaced with a tall man sitting behind a handsom desk, who had dark brown hair that was slowly starting to turn gray. He wore an impressive suit and a gracious smile as he saw who it was.

"Desiree! At last, you have come out into the open." He said, talking like he was an old friend.

"Yes, I have."

"How have things been going?"

Desiree then took it upon herself to explain what had happened, as far as the attempt to control the Tech Stations went. She did not tell him where she had been, except the time when she had lived on the In-Side, or her current family. The President's expression was now serious, he nodding every once in a while.

"Extra security will be a need, then."

"Or a proposition." Desiree dared to say. "Sir, what people fail to realize, is that not all In-Siders are bad people. They go there for protection, or to escape the pains and ordeals of the Out-Sider territory. I should know." Desiree ended softly. The President looked upon her, thoughtful now.

"Desiree, your father was a great man. But he did not share the same view as yourself. But I understand--I will take this into high consideration. What else is on your mind?"

"I have only to clear up a few things, Sir. First, the charges and accusations on Mirage, my mother. She did not assassinate my father, and the search for her should be called off. If you need evidence, we have it."

Once again, the president was thoughtful. He shifted in his chair to get more comfortable.

"I know you are not lying, Desiree. But you'll have to send in a full report."

"Understood. Two more things: I wouldn't mind being taken off the search as well." At this, the president seemed a embarresed, but nodded. "Thirdly, sir...we will be going off-planet."

"I understand what could lead you to that. I don't suppose you'll tel me where you are going?" Desiree shook her head at this.

"No, Sir." The president smiled, and wrote a few things down on a pad of paper with a pen. After the silence, he looked up again.

"Very well, Desiree. I have much to do now. Where is your mother?"

"Taking care of unfinished buisness at the Assassination Guild." The president seemed shocked now.

"T-the Guild? You have it's location? This is must know, Desiree."

"We'll send it in with the report--if there is anything left. I'll leave you to your work, sir." Desiree said with a smile. The president nodded, bade farewell, and the screen went back to blue.
-----

Desiree ran a hand through her hair now, feeling the large pressure of stress she had been carrying around for years vanish. Aidan came forward and hugged his friend.

"I'm proud of you, Des!" He moved aside, smiling. After Echidna's hug, Desiree went to Core herself and hugged him, closing her eyes. She felt so much better, she could almost fly.

Almost.

[Teetaw89]

Tren stopped above Mirage, looking down on the man with an unreadible expression.

"Are you alright Mirage? Do you need any help with this...pest?" He glanced at her bleeding bullet wound and the few bruises on her face. If he had just gotten everyone out of the way quickly, instead of playing around, he might have been able to prevent such wounds.

He turned to see Francine, giving a small smile, partly playful, and partly a sorry for letting her get crushed in the first place.

He knelt down next to Desiree's mother and examined her shoulder, ignoring the man also with them. If his help was needed, he was there.

Gently he pulled forth a roll of bandages and ripped a good length off. He pulled a small bottle of Aloe Vera and dapped it into the cloth, then, as gentle as possible, began to wrap it around her arm.

"How's the face?" He looked at her, studying the colors on her face, while also noticing how pretty she really was.

Man, her husband was very lucky to have such a woman, just like I am to have mine. A smile played at his lips at the thought of two pretty tame men getting such dangerous and outstanding women.

____

Core breathed as Desiree stopped talking with the man. It hadn't been as bad as he had first thought.

As she embraced him, he wrapped his arms about her, holding her gently, yet firm.

"So, you're clear then?" He asked, trying to hide his hope. His red-brown looked into hers, and he smiled warmly. "You and your mother are free now?"

[||Megs||]

Mirage couldn't find anything to say as Tren began to bandage her up, surprised he was doing it in the first place. When he asked about her face, Mirage gently put a hand to her forehead, and her right cheek.

"Bruised, but fine." She managed to say. Mirage looked to Tren, wondering why he had that thoughtful smile. Asase gently moaned, shifting on the floor. Mirage looked back down to him, thinking quickly. Then she slowly stood up--to not strain her injuries--and looked down at him.

Francine came over, eyes burning in question.

"Mirage...why do you want the detonator?"

"Well...I was thinking about sticking it to him...but I have a better use for it." Francine nodded, not bothering to ask what this better use was. Mirage careful tucked it in her pocket, then looked to Tren. "Yes, I could use your help. Tie him up and prop him up somewhere, in plain view. Then I can make a call to the police and report the whereabouts of this assassination guild when we get back to the house."

-----

Desiree smiled, and nodded. Then she paused.

"Well...assuming Mirage comes back in more than two peices, yes." She said with a smile. Aidan chuckled.

"She'll be fine...ish?"

"Yeah," Desiree agreed, thinking that she had never been so happy. Almost. "I wonder how they are doing?"

[Teetaw89]

Core smiled once more. "Don't you worry about Mirage. If she's anything like how, she'll be just fine!" He glanced at his wristwatch. "They shouldn't be too much longer, judging about the fact that Tren and Mirage are there. Plus Francine will make sure they back safely."

He wrapped his arms about Desiree's shoulder and lead her to the couch, then gently pushed her down. "While we're waiting, I think this is a good time to relax and enjoy a nice peaceful night of freedom. After all, how often do we get to spend a night without the parents?"

