01 Darkness
02 Matt Strikmore
03 Freya
04 Shi

Freya angrily kicked a trashcan that sat in her locker room, spilling waste paper and a banana peel across the floor.

"Hey, kid, take it easy."

"Sorry," she replied in a distracted fashion, wondering whether she should pick up the garbage or whether they had cleaning staff to do it. "I'm just a little bit..."

"Pissed off?" Hawthorne hazarded.

"That's the one."

She slumped against the wall. Hawthorne removed his trilby and scratched his dark hair. He wasn't exactly sure what he should say to his partner. Even though the two of them had become fairly close, he still struggled to deal with her carefree attitude, her confidence - so different from the women he remembered from his previous life, and the possibility that her anger concealed something more savage and dangerous.

Hawthorne didn't want to piss off a girl who could rip out his jugular. Thankfully her frustration and anger weren't directed at him right now.

"What?"

"Huh?" He focused on her, realising suddenly that he'd been staring into space for two minutes.

"What are you thinking about? You looked like you were about to say something..."

He shook his head and looked down at the grey hat in his hands. "Nothing. I'm just sorry I lost us the tag belts, that's all."

"You didn't lose us them, Stephen. It was Shadow's little helpers."

"I feel bad for Strikmore..."

"Because he's got to deal with the guilt of cheating to beat us?"

"No," Hawthorne grinned, "because he's stuck in a team with DeSean Blackwell."

Freya laughed in spite of herself. "Yeah, rather him than me." She sat down on a bench and rested her chin in her hands. "They're welcome to the tag belts. I'm just not a fan of getting screwed over."

"It's alright, kiddo," Hawthorne told her, trying to sound comforting. He stood up and crossed over to her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "There'll be other tag title shots. Or any other belt you want."

She sighed. "I guess. I liked being Bleeder Champion. TC would be nice, after what I said to Strikmore. Maybe I'm just looking for a bit more recognition..."

Hawthorne nodded, understanding. "Maybe you should go for the World Title?"

Freya looked at him with a frown. "You think I'm good enough?"

"Sure, kid. Just turn into a wolf and sit on them..."

Thankfully, she grinned at that and batted him away. "Either way," he continued, "I think you are good enough."

"As good as Dante?"

Hawthorne grimaced. "Maybe...depends what's going on with him now..."

Freya threw her hands up. "I'm no wiser than you, Stephen. He and Darkness are probably going to tear each other apart. Don't ask me who that girl with him was tonight either."

"Maybe you could talk to Selenia..."

Freya barked a laugh. "Selenia and I aren't exactly that close you know..."

"You aren't?"

"What would she and I talk about? Make up?" Freya gestured to her unadorned face. "Hair care?" She pointed at her wavy, unruly hair. "No...she and I don't have a lot in common."

"I guess you'll have to talk to Dante then?"

Freya eyeballed him. "Why am I the one who has to patch our dysfunctional little family up? I'm not good with families, remember?"

Hawthorne looked mortified for a second. "I'm sorry...I didn't..."

"Relax, Stephen. My family are welcome to kick me out. It's their loss, I promise you."

"Hey, I couldn't agree more..."

Freya frowned. "It bugs me though."

"What does? Your family?"

"Oh...no...well, not exactly." She waved her hands, trying to express her meaning to him. "I don't want to get into the politics. Just imagine...um..." she tried to think of an analogy he would understand. "Um...the daughter of a mob boss."

"Mob? Like the mafia?"

"Yeah. Imagine a mafia don or whoever has a daughter. And she's born into this world of violence and crime, and she hates it, but it'll always be a part of her. She can run to the ends of the earth, but her surname will always be...whatever...De Luca...or something..."

"Can't she just change her name?"

"Yeah...I suppose..." Freya fell silent. "Okay, I guess that analogy isn't perfect. You know what I'm saying though?"

"Sure. You don't like them, but you'll always be linked to them. They say you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family."

"Right. And I'm never going to stop being a werewolf. I still feel more comfortable being with them, where I can be myself and not worry what everyone is thinking...wondering if they can smell me like I can smell them..."

Hawthorne looked uncomfortable for a second. Neither of them had had chance to shower since their match.

"Relax. You just smell like person."

"Okay..."

"Which is good, because that's what you are." She shook her head to clear her mind. "Anyway, my point is that I left home for a reason. I don't want to be with my clan anymore. Them rejecting me is justification of everything I thought about them."

"As long as you're happy, kid," Hawthorne shrugged.

"That's the problem. I'm not."

"Because of losing?"

"A bit. But mainly because I'm getting rejected from two families in the same week."

"Ah."

"I walked away from one dysfunctional mess. I don't think I can do the same for this one."

"But you said you couldn't talk to Selenia or Dante..."

"I can't," she agreed, "but I can sure as hell go bug Darkness."

Hawthorne looked confused. "I thought you got on better with Dante?"

"I do. But Darkness is an annoying prick, which means I can be perfectly happy talking down to him and trying to drill some sense into his thick skull."

"Didn't he...didn't he have an accident or something...?"

Freya stood up and shrugged. "How would I know, I'm just his stable-mate. He never tells us anything, does he?"

"I guess not."

"Will you be alright?" she asked.

"Sure, kid. I want to prepare for Road to Glory anyway."

"Oh? You planning to win it?"

He winked. "Why not? I gotta get out of your shadow sometime, don't I?"

Freya laughed and playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Okay then, Cap. Have fun."

"You too and, hey..." he placed a hand on her shoulder again, "be careful around Darkness. That cat gives me bad vibes..."

"I will," she promised him with a tight smile.

* * *

"Well you won..."

Selenia didn't look impressed. She was slim at the best of times, but now she looked like she was wasting away. Her face was wan and her cheeks hollow. There were dark lines under her eyes, which had now lost much of their lustre, even though Darkness knew she didn't need to sleep. Acolyte hung behind her, hovering protectively. Every now and then he surreptitiously glanced at the woman, making a poor job of hiding his crush.

"I won," Darkness agreed.

"And do you feel good about it?"

"A little, yeah."

"Bullshit."

"Just because your life is going down shit creek doesn't mean mine is too, honey."

Selenia's eyes narrowed and she clenched her white little fists. Acolyte seemed unsure about what to do, not knowing whether his loyalties should lie with Selenia or Darkness.

"Jason was out there with...with..."

"I know. You think I'm happy about that?"

"You didn't exactly look angry about it," she spat. "The Queen of the Damned shows up at ringside and you're too busy showing off your new fake hand to your friend who she's managed to seduce to her side."

Darkness straightened. His back rested on the wall of the locker room and he cradled his prosthetic defensively. "Are you accusing me of having my priorities in the wrong place?"

"Obviously."

Darkness stood up and walked over to her. "Who are you to judge me, succubus? I was there when you were nothing but a parasite in Jason's head, persuading him to commit ever more vile acts." He jabbed a finger at her chest and she stepped back in shock. "Without me, you and he would already be serving the Abyss."

"Without me, you still might," she sneered.

"Um...I hope I'm not interrupting anything..."

Three pairs of eyes turned to the door where Freya was standing, her eyebrows raised.

"Thank God," Acolyte murmured quietly.

"You're not interrupting anything," Darkness told the young girl, stepping away from Selenia and grabbing his jacket from its peg. "I was just leaving anyway."

"Where are you going?" Freya demanded.

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Outside."

"Then let's get a drink or something. We need to talk."

"About what?"

"About stuff."

"I'm not in the mood," Darkness replied, attempting to push past her.

Freya stood her ground. "Then get in the mood." She reached out and grabbed his hand, trying to stop him opening the door. As her hand touched the cool plastic of his prosthetic she let out a yelp and took a step back.

"What the hell happened to your hand?"

"Jason was nice enough to remove it for me," Darkness grunted.

"He what?"

Darkness nodded at Selenia and Aco. "They'll fill you in. I'm going for a ride."

"On your bike? With one hand?"

The former Shadow Slayer looked at her coldly. "Yes," he replied calmly. "If I crash, you know who to blame."

"Oh Jesus," Freya threw her hands up, "this is worse than being at home! You're really bitchy when you need to be, you know that?"

"Bitchy?"

"Yeah, and that's a big deal coming from me, Buffy. I'm half bitch."

"Huh?" Aco asked with a frown and then looked embarrassed when he got the joke a second after everyone else.

Darkness looked at Freya and finally he shrugged. "Fine. I have nothing I need to do before Road to Glory. Let's get a drink."

"And we'll talk..."

"Sure. You talk. I'll drink."

"No, we'll both talk."

"Whatever."

Darkness brushed past her and strode up the corridor. Freya looked around the locker room and gave Selenia and Aco a small smile. "It'll be okay, guys. I'll talk some sense into him."

Selenia looked unconvinced and turned away. Acolyte just gave a small shrug and smiled at her. She gave them a brief nod and took her leave, jogging to catch up with Darkness.

* * *

Matt Strikmore was feeling confused. With a frown he looked from the object in his left hand to the one in his right.

"Gold...silver...gold...silver..." he murmured.

The Transcontinental belt definitely felt and looked better. He felt like he'd earned it and that it was part of who he was. This new belt...the silver one...didn't feel quite so nice.

"Poor Cap..."

He looked into the mirror above the sink in his hotel bathroom. Experimentally, he placed each belt in turn on his shoulder.

"Hmmm...I thought winning two belts would feel cooler than this," he mused at his own reflection, "but for one thing my wardrobe is going to be a bitch to coordinate with two different colours."

He placed both belts down on the toilet lid and then frowned, wondering if that was disrespectful.

"Whatever," he said, waving a hand, "my belts, my toilet - I'll do what I want." He looked back at himself, examining the new bruises from the match. "Well you did it, Matt. Double champion. Not many guys can say they've done that, especially in their rookie year." He gave himself a thumbs-up. "Good job."

It didn't feel like a good job though. It felt like he'd fucked over a friend for something he didn't even really want.

"The Tag Team Championship is very prestigious," he told his reflection, "but I wish I could have won them without screwing Cap. Or...you know...with anyone else besides DeSean. Then it would have been cool."

He glanced back at the tag belt that still sat on top of the toilet. It galled him that its partner was now around the waist of a man who didn't deserve it and who he really disliked.

"Now we're a team, I guess. There might come a time when, when people talk about Matt Strikmore, they say ‘DeSean Blackwell' in the same breath." He grimaced. "Wouldn't that be something?"

He suddenly heard his cell phone ringing quietly in the bedroom where he'd left it in the pocket of his pants. Padding out of the bathroom he rooted around for a second and found it. The name on the screen said ‘Technician'.