He smiled playfully, greatly enjoying the company of such wonderful friends.

------

Tren grinned as he glanced at the man. "Hmm...it would be my pleasure Ma'am." He stood up and grabbed the guy "gently" by the scruff of his neck and dragged him over to the nearest wall.

He then smoothly pulled out a long, rather thick rope, his grin still in place.

After making sure the rope was the right length, he wrapped the man up rather tightly so there was no way he could wiggle his way out and hung him by the knot on a snag in the wall created by bullets, so he was just a few inches off the floor.

"How's that Mirage? A rather nice decoration, don't you think?" He brushed off his hands and walked back over to the girls. "So, now what?"

[||Megs||]

"Oh yes, rather nice indeed." Mirage commented. At Tren's question, she folded her arms. "There's one more thing...Francine, what time is it?"

Francine rolled up the sleeve of her shirt and glanced at her wristwatch.

"It's almost eight o'clock. Why?"

"Desiree is going to love me for this." Mirage began with a slight grin. "But her schooling wasn't exactly completed. She has one final test before she can leave the planet. Hope you don't mind sticking around for a little longer, Tren. I guess we just go back to the house now, and I can accsess the school from there."

"Yeah...and when Desiree is doing that test, you are going to rest!" Francine said with her convincing glare. But Mirage merely waved it off.

"No arguments there. Tren, let's get back to the house."

-----
Desiree relaxed on the couch, realizing how good it felt to have all the stress lifted off. Echidna remained standing, but Aidan sat down on the floor in front of Desiree and Core, almsot looking thoughtful.

"Aidan? What's wrong?" Desiree asked softly. Aidan looked up at her, and opened his mouth like he was going to protest, but then sighed.

"I'm worried about Felix. But hey, knowing him...he'll be fine."

[Teetaw89]

Tren smiled. "Nah, I don't mind hanging around. It's kind of refreshing to be in a new place, but I'll have to call my wife. We just got cellphones...don't know why we didn't think of 'em before..." He shrugged and then walked over and touched Mirage and Francine's shoulders. "We'll go through the void this time. Ya never know whose watching out for humans with super speed." He winked and they disappeared.

_____

"Felix? Where's he at?" Core raised an eyebrow. "Is he in some sort of trouble or something?"

Before anyone could respond, Tren, Francine and Mirage were standing before the couch.

Tren held up his hand and smiled. "Hey ya! We're back!"

[||Megs||]

Aidan rose to his feet, but instead of greeting them, put a hand on Francine's shoulder.

"Francine, when you and Echidna went to my and Felix's apartment...was he still in there? I can't remember much, just that he was trying to get those thugs away from me before I blacked out."

Francine shook her head.

"No, he wasn't--"

At that second, the door to the living room thumped open, and a boy with short black hair and baggy, ripped clothes staggered in. He was hurt pretty badly, and was breathing hard. Desiree shot up from the couch and around Tren, and helped support Felix. Echidna and Aidan came to help too, but Felix gently pushed Desiree away and refused their help.

"No, no. Not until somebody tells me what has been going on. I think I deserve an explanation. I mean, I've only spent my night in heck."

Mirage, having turned around with Francine to see the commotion, gently shook her head. Felix...just as stubborn as I remember...

[Teetaw89]

Core didn't know how to react, so he merely sat there watching it all with a raised eyebrow.

Tren also watched the commotion, and it hit him who this was. Felix. He stepped over to the others and glanced down at the kid.

"Hmm...I think that can be answered Felix. But, first things first." He reached passed Desiree and the others and gently grabbed Felix by the back of his shirt, lifting him from the floor. Tren loved being tall.

Core moved from the couch as Tren plopped the battered boy on the cushions and looked at his wounds closely.

"Okay Felix, here's the deal, we're gonna bandage you while you talk about what happened to you, since you went missing first. Then, after you are wrapped like a mummy and are comfortably settled, then we'll tell you what happened to us. We're not saying anything until you're taken care of, and if you have an objection, you'd better say it now, but I can't promise I'll heed what you have to say. My kids have learned that they get taken care of before we hear the whole story."

He folded his arms while staring the kid down, a playful smile on his face. "Do we have a deal?"

[||Megs||]

Felix's eyes widened as the tall stranger merely plucked him up and plopped him down onto the couch. But his surprised wiped away as Tren spoke, he slightly glaring. There was silence for a short while, at which Felix glanced to Desiree and Echidna.

"He's not kidding, Felix. Iknow." Desiree said with a sheepish smile.

"He's not your dad..."

"He is now, Felix. Please."

Felix was silent again, and then looked back to Tren. "Fine."

[Teetaw89]

Tren grinned and ruffled the Felix's hair, just to annoy him. "Good boy. Desiree, get the bandages, Echidna get some warm water to clean the wounds, and Core and Aidan, I want you guys to find something for Felix to eat."

He glanced at Francine and Mirage, and smirked. "You guys, and I, get to make sure he's comfortable."

Of course he was merely trying to tease the kid. He meant no REAL harm by sounding evil and villainous.

"Now, Felix, when they get back I want you to start explaining somethings."