"Ah, speak of the devil." He pressed the button to answer. "What?"

"Hey, partner!"

Matt suppressed something like a shudder. "Uh...hi, DeSean. What can I do for you?"

"It's party time here, bro. Me, Eddie and Stallion are gonna swing by the Infinity locker room, maybe open up some champagne..."

"I...uh...I'm not sure I feel like celebrating."

"Why not? You're a double champion!"

"Sure. I'm just...I'm just tired. It was a tough match."

"True dat. We wanna welcome you into the Infinity family though, that's all."

Matt frowned. "I'm not joining Infinity, DeSean. I told you that."

"Whoa, I know, I know. Eddie and Stallion aren't members either - but now you run on the same team, that's all. You're like an associate. But who knows, maybe one day..."

"I don't think so."

"You don't think you'll join or you don't think you'll come out with us?"

"Both. I'll catch you later...partner."

"Hey, wait..."

Matt hung up and dropped the phone back onto the bed. He felt worse than ever now that he knew his partner was celebrating. He had no desire to part with DeSean and his cronies, but he felt like he needed a drink at least.

"There's got to be a bar around here someplace," he mused, pulling his pants back on and looking around for his jacket. In less than a minute, he was out of the door.

It was later than he thought though, and bars were not in evidence in the neighbourhood. Matt considered just turning back, but he was committed now - plus he'd feel like an idiot slinking back to the hotel after storming out as fast as he did and garnering looks from the sleepy girl at the reception desk.

After walking for half an hour he eventually chanced upon a seedy-looking dive. The neon ‘BAR' sign in the window with the flickering ‘R' didn't reassure him. In fact, he thought he could hear a fight going on inside.

He walked on for a few paces, and then realised that the sounds of the brawl were actually coming from an adjoining alley. Matt paused. He had no business getting involved in a fight, but what if some old lady was having her purse robbed?

He stepped up to the alleyway and tried to peer through the gloom.

"I told you!" he heard a high-pitched voice insist, "I don't have anything!"

"Oh shit," Matt said under his breath, realising his instinct had been right. "Let's just hope I don't turn into Spiderman or something..."

He stepped into the alley. "Hey, is there a problem here?"

A rough looking man turned to him. "Get the fuck outta here, retard..."

"I don't think so." Matt looked at the person they were mugging and saw the young girl flattened against the wall, her eyes darting back and forth between her three attackers and now him. He shook his head. "You guys like picking on little girls, huh?"

"Yeah," a second man sneered, "but we can make an exception for you, buddy."

Two of them began to advance on him, knives in hand and suddenly Matt didn't feel so confident.

"I warned you guys," he heard the girl say, "you don't fuck with me."

Matt didn't believe what he saw then. She flipped herself out of the third man's grip and drove an elbow into his back. He doubled over and suddenly she was in the air, hanging onto the wall in an impossible way, exactly like Spiderman. Matt barely had time to reflect on the coincidence before a flash of light at her wrists caused him to blink. She was suddenly on the ground again, flying at the two men. The flashes he had seen were now blades, he realised, reflecting the moonlight.

"Whoa..." the remaining two thugs were now in retreat and the strange girl bounded after them, a look of savagery plastered on her face. He caught her small form in his arm, surprised at how thin she felt under the heavy coat she was wearing.

"Let me go!" she screeched.

"I don't think so...uh...missy..."

The third man finally got to his feet and sprinted away with only a backward glance at Strikmore and the rampaging girl.

"They're gone. What are you going to do? Kill them?" Matt looked down at the crescent blades that enclosed her fists and nodded. "Okay, you were going to kill them." She couldn't move in his grip, though she seemed a lot stronger than her size would indicate.

"Let me go!" she repeated.

"If I do, will you promise not to stab me?"

"Fine."

He looked at her and frowned at her eyes. It looked like she had dead-eye contacts on. She was probably some goth kid or something. That would explain her anger issues, but not the Spiderman stuff.

"Alright..." slowly he released her and she slunk back into the shadows. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

"Do you live near here? Is there someone I can call for you?"

She shook her head mutely.

"Do you have somewhere you can stay then?"

Another head shake.

"Are...are you homeless?"

The girl slunk further back into the darkness. "I don't need your help, mister. Get out of here."

"Hey, c'mon. I can see you know how to handle yourself, but those guys would have been a lot tougher for you to scare off if I hadn't been here."

"I told you I don't need your help."

"Alright. But if you're homeless I can help you. Buy you a coffee or something..."

She seemed to consider his offer and then walked slowly back into the light. "Coffee?"

"Uh...yeah..."

"I never had coffee before."

"Are you serious?"

She nodded.

"Okay, well, let's get some coffee. Maybe I can help you get in touch with whoever deals with shelter for the homeless or whatever." He looked at her and tried to assess her age. "Maybe even foster care...you're too young to be on the streets, honey."

For some reason that made her laugh and, briefly, he caught sight of elongated fangs in her mouth.

"Okay...so...coffee then..." he said nervously.

"Alright," she agreed, "tell me your name though."

"I'm Matt Strikmore," he said, holding out his hand. She took it gingerly. "And you are?"

"You can call me Revenant," she said with a small smile.

Matt: How do I get myself into these things?

*Matt almost spoke that out loud, but caught it in his throat. All he wanted was a beer and a bed. He's somehow gotten on the bad side of Stephen and Freya. Rumors are already spreading that he's joined Infinity. He's got half the tag titles with a partner he hates, and wound up accidentally cheating to win the belts in the first place. Stern loves tension teams, so he already expects a promotional tour with DeSean sitting next to him. DeSean will already be ecstatic about it all. And Matt? Matt will paint a smile on his face because that's his job. Ever the company man.*

*Looking at the young girl who walks beside him a step or two behind, all he can think of is how bad he is at doing pretty much anything. Everything comes out garbage. How did he manage to mess up getting a drink? It's a two step process. Find drink. Get drink. Repeat as necessary. Nowhere along the way was this supposed to happen.*

Matt: So, Revenant was it?

*The girl nods, her black eyes only momentarily flickering over to meet his. Even that second made him shiver a bit. Something just seemed off. He files that thought away to go crazy over later.*

Matt: Interesting name. What is it, German?

*Revenant shrugs. So much for casual conversation.*

Revenant: Where are we going?

*Matt slows his pace and looks at the girl a bit puzzled.*

Matt: Like I said, we're gonna get some coffee and then figure out where you can go.

Revenant: Yeah, but where?

Matt: Oh. Well we...

*Matt looks around at the streets lit with random street lights and storefronts. It hadn't occurred to him that finding a coffee shop at this hour might be even harder than finding a bar.*

Matt: Oh.... right.

*Revenant smiles a little bit.*

Revenant: You're not very bright sometimes, are you?

Matt: Not overly.

Revenant: At least you're honest.

Matt: I'm a worse liar than I am a navigator. At any rate, things seem a bit brighter down that way. There's gotta be someplace that's got a pot brewing. That is, if you don't mind walking this late.

Revenant: Night isn't a big problem for me.

Matt: Fair enough.

*The two set off again, and for once, Matt's instincts are right. He pulls open the door, sending a ratty bell off to ring. The place isn't exactly plush, but there's fresh coffee brewing a decent selection of things to munch on. At this hour, foot traffic is at a minimum, but there's still a few people scattered at window booths and tables. Revenant stands in the middle of the store, slowly moving her head around, presumably memorizing the place. The man behind the counter looks up from his paper and espresso, folding his reading material when Matt approaches.*

Matt: Hey Rev.

*Revenant looks at him in that unnatural way she did earlier. There's just something that makes the hair stand up on his neck.*

Matt: Revenant, how do you want your coffee?

Revenant: I don't know.

Matt: Right. Right. Milk? Sugar?

Revenant: Is that good?

Matt: For some. Um... sweet or bitter?

Revenant: Bitter.

Matt: Alrighty.

*Matt turns his attention back to the counter, the man growing impatient with the disruption of his nightly routine.*

Matt: Two black coffees. Any chance I can get mine a bit Irish?

Server: Nope. No liquor license. Feel free to add your own.

Matt: Guess I'm out of luck then. Gimmie a couple donuts too. Whatever's freshest. Thanks.

*Matt gestures over to a table and hauls their order over. Revenant sits down and stares at the steaming cup of coffee, inspecting it. She tentatively leans over the cup and inhales. Her nose crinkles a bit at the scent. Matt chuckles a bit, causing her to look up.*

Matt: You remind me of when I first started drinking this stuff. My Dad was convinced that I needed to start drinking coffee, mostly for the social scene in my town. "You don't ask a girl out for a soda." he'd say. I still couldn't stand the smell of it though. After that point, he'd sit me down and pour me a cup of black coffee every Saturday morning. I couldn't do a single thing until I drank it all. Five or six weeks later, I got to like it. Haven't stopped since. I can scarcely remember life before it. Cheers.

*Matt turned his cup up and swallowed a big mouthful, looking over his mug at the girl. Gripping the cup with both hands, she tipped the cup and drank a small amount. She worked her tongue out of her mouth, trying to push the taste out after swallowing. Matt laughed, a trickle of coffee escaping his mouth. Matt pushed the plate of donuts toward Revenant as he reached for his phone.*

Matt: I wonder if this place has 411.

Server: No cell phones!

Matt: S'cuse me?

Server: No cell phones in my building. If you want to talk, you do it face to face, or you do it somewhere else.

Matt: I surrender.

*Matt puts his hands up with a smile. The server just goes back to his paper and mutters something in French. Matt shrugs his head atRevenant and slides his phone back in his pocket.*

Matt: So, mind if I ask how you got here?

Revenant: Yes.

Matt: No problem. I have a knack for girls not wanting to talk to me.

*Revenant pokes her fingers into the donuts until she finds with with jelly filling, claiming it as hers.*

Revenant: Tell me a story.

Matt: Pardon?

Revenant: Can you tell me a story? Anything really. It's been a while since hearing a voice talking to me.

Matt: I guess I could. I gotta warn you, I ramble.

Revenant: I don't mind.

Matt: Your punishment. I'll tell you the story of how screwed up I am right now.

*Revenant takes small bites of her donut, her eyes never leaving Matt. Matt doesn't return the eye contact, choosing to let his head hang back with his eyes closed. Matt unloads everything he had running through his head. His issues with DeSean. He explains what Infinity is why he doesn't want to be associated with it. He talks about Stephen and Freya. He goes into detail on the backstage issues he's dealing with. The press junkets. The jet lag. How the airline nearly lost his TC title. Being on the cover of Beatdown. Everything.*

Matt: Sorry, I guess I rambled more than usual.

*When he pulls his head back up, he sees that Revenant has fallen asleep on her arms, scraps of donuts littering the table.*

Matt: Poor thing. Must be exhausted.

Server: Hey!

Matt: Dude! Keep it down.

Server: She can't sleep here. Paying customers only.

Matt: She's with me. Give me another coffee, and keep them coming. And a bearclaw if you've got one.

*The server grunts and brings out another coffee for Matt. Matt reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small fold of bills. He peels of a pretty generous amount and hands it over. He mouths the word "Thanks", and that seems to settle any issues the server had with the situation. He pulls up another chair and puts his feet up.*

Matt: Ah well. Only another seven hours till morning. I didn't want sleep anyway.

*Matt looks over to the booth nearest him, and sees a single male reading a paper. Matt couldn't remember if he'd been there the whole time. Revenant probably would. She seemed pretty good at that sort of thing. Matt quietly calls out to the guy.*

Matt: Hey buddy, you done with the sports page?

*Without pulling the paper away from his face, the man tosses the section over to Matt.*

Matt: Domo.

*Shi looks over the top of his newspaper at one of his opponents, who is at this point reading about a hockey player. Tonight, fortune seems to be in good favor with Shi.*

"Tonight on Channel 9 news, a murder was committed earlier today as a male was found dead today near an alley on 9th street. Police report that the male was indeed a victim of homicide as he was found murdered, the victim who has not been named had several scars on his body and a bite mark on his neck. Police have no leads but more details as they'll come. Also in other news...."

Shi turned off the TV set while he sat in his hotel room, he had no assignments from Nigel but he was expecting that phone call very soon. If not he would have his own investigating to do, a bite mark and scars? Who the hell does that? What sadistic person kills someone by tearing them to shreds and then biting them? He sat on the edge of his bed not only was there a murderer he was going to have track down there was the RTG match itself. A 20 man over the top battle royal to determine the #1 contender for the TCW world titles. He had another chance to prove himself and quickly get bumped up the ladder. There were few people on the roster that could honestly stop him in a real fight. He was trained in every fighting style you could imagine all designed to kill or Ansatsuken. Of course he couldn't kill one of the wrestlers...yet but there was something about TCW that was different. Some sort of underbelly of corruption and crime that he'll uncover as time goes by. As these thoughts crossed his mind, the door opened not alarming him because it was Jason.

Jason: I'm surprised you're not training

Shi: I'm taking a break, have you heard from Nigel?

Jason: No, he'll call though.

Shi: I know have you watched any new lately?

Jason: Somewhat why?

Shi: There was a murder, a guy found dead with scars all over his body and a single bite mark on his neck.

Jason: Really?

Shi: Yes

Jason: hmmm, you know I remember some guy in London dying the same way not the scars but just the bite mark.

Shi: You think they're related?

Jason: I don't know yet, something to watch out for at least.

Shi nodded his head in agreement, he went under his bead and pulled out his suitcase, he neatly pushed aside some shirts and pulled out two gold Berettas.

Jason: Impressive, new?

Shi: Yes, the Beretta 92 Semi Automatic pistol specifically designed by Nigel's "sources" it has a laser target and an optional silencer plus the recoil is small, it won't lock, lightweight but powerful.

Jason: And the gold plated design?

Shi: It was free why not?

Jason: yea why not?

At this moment, Shi pointed both guns at Jason and then swung them around, practicing different poses as if he was doing a kata.

Jason: What are you working on your Gun Fu?

Shi: It worked for Chow Yun Fat.

Jason: I don't know why you're even practicing, you never miss.

Shi playfully spun around and pointed the gun at Jason's head and mouthed the words bang before taking two steps back.

Shi: Because I have to that's why I got eliminated by a man with one hand, a gun with one hand wins a battle royal, some would say he's a lucky man, I say he's dangerous.

Jason: He got lucky Nobu

Shi: Yea well he won't get lucky again, I guarantee it.

At that moment Jason's cell phone rang, he answered it Shi could hear Jason say Nigel.

Shi: Ask him about the murder

Jason: Hey Nigel listen, we want to investigate this murder, we think the killer may be a serial. Really? Thank you Nigel you won't regret this.

Jason hung up the phone Shi could tell by the look on the face that there was good news.

Shi: I took it he said yes?

Jason: Yea he did, he called us because he heard about the murder and he wants us to find this person.

Shi: And kill them?

Jason: Use your own discretion

Shi: You know one day we'll find out about Jason's real motives

Jason: Yea until then we won't ask, he's paying us Nobu remember that. He gives us everything we want, it's the only way when we could have stayed in a 5* hotel.

Shi: I know where my bread and butter is, you don't have to remind me.

Jason: Ok, you want to go get a beer?

Shi: No bars for me tonight, I could go for some coffee though.

Jason: Coffee? Why?

Shi looked down at his PDA, a green dot moved towards a square which indicated a building. The green dot represented one of the many opponents he would see at Road to Glory.

Shi: You'll see
...................................

Shi looked over the top of his newspaper and grinned, he recognized the male as The Transcontinental and Tag Team champion Matt Strikmore. Next to Matt was a young girl asleep in her arms she couldn't be over the age of 16 but then again Shi has been fooled before. With no hesitation Shi unfolded the newspaper and laid it down.

Shi: Matt Strikmore I presume?

Matt stopped reading his newspaper but kept his face in the paper, he thought it may have been a fan but the tone of this guy's voice sounded as if he had ulterior motives, no autograph signing or picture taking with this guy.

Strikmore: Who wants to know?

Shi: The man who's going to eliminate you at RTG

Strikmore: Sorry that name doesn't sound familiar to me

Shi: Nobu Nanahara aka Shi.

Matt put down his paper, he looked over Revenant who was sound asleep this was the first time he met Shi, he heard a lot of things about him, and how much of a fierce competitor he was. How disciplined he was but he didn't know how honorable he was.

Matt: I don't want any trouble man, I'm just here eating a donut, reading the sports page.

Shi: I'm not here for trouble just getting a good look of one my opponents that's if you're still in by the time I get in the ring.

Matt: Then again we could enter right after each other.

Shi: True, who's that?

Shi pointed at Revenant who was still passed out asleep on the table

Matt: A friend

Shi: She's a little young don't you think?

Matt: That's why she's just a friend

Shi: Whatever you don't have to explain anything to me, I follow a code I'm not going to attack if you don't.

Strikmore: I'm not

Shi: Fine, I have to be going anyway, it's late. I'm just waiting on Jason.

Once that sentence was over both men heard the sound of a toilet flushing, Jason walks out of the bathroom tucking his shirt back in and tightening his belt. He stops short when he notices Shi looking at him, a little annoyed.

Jason: What did I do?

Shi: Nothing, we need to be leaving, this gentleman's friend is getting some shut eye.

Jason looked and saw Matt and then looked over at Shi recognizing that he knew what Shi meant.

Jason: Yea it's getting late, we should be going. See you around Matt.

Strikmore watched as the two of them left the diner, he was a little confused he just had a normal (well normal considering the circumstances) with one of his opponents. Yet he just won the tag titles with a guy he can't stand. Weird indeed, maybe Shi is an honest decent guy or maybe not. He didn't know and with all of the times trusting people backfired, it only made sense for Matt to be a just bit more cautious.

.....................

Shi and Jason are now on the sidewalk walking back to the hotel

Jason: I see what you're doing

Shi: What are you talking about?

Jason: You're allowing his guard to get down, clever.

Shi: Yes but I wasn't going to attack him. I'm facing 19 others and I don't need one man targeting me throughout the entire match. You know the rule.

Jason: Yea I do. All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Shi: Exactly I have to do that with 19 other people as well

Jason: 20

Jason was referring to the killer, no doubt the killer out there lurking, looking for their next victim. Little did they know that the killer was a young runaway teenage girl getting some shuteye.

Darkness poured another shot of tequila down his throat as Freya grimaced at him. "How can you drink that stuff like that?"

He grinned over the slice of lemon he was biting into. "It numbs the pain."

Freya's eyes flicked to his prosthetic hand. "You mean of your hand?"

"No, that doesn't hurt."

"It doesn't?"

Darkness lifted it and looked at it with something between fascination and contempt. "No. I've heard that people who have limbs amputated sometimes keep feeling sensations - like a ghost of what was there before."

"And you don't get that?"

"Nope. All my sensations end at the wrist now."

Freya fell silent. She looked down at her Guinness, mostly undrunk, in front of her. It was her first, and Darkness was already halfway through a bottle of tequila. "I know it's hard for you..." she began.

"Hard?" He raised an eyebrow at her as he poured himself another glass of his bitter tipple.

"Yeah...I mean...I know you're a warrior. It can't be easy with...one hand..."

Darkness laughed as he raised the glass to his lips. "I thought I didn't know anything about having a hard life, honey? You made it abundantly clear back in Athens that my problems pale into significance in comparison to yours." He inclined the glass sharply, emptying its contents into his mouth.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Everything is black and white with you, isn't it?"

"No," he replied with a snort, "just black."

"Doesn't it bother you that people are relying on you?"

Darkness shrugged. "They picked the wrong guy to invest in. I never made any promises."

"The way Jason tells it, the survival of the whole world depends on you."

"It depends on him too..."

"So?"

"So," he said, filling his glass again, "I'm not the one going around blowing people's hands off."

"But you did brutalise Joyride. And leave Jason to get beaten up by Hammer. And back at Havoc you eliminated him from the match. You guys are supposed to be on the same side."

"Again...the hand..." he held up the prosthetic again as if to remind her.

"So is that it now? Back to Darkness and Dante at war?"

"That's up to him."

"I don't think so," she said as she took a small sip of her drink, "you seem to have made it your business to win Road to Glory. That would put you in line for a shot at his titles."

"Then let's hope he does the sensible thing and steps out of my way."

Freya shook her head. "What do you care about a World Championship? You're supposed to be a big shot Shadow Slayer or whatever with a higher purpose. Now you want trophies?"

Darkness placed his shot glass down and toyed with it for a few moments. "You aren't the first person to ask me that," he began, "two years ago, when I first arrived here and went after the titles, someone from my old life visited me and asked the same question. Back then I wanted the belts because I knew I was being watched. It was my way of sending a message to Lucifer. I intended to die fighting him."

She rolled her eyes again. "Of course..."

"If you don't want the answer then don't ask the question," Darkness growled at her.

"Alright, go on."

"It turned out that Lucifer wasn't my enemy, and that he was already well aware of me. But by then the titles were mine. Eventually what happened at Endgame happened and Jason beat me fair and square in the ring. It bothered me a little, but given everything that had happened, not enough to make a difference in the grand scheme of things. When we formed the New Hellfire Club, I was happy to be Dante's lieutenant - he was the champion, I was the one who solved the problems. The siege engine who we directed against our enemies."

"Right...and now?"

"Now things are different. He and I have gone our separate paths, and it's led us into conflict."

"And you want the belts back?"

"He gave up his right to them when he turned against our cause."

Freya raised her eyebrows. "Turned against your cause?"

"Our cause. I was including you."

"That's a conversation for another day. What do you mean he turned against it?"

"You saw who he was with," Darkness grimaced.

"I did. But I don't know who she is..."

"The name she goes by is Razor..."

"Razor?"

"Yes. But I suspect you'd know her better as Lilith."

"Lilith?" Freya sat back in her chair, "you mean the Lilith?"

"I don't know any others."

"And whose side is she supposed to be on?"

"Not ours."

Freya nodded to herself and took another, slightly longer, sip of her Guinness. The bar they'd found was not a particularly pleasant one, and several pairs of beady eyes had watched her slightly exposed midriff as she'd entered, she'd noticed. Still, she was used to that sort of thing, and used to ignoring it. If anyone tried anything with her, they'd be envying Darkness's number of hands.

"Didn't you get it into your head to go for the Road to Glory before Havoc though?" Freya suddenly asked.

Darkness's eyes flicked towards her and he gave her a noncommittal shrug.

"Oh I see. This isn't really about Dante at all then, is it? It's about your damn warrior's pride. You remembered that you're supposed to be the hardest man that ever lived and you started wanting to prove it."

"It's not like that..."

"Yes it is. It always is with men like you. You're like a rottweiler defending his territory; as soon as the dominant alpha male slips up you bound towards him, teeth bared, preparing to assert your dominance and take over the pack."

"You know that using dog metaphors just makes you sound silly, right?" Darkness smirked.

"Fuck off."

Darkness laughed. "Werewolves have a lot in common with dogs," he remarked, "you're both stuck between the wolf and the human. The only difference is that one of you is eager to please the master, and the other was born to destroy him."

"You have a very flattering view of my people."

"I've fought too many of you to be fooled into thinking that you're anything but incredibly dangerous," Darkness informed her, "no matter how human you might look on the outside, I know you all have the heart of the wolf."

"Damn right. Wolves know about honour and kinship - I'll take a wolf pack over any group of snivelling humans any day."

Darkness nodded. "I'm inclined to agree with you sometimes. But a human can learn from his mistakes. A wolf will always be a killer."

Freya didn't reply to that. "You've met other werewolves then?" she asked instead.

"Some."

"Did you kill them?"

"When I had to."

"Did they fight hard?"

Darkness smiled slightly. "They always do. You can talk about my pride all you want, but I've got nothing on a young werewolf out to prove himself to his Clan."

"I can believe that."

"Your people aren't like vampires or demons though," he continued, "you were created as an infiltration force, but you've grown into your own clandestine society. Most werewolf Clans don't ever attempt to undermine humans anymore. You keep to yourselves."

"Why would we bother with humans?" Freya asked, tracing a finger across the creamy head of her Guinness, "Thanks to you and your kind, they think we're just a fairy story. It's easier if we stick to our own and deal with our own affairs."

"And yet, here you are..."

"Well that's another story entirely," Freya said, not looking at him.

"There's a reason you were attracted to human society, you know."

She frowned at him. "What?"

"You're an Infiltrator."

"You already said that."

"Only about werewolves, not about you specifically. You're a kind of mutation that can be born to two werewolves sometimes that the Slayers call an Infiltrator. Your appearance is unusually human, so much so that you can easily pass for a normal woman."

"Well...that's true. But I'm a human most of the time, like all werewolves..."

Darkness laughed quietly. "Not quite. I saw your brother Fenris, and you've told me that you have other siblings. Would any of them be able to blend into society like you have?"

"Maybe Bronson..."

"Well he has the same parents as you. What about cousins?"

Freya considered the question. Her extended family, what she called her Clan, a group of interrelated werewolves who all lived in the same village were not, when she thought about it, exactly like herself. Back home, she's always known that she was...for want of a better word...prettier than the others. She hadn't mixed well with the other girls - but she had been rather popular with the boys on the other hand. Plus no human, except Darkness, had ever suspected what she was.

"You may be right," she admitted.

"I know I am. Usually my Slayer Sense picks up a werewolf as soon as you come within a kilometre."

"Really?"

"Yes. Which I usually just ignore, since there are more of you around than even you might think, and very few of you are ever looking for trouble. I couldn't tell what you were until I was close enough to see with my own eyes though."

"Oh." Freya looked back down at her drink again. "Are there really that many werewolves?"

"Not so many as there once were. But enough."

"Enough for what?"

"For what I'll need them for."

Freya frowned at him. "What could you possibly need werewolves for?"

"For the war. Do you think you came here to be a wrestler?"

She drew herself up haughtily. "Well I didn't come her to find you..."

"I didn't say you did. But the NHFC is only the nucleus of what it will one day need to become."

She shook her head, "Which is all going to come to nothing if you and Dante keep this up."

He looked at her darkly. "I cannot coexist with that man..."

"Then we might as well give up now I guess."

Darkness reached for the bottle of tequila but then thought better of it and placed his hand back on the table. "I know what I have to do," he said as if talking to himself, "I knew my destiny the moment he suggested it, but we've been driven too far apart these last few weeks."

"So talk to him."

"He has turned away from us. If he has betrayed what we stand for, then I have no option."

"No option?"

Darkness looked at her. "If it comes to it, I'll kill Dante. He is too powerful a weapon to fall into the enemy's hands." He glanced towards the bathroom. "Excuse me," he murmured as he stood up.

Freya watched him go. "He's not the only one who's dangerous in their hands..." she said to herself as she tapped her fingers against the glass in front of her.

* * *

Matt Strikmore scratched his head as he watched the strange Japanese man leave the coffee shop. He was starting to get used to weird colleagues showing up at inopportune moments to deliver bizarre messages and act in odd ways. Still, it would be nice if people would just be normal once in a while.

Of course, tonight had been anything but normal. He looked over at the young girl whose head rested against her folded arms on the table. He wondered what her story was, and how she'd gotten herself into this situation. He remembered being fifteen or sixteen - a skinny, pizza-faced kid trying to break into the school wrestling-team and obsessed with the girl - Suzie James - who sat in front of him in biology. He couldn't imagine being on the streets at that age. This girl should be at high school, sat in front of some dork with a crush on her like Suzie was ten years ago.

As he watched her, the strange girl who called herself Revenant lifted her head. Her odd eyes looked back at him, and her face hardened. "What are you looking at?"

"I...nothing...I was just wondering what your story was. How old are you?"

She shrugged. "Fifteen."

"You don't seem very sure about that."

"I'm not."

"Okay then. That doesn't answer my question anyway."

"Yes it does," Revenant observed.

He frowned and then realised she was right. "Okay, that was what I asked. But I meant about your story. I'll help you look for a place to stay tonight, but we'll need to get in touch with someone who can help you tomorrow. Where are your parents from?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I never knew my father and my mother is dead."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. She hated me."

"Hey..." Strikmore placed his hand on one of hers, "I'm sure that isn't true."

She looked at him for a moment, opened her mouth as if she was about to tell him something but then seemed to think better of it. "There isn't anyone who can help me," she finally said, "and I don't need anywhere to stay. Thanks for the coffee," she gestured at her still mostly full mug before sliding out of the booth.

"Hey," Strikmore reached out to her, "I'm not letting you just walk away like this..."

She shook her head. "You're making a mistake," she told him.

"I don't think so."

"I do." She looked around for a second, frowning. "Was someone else here?" she asked.

"Uh...yeah..."

"Who?"

"A...friend of mine. Well, someone I work with."

Revenant nodded. "I heard him talking. I thought it was a dream."

"Well it wasn't."

"What did he say?"

Strikmore shrugged. "Just work stuff. Nothing you'd be interested in."

"I suppose not. Goodbye, Matt Strikmore."

She started walking away, and he bounded to his feet. "Wait..."

Revenant whirled around and levelled a fist at him. Noiselessly, a razor-sharp sickle-blade appeared from the wide sleeve of her heavy military jacket right in front of his nose.

"Hey!" Strikmore turned to look at the proprietor of the establishment who was staring at them angrily. "No knives!"

Revenant's other arm flew out and a second blade pointed in the direction of the coffee's shop's owner.

"Stay out of my business," Revenant told both of them, "it's for your own good. I'm bad news, understand?"

"I don't want to hurt you," Matt assured her, his eyes flicking nervously to the weapon in front of him.

"Do you really think I'm scared of you hurting me, Matt Strikmore?"

* * *

Shi fanned out a series of police reports on the glass table of his hotel suite. Jason's contacts had obtained the information that would help them track down their latest target for them. There was little enough to go on at first glance.

"A young man, black, waited tables in a restaurant downtown. He seems entirely unremarkable; no known enemies, no link to any other criminal activities. The only record he has is a parking ticket three years ago."

Jason shook his head as he looked down at his companion. "He was just a random victim."

"It looks that way," Shi admitted, "but his murder isn't just similar to that one in London."

"No?"

"No, look at this." He passed Jason a document and the larger man frowned at it.

"This looks like a very similar murder..."

"It is. Another young man, this time a college student in Florida. Found murdered in his car."

"Right..."

"And this one," he handed Jason another piece of paper, "a middle-aged restaurateur also in Florida."

"Uh huh."

"A man found in his apartment in Atlanta."

"Strange..."

"Yes. Do you know what's even stranger?"

Jason shrugged, "Go on..."

"The murder in Atlanta coincided with a TCW show there."

"Really?"

Shi nodded. "It gets more interesting though. I did some more digging after I read about these cases. It seems we aren't the first ones to notice a link."

"Is that right?"

"Two Florida detectives were following the same trail."

"And what did they find?"

"Death."

"Pardon?"

"Well, death and insanity," Shi clarified, "one of them was killed by the other. And the one who pulled the trigger is now in a mental asylum."

"Wow."

"Right. There's something else too." Shi passed a photograph to his partner. "This is a CCTV picture taken from the restaurant in Florida that the two cops were using to track down their suspect."

Jason frowned at the image in his hands. "This girl looks familiar..."

"She should. We saw her tonight with Matt Strikmore."

Freya sat at the table alone, drawing shapes in the condensation on her glass. She thought over what Darkness had been telling her; Dante's new friend, how she was different from her Clan - or more different that she already knew, and Darkness's eventual plan to recruit the werewolves.

Finally, she pushed her nearly full pint away with a grimace and grabbed the tequila bottle and Darkness's shot glass. She filled it and held the amber liquid up to the light before pouring it down her throat.

"Want the lemon?" Darkness was back and nudged the lemon wedges towards her.

"No, I'd rather taste the bitter. It's not a fun drink, so there's no point trying to cover it up."

"Are you going to start with drink analogies now?"

"You said dog ones were silly."

Darkness motioned for another shot glass and filled both of them. He downed his own, cringing as he skipped the lemon slice this time. Freya followed suit but without the face.

"So what now?" Freya asked.

Darkness shrugged. "Don't you have a boyfriend to get back to or something?" He poured another shot.

"What? Who would..." it suddenly dawned on her. "Do you mean Stephen?"

Darkness paused. "Yes, the one with the hat."

Freya gave him a weird look. "You've got to be fucking kidding me..."

"So you're not dating him? No need to get offended. He seems like a nice guy."

"He seems? You're not even sure what his name is! Your own fucking team mate and you can't remember his name!" She had stood up at some point without realising, but noticed now.

"Are you finished?" Darkness downed another shot like nothing had happened.

Freya picked up her shot glass and threw the contents at Darkness before slumping into her seat.

Darkness pulled his now wet t-shirt away from his body and started to laugh. It was an empty sound, with no real mirth in it.

"What's so funny?" Freya asked sulkily.

He stopped laughing. "You. You have all this power, a legacy of bestial fury four thousand years old, and yet you decided the best way to vent your frustration was to throw alcohol at me."

"What would you rather I had done? Changed? Ripped your throat out?"

"At least you wouldn't be denying yourself."

She leaned in towards him. "I'm not denying myself, Darkness; I pick my battles. Some have saliva-slung, red-eyed, howling-at-the-moon answers, and some have tequila-throwing ones." She pushed her glass forward for Darkness to refill. "You just need to learn when the answer is one or the other."

"Another thinly-veiled jibe?"

"I didn't think it was that thinly-veiled. You're all gung ho, trigger happy, or you're refusing to life a finger. No in-between."

"You're starting to sound like a broken record."

"I thought if you heard it enough it might start to sink in through that thick skull of yours."

"I think I've had enough of this." Darkness emptied his glass, the last of his bottle, bit into a slice of lemon, and got up to leave.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot the third option: just running away."

Darkness spun around, his long coat fanning out at the bottom. He moved to put his hands on the table, but rethought it as the prosthetic made a hollow noise against the wood. He glanced down at the false hand but then recovered himself and locked eyes with Freya again.

"I'm not running away. I don't run away, and I'm definitely not running away from you." He spat out the last word before storming off.

Freya sighed and looked at the last shot on the table. She picked it up along with the last slice of lemon. The golden liquid was bitter, the alcohol burned her throat. The lemon made it slightly better though.

She got up and headed to the door that was still banging in the wind after Darkness had gone through it. Her head swum a little as she left the bar. Eyes had followed her, like lions watching the first steps of a newborn gazelle. She smiled to herself at the idea of being prey.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Darkness may not be able to sense her, but she could definitely find him. It was mainly the coat, covered in mud, blood, smoke and who knew what else. There was still a hint of leather underneath it all, and the faint sulphurous smell that Darkness, Dante, and Selenia all gave off to various degrees.

She picked her direction and started walking.

**

"Come on, Revenant, can't we talk about this?" Strikmore still had a blade under his chin, far too close for comfort.

"You'd be better off with me gone." She took a small step back. Strikmore didn't move.

"I said..."

"Shut it!" Strikmore cut off the café owner. "Revenant..."

The girl's strange eyes looked stranger, the small pupils now like pin-pricks, and her strange teeth glinted ominously. She looked quickly between the two men. She knew that the owner was a man she could have killed, given the right circumstances. If he tried to hurt her, or take what little she had, she would have done it with her blades. If the hunger was on her, with her teeth. But she couldn't kill this Matt Strikmore, the complete stranger who wanted to help. She couldn't deal with the guilt of that again. Her human remorse tugged at her every time she fed, but for the young men who seemed to show her sympathy - like Geoff, back in his car in Florida - she always felt much worse.

The blades slid back into the gauntlets on her wrists. Strikmore let out a relieved sigh. It didn't last long however, the brief moment he had his eyes closed gave Revenant the chance to get away. She struck Matt, sending him flying backwards with strength that belied her small stature. He tripped over his own feet as he fell and hit his head on the table. He had time to see Revenant running out of the door before his world turned black.

It wasn't easy being hunted; spending your whole life running. Not just from the people who thought you'd be better off dead - or at least where decent folk wouldn't have to worry about seeing you - but also from what you were.

See, the problem is that deep down, you know they're right.

You don't belong, and you never can. You're always going to be a bit different and, even when you're with your own kind, you still stick out like a sore thumb.

Torn between two worlds. The savage underbelly of the supernatural recoils from you and rejects you for being too human, and the world everyone thinks is the real one can never accept you because, even if you earn their loyalty and friendship, just how far can you trust a creature that's half predator?

You'll always be the hunter deep down, and there'll always be those - from both sides - who like to play role reversal.

So you run. You flee into the night and try to survive where you can. Maybe you can blend in...hope that no one who can spot the signs will ever find you...or maybe you can run forever, and hope that a bolt of lightning falls out of the sky and ends your suffering.

Either way, you can't go back. Not now.

You are who you are.

Half human; half...something else.

But there's more than one kind of predator in the world. That's why we have the food chain.

* * *

Freya's nose never betrayed her. If she was forced to explain how she used it to a human, words would have failed her. It was like trying to describe ‘red' - you might start out all right, but pretty soon you'd be using words like ‘hot' and ‘fire'. She couldn't explain how she could follow a trail, and she always wondered what it must be like to be a normal girl and smell things like roses and home cooking as faint impressions on the breeze, rather than being able to garner the information she could from a simple scent. The human sense of smell was like faint flickers of light bouncing of moving water compared to her twenty-twenty vision.

With an object like Darkness's coat, it was even easier. He had been wearing the thing for more than twenty years as best she could tell, and had never seen any need to wash it. All the mud, all the rain, all the blood and dust of his long, brutal mission had simply accumulated. Plus he now stunk of the tequila she'd thrown on him. To Freya, it was a layer that felt metres thick; an aura of sensation that followed him everywhere and left a thick swathe of impressions behind it like a slug's trail. She could have followed him to Hell and back, if she'd felt any inclination to.

She didn't.

As she paced down the Winnipeg sidewalk, following the path of filth and blood in the air that glowed like a reflective road sign in front of her, she mused on the words she'd exchanged with the former Shadow Slayer. He was a hard man to get through to, she realised. Now over the age of forty, and used to being in control of every situation, he was stubborn and used to letting the cares of the world roll off him.

It wasn't exactly his fault that he was so aloof. He'd had to be, in order to be who he was. You couldn't be a Shadow Slayer, especially not one as elite and dangerous as he had been, and not seal yourself off from normal experience.

In many ways, he was as divided as her. Torn between Heaven and Hell, trying to maintain his composure and discipline while his rage pulsed inside him, always battering against the iron walls in which he imprisoned it.

The problem was that she'd given it an escape route, and now it was running amuck, tearing through everything that got in its way. Part of the reason she felt so abrasive towards Darkness was that she felt at least partially responsible for unleashing this new side of him.

He had to find the balance between his two sides. But then...didn't everyone? That's what life is about, isn't it?

Freya shook her head and frowned. She'd never been interested in philosophy. ‘Do unto others as you would have done unto you' or whatever it was, was good enough for her. Not that she was very big on Jesus - werewolves, as a rule, tend not to be - but that idea of his, at least, seemed fairly smart to her.

But how do you start applying ethics and morality to men like Darkness and Dante? How can you hold the Son of Satan responsible for his actions, or expect the Antichrist to reign himself in when Armageddon is coming? Who's to say that he isn't supposed to be destroying everyone in sight?

But then...who's to say she's even fighting on the right side? They felt like the good guys...but maybe that wasn't the best evidence to be relying on...

"Argh..." she rubbed her hands against her temples. "I'm done thinking about all this. Why do I get myself involved with demons and demigods when I'm supposed to be trying to stay normal?"

And now Darkness thought she was the start of some kind of army...

"Well I'm not going to be fighting any wars," she vowed, "Selenia might kowtow to his drunken arse, but I can see him for the thick-skulled idiot he is."

Suddenly Freya stopped. She titled her head and let her nose follow Darkness's trail. He had travelled vertically, it seemed. Particles were drifting downwards through the air and, to her acute sense of smell, it felt like there was a cascade of Darkness trailing through the sky in the direction he had gone. Her eyes saw the fire escape he had surely used and she knew he was on the rooftops somewhere. For Darkness, that was like going to ground.

She wondered why though. Darkness was annoyed at her, of course, but he had left the bar smelling satisfied and as smug as ever.

Freya didn't like to read people's emotions like that. She'd learned to shut it out, which was pretty easy with Darkness since mostly he smelt like iron self-control and confidence. Sometimes burning anger. There didn't seem to be an in-between. But it was always faintly embarrassing to smell Stephen's confusion when she was around, the mixture of sexual arousal and protective instinct blended with severe embarrassment at the former. Acolyte wasn't much better, Misfit was a whirlwind of confused feelings...only Dante and Selenia were virtually unreadable to her. Their smell always reminded her of sulphur too much for her to pick out any emotions - plus the two were sickeningly in love. At least they had been until recently...

With a sigh, she opened herself up a bit more and tried to read what Darkness was feeling. It wasn't easy to pick up that much information from a scent-trail, but it was possible. She could smell traces of the same anger and smugness she'd been following all along, but as she approached the point where he'd stopped and then rapidly changed direction, something new appeared.

The anger vanished, like a candle being snuffed out, and was replaced by something steely and dangerous. He had gone from annoyance at her to something totally different. There was wariness there, but also confusion. He had seen something that had alarmed him then?

No, if he had seen it, he would have acted then. Which meant he must have heard something perhaps? No...that didn't fit either - why would he climb high to find something he'd heard, unless it came from above?

Freya realised, as she approached the bottom of the fire exit, that what Darkness had been distracted by must have been picked up by his Slayer Sense...which in turn alarmed her. She looked right and left rapidly, wondering what could have happened. A demon? A vampire? Another werewolf? Perhaps a warg...her stomach lurched at the thought of encountering one of her semi-mythical forebears and what that might mean for her.

"Okay, girl," Freya whispered to herself, stepping out of the alleyway she had followed Darkness's trail into, "he isn't the only one with a fancy sense. It's no use following him if there's something nasty around. You dealt with those vampires in Dublin...you can deal with whatever this is..."

Freya toyed with the wooden talisman hanging around her neck. She'd already tried it out a few times and was confident that it removed the main obstacle to spontaneous transformations - the problem of clothing when she changed back. Whatever had made Darkness take to the rooftops would have an angry wolf to contend with too.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that though. She walked down the silent street. Cars were parked and streetlamps cast their phosphorescent glow across the asphalt of the road but otherwise it was a completely empty part of the city. To Freya, there were a host of smells drifting around after all the cars and people who had been this way during the day. Perfume...aftershave...sweat...a kid with some candy a few hours ago...smoke...pollution...tar...but she could block that all out. That was background noise, like a car alarm two blocks away.

She crept forward, keeping to the shadows. Slowly, Darkness's scent faded into the background too as she became used to it and she delved deeper, stripping away the layers of the day's activity, trying to find what he'd found.

With a sudden missed heartbeat she recoiled as she smelt something new and unfamiliar. She had to stop herself from snarling and growling, hold back the transformation that seemed to be pushing against her skin. If she had been in wolf form, her heckles would have been raised and her teeth bared. A shudder ran through her and her nose wrinkled, threatening to become whiskered, black and wet at a moment's notice.

The smell was something charnel, like an old slaughterhouse, but dampened by human smells like soap and fear. It was like putrid meat and dry, ground-in blood. In a fundamental way, it also smelt wrong. She had no doubt that, to Darkness's Slayer Sense, whatever made this smell felt like a whirlpool in his head. It was probably the equivalent of fresh blood to her nose.

Pushing down the bile in her throat, Freya moved slowly forward, keeping one hand against the wall as she moved. She tried to ignore the thick black hairs that were starting to appear on her skin as she began to move involuntarily towards her transformation.

Finally she came to an intersection and turned her head in the direction of the unnatural smell. She could feel whatever it was approaching and then, to her surprise, a figure appeared from around a corner at the end of the street. It was the last thing she expected.

She straightened, frowning at the slight shape that sprinted at her, constantly throwing glances back over its shoulder. The person - a girl, she now saw, but it didn't smell like girl - was smaller even than Freya, and looked a good ten years younger. She frowned as her sensitive eyes pierced the monochrome gloom and saw, to her shock, that it was a vampire approaching her.

At least, it looked like a vampire. The ones in Dublin had smelt different though - dry and dead, with no emotions she could smell - this creature was alive, reeking of terror and misery and anger and too many other feelings for her to read.

"Hey!" she shouted as the girl ran closer, but was ignored. The creature was about to sprint past her, but Freya had no intention of not getting a reaction from whatever this thing was. She tried to reach and grab her, her fingers grabbing her too-big military jacket, but the girl darted away and the fear smell overtook everything else.

The two women whirled around each other, but Freya had the advantage of being prepared and skidded upright before she could fall over. The tiny girl took a tumble however, but rolled right back up to her feet.

"Who are you?!" Freya demanded, not knowing what else to say, and feeling that a normal greeting was inappropriate given the girl's bizarre scent.

The child stared at her in terror and then fell backwards. Her pinprick vampire eyes hadn't yet left Freya.

"Alright, I get it...you're scared of me," Freya said, recovering herself sufficiently to approach the strange girl. "Tell me who and what you are..."

"Y...your eyes..."

"What? You're concerned about my eyes?" Freya took a moment to get a good look at the girl. She was short and skinny, pale, but with patches of what looked like bad sunburn. Her hair was very dark and pulled into a rough, spiky bun, but with a long fringe hanging down over one side of her face. She wore baggy cargo pants covered in mud and dust as well as battered shell-toe sneakers. Her top exposed some of her midriff, but she was as skinny as a boy and it was obviously not intended for titillation. Her tiny frame was sheltered in a huge green jacket with sergeant's stripes on the sleeve. She made an incongruous figure.

"I...you...remind me of someone..."

Freya frowned and tilted her head slightly. "I remind you of someone? My eyes remind you of someone?"

The girl nodded dumbly.

"Oh..." Freya didn't like to think of what that might mean. "My name's Freya. Freya..."

"Green. I know."

Her frown deepened. "How could you...?"

"I thought you were dead," the girl said.

Freya took a step backwards and held up her hands. She was starting to become completely freaked out now. "How do you know me?" she asked, staring at the girl who was beginning to pick herself up. "And why do you look like vampire but smell like person?"

A strange person, albeit. No human had ever smelt like this, but she knew the emotions of a human being, and she reeked of them.

"She's an abomination."

Freya turned around to see the shadowy form of Darkness approach from the way the weird girl had run. Had he been chasing her?

In his good hand, she saw one of the huge silver pistols he carried with him. Usually he'd have two raised, she realised, but she guessed his trigger finger on his prosthetic hand wasn't quick enough for his tastes anymore.

"A what?"

The girl was standing now, and Freya smelt her backing away, preparing to run.

"Wait!" Freya spun back around and held a hand up to her. The girl stopped, seemingly torn. "I don't know who you are...or what you are...but he won't hurt you."

"Stand down, Freya. You don't know what you're dealing with."

Freya shot him an angry look. "Do you?"

Darkness paused. "Not yet..."

"Then how about we don't shoot first and ask questions later?"

Darkness shook his head grimly. "You can't feel what I feel," he tapped the barrel of his gun against his head, "in here."

Freya pointed at her nose. "But I can smell it. I'm too curious and confused to let you go shooting whoever this kid is before finding out some answers." She turned back to the stranger and tried to calm her voice down. She'd never been good with children - especially teenagers - but she figured sounding confident and placid would be the best thing. "We won't hurt you...we just want to know who you are..."

The girl looked from Freya to Darkness and back again. She opened her mouth to speak and Freya saw her fangs before, suddenly, her smell changed. Fear became fury and, with heart-stopping speed, the girl lunged at her. Freya had smelt the change too quickly though, and flattened herself against the asphalt of the road. The girl spun over her and she heard the sound of steel unsheathing.

"Darkness! No!"

Freya spun to her feet, but then saw that it wasn't Darkness sword she had heard, but two crescent-shaped blades at the girl's wrists. She was diving at Darkness, who seemed to be transfixed by the weapons.

"Watch out!" She cried.

He seemed to recover his wits in time and fired his gun. There was a bang and a sudden flash of light. The girl spun away, landing on her feet, but crouched low. The bullet had missed her, only managing to leave a ragged hole in her coat's hem.

Darkness levelled his pistol. "Where did you get those blades, child?"

"A friend," she replied, baring her teeth.

"Not of yours," Darkness said sternly, "I don't know what you are, or how you got those blades, but tonight you die!"

He pulled the trigger, unleashing a storm of bullets, but somehow his target seemed to avoid them, leaping up the wall and clinging on like a spider.

"Darkness!" The man turned to Freya and opened his mouth to say something, but Freya cut him off. "You can't kill her!"

"I have no choice."

"Yes you do! You always have a choice! That's what I've been trying to tell you!"

The girl looked at each of them in turn again, before bounding off the wall and sprinting down the street again, away from them.

"Thanks," Darkness growled.

"You should be thanking me," Freya told him, grabbing his arm as he tried to move past her, "we don't know what the girl is, and you're trying to fill her full of lead before we can find out."

"All I know is that she feels like vampire."

"Well she doesn't smell like it."

"So?"

"So that means there's something weird going on here. She seemed to know who I was."

Darkness stared at her. "Do you know her?"

Freya shook her head. "I've never seen her before in my life, but she recognised my eyes, and knew my surname."

"Which means...?"

"That she knows someone in my family. Somehow."

Darkness took a few seconds to reload his pistol from his store of spare ammunition strapped to his belt. "I don't have time for this...she's getting away..."

"You're not going to kill her!"

Darkness gave her a hard look. "How are you going to stop me?"

With a swift movement, Freya grabbed Darkness's shoulders, pulled him into her and then brought her knee up, burying it into his groin.

"Ooof..." Darkness crumpled as she stepped away, dropping to one knee with a grunt.

"Sorry," she said, and meant it.

"You think...that's going to...stop...me...?"

"No," she shrugged, "but I need the head start."

She sprinted away from him in the direction the girl had fled and then crouched low. Her body lengthened as she ran and, eventually, she was running on all fours. Her muscle structure shifted, turning her into a quadruped as her face became a muzzle. Seconds later, clothes were replaced by grey fur and she was pelting down the road at full speed. The mysterious girl's trail was clear ahead of her and, whatever happened, she had to find her before Darkness could get to her.

* * *

Darkness breathed deeply as he slowly stood upright. Wincing, he massaged the painful area Freya had chosen to assault and tried to ignore the lancing agony that alternated with the dull ache.

"Fucking woman," he grimaced, "I should start wearing a cup..."

As he limped into the shelter of the shadows, he sensed a new presence, a human one, behind him. He turned around, preparing to tell whomever it was to stay out of this business if they knew what was good for them.

What he didn't expect as he looked around was to be looking down the barrel of a gun.

"Nice piece," Darkness observed to its wielder, "a bit showy for my tastes..."

The bearer of the gold berretta smirked at Darkness. "Would you mind explaining to me what just happened here?" the pale man asked in accented English.

"I know you," Darkness nodded, leaning back against the wall behind him, apparently unfazed at the gun that was still pointed at him. "You're Death."

"Death?"

"Or Four...or Ten. Or perhaps ‘Poem', but you look Japanese to me..."

Shi raised his pistol slightly, moving the muzzle away from Darkness. "You speak Japanese?"

"A little. I spent some time in East Asia. Mostly Nepal, Thailand and Cambodia, but I travelled through China and Korea and stopped in Japan for a while. It's nice to finally meet you ‘Shi'."

"Likewise," the Japanese man said, inclining his head slightly. He brought his gun down to his waist now, confident that the danger had passed.

"You want to know what's going on?"

Shi nodded. "It would be helpful."

"You look like you know how to handle your weapons."

"I do."

"You're an assassin?"

"I am."

Darkness nodded. "Well I am...was...a Shadow Slayer. I don't expect you to know what that is, but you can consider me a colleague of sorts. Unless I miss my guess, you're looking for that girl too."

"Right."

"Good. Then let's pool our resources. Four guns are better than two."

Shi glanced at Darkness's prosthetic hand. "Are you sure you can handle two guns?"

Darkness gave him a menacing look. "I can handle whatever I need to, rest assured of that."

Shi took the hint and looked down the road where the two women had gone. "Your friend, the English girl. Whose side is she on?"

"She's on my side."

"If she gets in my way..."

Darkness's good hand shot out, taking a grip of Shi's collar. The Japanese assassin moved his own arm out to stop Darkness, but the former Slayer's other arm was suddenly in the way, blocking him. "A little too quick for you," Darkness grinned, "don't forget that." He looked into Shi's eyes, blocked as they were by his dark glasses, incongruous in the middle of the night. "If you hurt Freya, I'll make you sorry you ever got up this morning, understand? You have no idea what I'm capable of."

Shi considered Darkness's threat, then nodded stiffly.

"Good. Then we're on the same page." Darkness nodded down the street. "I can tell where the little one is..."

"Her name is Revenant. I've been tracking her she's wanted by..."

"Whatever. As long as she doesn't wake up tomorrow I'm happy."

Shi nodded. "Me too."

"Then let's go."

Strikmore was still rubbing his head as he wandered out of the diner. It was as weird a night as he could remember having...

Well no, scratch that.

"I've had plenty weirder than this. Like that stuff on the rooftop with Drakus and Darkness. At least I know to avoid getting into scrapes like that again."

He looked around, trying to see any trace of the young girl who he had made it his business to look out for. Seeing nothing, he instead glanced at his watch.

"Goddamnit."

It was gone three in the morning now, and his exhaustion was beginning to catch up with him.

"Well, I hope DeSean and his Infinity buddies had a good night. Me, I'm chasing after skinny goth chicks with knives in their hands."

With a dour expression, he shoved his hands into his pockets and followed the coffee shop owner's directions, taking an immediate left. With no idea what he was looking for, he had little hope of tracking down Revenant.

"You know, I don't have to be this guy," he reminded himself as he walked, "I'm just a New Jersey kid who managed to luck out and find himself a little success as a pro. wrestler. It's not like doing this job requires me to set some sort of example for the viewing public - most of my fans are probably wife-beating rednecks anyway."

That was always a reassuring thought, of course. You can pretend wrestling is an art form all you like, but no one ever went to look at the Mona Lisa with a six pack in hand and a bag of nachos. The Louvre probably had a "no baseball cap" policy on the door too.

"Still, what was I supposed to do? Let her get mugged? Not buy her coffee?"

It seemed odd now that he thought about it though. Why would anyone take a skinny homeless girl for coffee unless his intentions were even less savoury than those of the muggers he'd (kind of) saved her from.

"I guess I can see why Shi looked at me like I was a little weird."

He should just go back to the hotel. Rev could quite clearly handle herself; she didn't need Matt Strikmore to fight her battles - as she'd quite amply demonstrated. His fingers returned to the back of his head and touched the angry lump tentatively.

"Ow."

‘Leave it alone, it'll heal faster,' his mom used to tell him. But then she also told him that professional wrestling was no way for a young man with a college education to make a living.

"I really should go back to the hotel," he told himself again, "this is not my business. I did my bit, I helped her out. She got to enjoy coffee for the first time - what more can a homeless girl ask for?"

No matter how much sense the logical part of his mind talked though, his hindbrain kept muscling in and moving his legs further away from his hotel. His eyes kept scanning the streets and blank walls of the buildings around him, looking for any sign of Revenant.

He felt something hard underneath his shoe suddenly, and stooped down.

"What have we here then?"

The metal object was still warm in his hand and it took him a moment to figure out that it was the squashed, malformed remains of a bullet.

"Whoa..."

It didn't take too long for his brain to put two-and-two together. He knew, in an instinctive way he was unable to articulate, that this was connected to Revenant somehow.

"Now I know this isn't a situation I want to be involved in," he said, but his legs were ignoring him and seemed to be moving of their own volition.

"Oh great," his rational mind murmured, "I hope this isn't another superhero thing..."

* * *

Freya approached the strange girl gingerly. "I don't want to hurt you," she explained, "but you should know that you don't exactly smell...right...to me..."

It wasn't how she would have said it if she'd had the choice, but she couldn't think of a better way to explain the strange contradiction between her nose and her eyes. The conflict of the dominant senses was a uniquely werewolf problem.

"That's because I'm not right," the odd girl said in a voice that was somewhere between forlorn and defiant.

"So what are you?"

"I'm...I'm Revenant..."

Freya nodded. She thought she understood what the girl was saying. "You're unique, you mean?"

"Yes."

"You look like...a vampire..." Freya didn't know if she would find that offensive. She didn't smell offended, but her emotions were a total whirlwind. That was probably understandable.

"I am a vampire," Revenant said calmly, "but I'm different from all the rest."

"You're a...a mutant? Some sort of accident?"

"No..."

Freya could feel Revenant becoming more wary now, and her body language suggested she was preparing to bolt.

"Okay...forget the questions," she held up a hand, "I think I should take you to meet some of my friends. They can help you...give you a place to stay..."

Revenant shook her head, "I don't make friends."

"Don't be silly."

"Every friend I've made is dead. Everything I touch turns to ashes. You should stay away."

"No. I used to think like that too. But then I met people who could help me...who made me feel like I belonged..."

"I belong dead, Freya Green. I don't need your sympathy, I just need you to go away."

Freya could sense the anger and contempt in Revenant now. The girl didn't want anyone to look after her. She was damaged, but hopefully not beyond repair.

"Listen...just let me talk to..." she stopped, a sudden scent tickling at her nose. "Get down!" she shouted, pushing Revenant away.

The shot rang out over the rooftop, ricocheting off a metal pipe above their heads. Freya bounded up to her feet and growled, focusing on the smell and sound of their attacker. There was another smell too, this one different, but also human.

"What do you think you're doing, Darkness?"

"Stand down, Freya," his voice replied.

"I don't think so. You and your friend can just piss off home. Revenant doesn't mean you any harm."

She could smell the surprise in Darkness that she knew he wasn't alone.

"I do mean them harm," Revenant hissed as her weapons slid out of her sleeves again.

"I can understand that," Freya said, trying to keep her nose on the two men who now stalked them, "but Darkness is my friend."

"What?"

Freya placed a hand on the girl's arm. "He's having a lot of problems right now...but he means well. I just have to make him understand..."

Revenant pulled herself free and leapt up onto an air conditioning unit. "Why don't you come and get me!" she called at Darkness, crouching low and baring her fangs.

Freya moved quickly, trying to intercept Darkness who she could smell moving with frightening speed towards Revenant, but he was too fast for her. Before she could even blink, Darkness was on top of the unit with the vampire-girl, pistol drawn. She went for him with her blades, but he dodged easily and aimed a kick at her abdomen.

"Darkness! Damnit!"

Revenant was now coming at him with her fangs, but he aimed an elbow at her chin and sent her spinning back down to the ground. She landed on her feet and dodged the next shot that rang out, and Darkness followed her down with a leap of his own.

Freya ran towards them, but suddenly she was bowled over by a dark shape. She yelped, and then threw her assailant off her. Back on her feet in a second she frowned at the mysterious interloper. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Shi," the Japanese man told her, "now get out of my way!"

He had a gold pistol in his hand and Freya could see who he was aiming it at. "I don't think so," she growled, kicking the weapon out of his hand, only for him to draw another.

Across the rooftop, Darkness and Revenant still fought. Darkness was faster and stronger, but with one hand he couldn't match her dexterity. The girl bounded from surface to surface, making slashes at him where she could while Darkness tried to take aim with his single gun.

Shi tried to dart past Freya, but she tripped him and bore him to the ground. "And why do you want to kill her then, paleface?"

The assassin tried to fight free but, in doing so, Freya got on top of him and pinned his hands to the floor. "Answer me!"

"She's a murderer!" Shi spat.

"Huh?" Suddenly the things Revenant had said swam into focus. She was a vampire after all.

She stared at the pale child who, even now, was evading Darkness's furious attacks and opened her mouth. She'd been so quick to defend her, curious about how she knew her and feeling some strange kinship with the girl, but what if her confidence was horribly misplaced?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Shi's knee driving into her abdomen and throwing her upside-down through the air to land with an ‘oof' on the concrete rooftop. The Japanese man was on his feet immediately, pistol levelled at Revenant who was too busy moving away from Darkness to notice she was being targeted.

Shi's finger pressed the trigger.

"Watch your aim, tough guy!"

A heavy shape slammed into Shi, causing his gun to jerk upwards as he fired and his shot to go wildly off-course. He tumbled to the ground and Freya could only stare as Matt Strikmore landed on top of the gunman and slammed his fist against the floor, forcing him to drop the weapon.

"Now where the hell did you come from?" Freya asked as she picked herself up.

"A diner," Strikmore shrugged as Shi struggled beneath him.

"Hey!"

Freya turned around, just in time to see Revenant pelt towards the edge of the building and then sail off, easily clearing the gap between this roof and the next, but landing badly on the other side. The shout had been Darkness's and now he too ran towards the edge and kicked off. Likewise, he flew through the air, landing just a few yards behind Rev, who was now stumbling to her feet.

"Damnit, stay in one place..." Freya shook her head and then dashed towards the spot where both of them had jumped. She reached it and, as her sneaker hit the edge of the drop her eyes swung down and she stopped, waving her arms slightly.

"Whoa...okay...bad idea..."

Slowly she stepped back to safety, but then caught sight of Darkness moving towards the clearly-injured Revenant, pistol still in hand.

"Oh, Jesus. Right...okay..."

Freya ran a few steps back and then, closing her eyes, charged towards the lip of the building. As her foot hid the ledge she triggered her transformation, letting her lupine agility take over as she pushed off into thin air. She let out a high-pitched wail that became a howl as she travelled the unfeasible distance and opened her eyes just in time to see the ledge of the opposite building appear in front of her. She wasn't going to make it...unless...

She snapped back into her humanoid form and reached out with a half-formed hand for the concrete lip. She just caught it with her fingers and then slammed into the wall, almost causing her to let go again.

"Shit...ow...fuck..."

She tried to get her breath back, but her grip was slipping fast. "Darkness! Help me, you daft bastard!"

He appeared above her, looking distracted.

"I'm going to fall!" She shouted at him.

"She's getting away, Freya..."

"Fuck her! I'm going to die, you dick!"

Darkness growled something inaudible but then knelt down and grabbed her around the wrist with his good hand. With a grunt of exertion, he pulled her up over the edge and onto the rooftop.

"Thank you! Jesus...you can't be ‘The Man Who Walks Alone' your whole life, you know..."

Darkness didn't reply, but instead turned around to confront Revenant, who was now staring at him. He raised his gun, but then frowned as he realised the girl was no longer running or fighting.

"What is it?" he asked slowly.

"What did she call you?" Revenant asked, her eyes not leaving Darkness.

His eyes narrowing, Darkness slowly let his pistol drop.

"What did she just call you?" Revenant's pale eyes bore into Darkness.

"The man who walks alone," Freya answered for him, "he has it tattooed on his chest."

Darkness shot her a look. "Not quite," he told her stiffly, and she just shrugged by way of reply.

"It's not exactly a secret, hotshot. She could have found that out a hundred different ways. Hell, if she wandered into nearly any bar on a Friday night she'd hear it on the TV."

"You're on the TV?" Revenant asked.

"Oh...erm...yeah," Freya sounded a little embarrassed, although she didn't know why. "We're wrestlers."

"Like Matt Strikmore?"

Darkness and Freya looked at each other. "How do you know Matt?" Freya asked. She'd found it strange when he'd appeared out of nowhere on the roof, but there hadn't been any real time to think about it. She half wished she could tell Darkness somehow; he wouldn't have seen Strikmore in all his haring about. But it was too late now.

"He bought me coffee."

"Why are you here, child?" Darkness had had enough of the small talk.

"I was sent to find you."

Darkness raised an eyebrow. "By whom?"

Revenant gave Freya a wary look. "Okay, fine," she rolled her eyes, "I'll take the hint." As she moved towards the edge of the building she heard another shot. Freya rolled behind another air-conditioning unit, cursing.

"Freya?"

Freya stood up, fiddling with her t-shirt. "This is all your fault," she accused Darkness, one finger poking through a rip on the shoulder where the bullet had grazed her. "If you had listened to me to me to begin with we wouldn't have trigger-happy people shooting at us."

"I had my reasons."

"And I had mine. But obviously as a Shadow Slayer you outrank me and do whatever you feel like." Freya and Darkness glared at each other. "Where are you staying tonight, kid?" Freya asked Revenant, not taking her eyes off Darkness. Revenant shrugged.

"I'll sort you a room at our hotel. Soft bed, lock on your door, running water; should make a nice change from the streets."

Revenant shrugged her indifference.

"Can I borrow your coat? I'll get it back to you later."

"What for?" Revenant pulled her coat around her, she didn't have much and her coat had been useful, especially with the Canadian weather.

"I want to teach someone not to shoot at girls." Freya could see Revenant wasn't convinced. She thought for a second and then removed her necklace. "This is important to me," she said, holding it out. She sensed the girl's surprise at seeing it. "You're seen one before?"

Revenant nodded.

"Then you know what it does, and how important it is to me. How about you hold onto it until I return your coat?"

Revenant shrugged off her jacket. She wasn't entirely happy but it just seemed easier to give in, especially with what Freya had given her to hold on to. Freya pulled on the big coat, crossed the roof to where she knew she would be seen and dropped down the fire escape.

Darkness watched his stable mate leave before turning to the small girl in front of him.

"What's your name?"

"Revenant."

Darkness nodded. "Now tell me why you're here."

**

Freya dodged into an alley. Shi had followed her for the last two blocks. He stood silhouetted in the entrance, drew one of his golden Berettas, checked the clip and walked into the gloom. He moved slowly, determined. He was level with Freya before he was aware of her. She kicked the gun from his hand and forced him against the wall.

"Why are you after her?" she demanded.

Shi recovered himself quickly and narrowed his eyes at the impostor. "I told you, she's a murderer."

"And what has that got to do with you?"

"You don't care?"

"Have you got proof?"

"Enough..."

"Enough to know beyond reasonable doubt?" Freya raised an eyebrow.

Shi chuckled low in his throat. "What are you, a lawyer?"

"No, I just don't think that people should start meting out vigilante justice. If she's committed a crime then a court should deal with it."

"Your devotion to the legal system is touching, but in my experience it often fails."

"Oh is that so? And you'd be the one who decides stuff like that, would you?" Freya asked, mockingly.

"No, but I'm a man, and we live in a democracy. We all have the right to change things if we see inequality and evil."

Freya laughed. "Sure, and a pay cheque has nothing to do with it?"

"Bullets and guns cost money."

"And so do cool looking leather jackets and designer shades." She rolled her eyes, "You're just a guy with some martial arts training and a pistol who wanted to earn a quick buck and realised he put so little value on human life that it was easy to pull a trigger and end it for someone."

"You're quite the little philosopher when you get going, Ms. Green," Shi observed.

"And you're a sociopath. Or is it psychopath? Which is the one who doesn't give a fuck about anything but himself?"

"I'm just doing my job. It's not personal."

"Yeah, well you made it personal by going after someone I know."

"You know that girl?"

"As of thirty minutes ago, yeah."

"Well then, if you're going to try to stop me doing my job then I'll have to put you on my tax return form as ‘collateral damage' maybe..."

"Oh, you're funny," Freya smiled with mock-sincerity, "here's a joke for you then..."

"I'm all ears."

"Okay. I'm a member of a group called the New Hellfire Club. You may have heard of us; we win a lot...."

"I'm not scared of a bunch of wrestlers," Shi scoffed.

"Wait for the punch line, arsehole," Freya growled. "Now, not only does the NHFC contain me - the one-hundred-and-fifty pound girl who still has you pinned against a wall - but also a big fucker called Acolyte who has a serious attitude problem, a nice guy called Stephen Hawthorne who comes from a time when it was socially acceptable to sort out your problems using knuckle dusters, a former college football player called Jay Ecks who's built like, as they say, an outdoor convenience, a chick with a thing for slinky white dresses who'll stab you to death with her stilettos and not bat an eyelid, a punk who makes whatever pussy tattoos you have look like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle transfers, oh and Jason Dante, the World's Heavyweight Champion whose dad you really don't want to meet. You've already talked to Darkness I guess. He only has one hand and last week he tossed everyone's arse out of the ring and won a battle royal. If you're lucky, he'll only break your neck. I won't tell you his big secret, but I wouldn't make any major investments or take out a mortgage anytime soon...."

She paused for breath.

"And we're what's standing between you and Revenant. So it's your choice. Is it worth it? Really worth it? Look into your heart, mister whatever-path, and I think you'll find your answer..."

"Are you guys done flirting?"

Freya and Shi turned around to where Strikmore stood in the alley, his hand clutching a bloody nose.

"What happened to your nose?"

"Some Japanese guy hit me," he replied, eyeing Shi carefully.

Freya finally released Shi and nodded towards Strikmore. "You look knackered."

He scratched the back of his head and then winced slightly. "Is that British for ‘tired'?"

"Yeah."

"Then yeah."

"C'mon. I'll walk you back to the hotel."

He shrugged. "Sure."

The two of them departed, leaving Shi slumped against the wall, reflecting on his options.

Shi slumped against the wall and looked at his Beretta, Jason stood in front of him both of them stood in silence before Jason broke it.

Jason: So what now?

Shi: We stick to the plan

Jason: But what about....

Shi: That bullshit, I don't care about the New Hellfire Club, fuck them all. We follow a code Jason and I intend to follow through with that. We promised Nigel that Revenant would be dead and she will be and anyone who stands in our way is dead too.

Shi took his back off the wall, his unloaded and then reloaded his Beretta, Shi started walking towards the direction Freya and Strikmore went in but a hand stopped him from moving.

Shi: What?

Jason: You want to kill her fine but she's no ordinary human being, she's fast as hell plus she's guarded you heard Freya if I'm not mistaken that's 5 people. I say we think things through, come up with a strategy and then strike. The tracking device you have remember that?

Shi; Yea, I have it in my pocket.

Jason: Well let's use it then, you found Strikmore with it now let's use it again.

Shi pulled out the device, there were green dots everywhere on screen, he hit a button and the screen moved closer and closer until it was isolated on Darkness.

Jason: See she's with Darkness right now; we wait until she's alone.

Shi: You're finally growing some balls Jason; taking over the mission now I like it.

Jason: Whatever I'm just making sure everything goes smoothly, no closed casket bull. Execution style while she's sleeping.

..........................................................

Revenant laid in the hotel bed that Freya gave her; it's been a while since she felt the comfort of an actual bed and the warmth that a blanket provides. Lying in the bed and watching television, almost didn't hear the knock on her door, the keyword being almost. She walked towards the door and looked out the peephole, it was the just the bell hop. She opened the door and quickly moved backwards, the bell hop fell forward at her feet, knocked out from a blow or some sleeper.

Revenant: Shi!

Shi: Correct

Shi held the Beretta at her head nothing and no one was going to stop him, he had Revenant right he wanted.
.................................

Freya, I'm sorry about the tag match

Freya: You apologized already Matt; you've done enough apologizing for you and your partner.

Matt: He's not my partner

Freya: You're both co holders of the TCW Unified tag team titles, you guys are partners.

Matt didn't say a word because it was the truth, he and DeSean were now bound together, and their names will be side by side along with the other great tag teams that held it before.

Matt: You're right......

BOOM!

Matt stopped in mid sentence as he and Freya both ran outside the hotel room thinking a bomb went off but it was no bomb, it was the sound of Shi's body hitting the wall.
...................

I'm going to kill you Revenant, it's nothing personal just business. Shi held the gun to her head ready to pull the trigger but he didn't get the chance to.

Maid: Room service!

Shi turned around and looked at Jason this gave me Revenant enough time to "push" Shi away from her. His body flew backwards against the wall but he bounced back up and ran towards her, dropkicking her from the back, Revenant stumbled forward and tripped over the table. Shi walked up to her and started to kick her in the stomach several times. He grabbed her by her hair and picked her back up, he was going to punch her but she blocked the punch. Revenant grabbed his arm and tried to bend it but of course being a Muay Thai fighter Shi knows all about reversals which is what he does. Shi elbowed Revenant in the face, she quickly let go and Shi grabbed his gun, aiming at her head, Nobu, cocked it before he could pull the trigger though, he was stopped again. A females hand rested on his shoulder while a male hand touched the other shoulder. Shi turned around and spun kicked both of them, when he turned back Revenant was gone, the only traces of her was the pieces of glass she left as she leapt through the window.

Nobu ran near the window but it was too late, Revenant was gone. Freya and Matt slowly stood up all four fists clenched but Shi waved them both off no longer in the mood to fight.

Nobu: Congrats guys you two will forever be known as the two who allowed an serial killer to escape freely into the streets, congrats.