Ben stirred from the salty taste of blood. His body was dangling above the ground. His hands were chained by cuffs, and his new home was a cage in a dark, reeking basement. There was a cart, it was filled with Medical-like weapons. He was weak, but when he looked around, he knew that he wasn't alone. The shadowy figure stepped forward, and gave him a polite smile.

"About time, Sleepyhead. Torturing, lacks something when the victim's unconscious." Robert stated and walked closer to his prisoner.

"So sorry to disappoint. I don't wanna seem like an ungrateful guest, but I have been so tired lately. "Robert came close enough to grab his throat. "You see, I've been tossing and turning from always FANTASIZING about being alone with you--ah!"

Robert gave him a sharp punch in his stomach, Ben hunched from the impact. The Don turned his back to inventory his instruments.

[Mom always said my mouth would get me in trouble. Boy was SHE right.] He thought.

His communicator fell out of his ear, and bounced to the ground. Robert turned at the tapping sound that it left, he walked forward.

"Well! What do we have here?" He put the device to his ear, but all he heard was static.

Ben gave a choking laugh. Robert lifted his head by grabbing his hair.

"Tell me, I like a good joke, what's so funny?"

"You are, you're kinda dumb for a Boss. My team can hear you, but you'll never hear them." Ben spit out some blood, and Robert let go of his hair. The Informer twitched when he felt cold metal against his throat.

"Still funny, boy?" Robert asked, Ben nodded

"Yeah, 'cause when I marry your daughter I'll have you sent across the country, and you'll WISH that you were nicer to me." He snickered

Robert stabbed him in his spine with the blade. "I know for a fact that you're a Veer." He walked to his instruments. "So this should help you fester." He grabbed a needle and injected it into Ben's neck.

He marched away in anger, and Ben screamed from the agony. The veins in his hands started to turn black, along with those in his neck.

"Whatever's going on, he's hurting in there. His screams could wake the dead." Ryder explained "Smells like Abrogatium."

"Dang! That'll neutralize his powers, we gotta get him outta there." Keira stated

Grant, Ryder, and Keira were camped out in the Area. They were under the cover of a common Courier Truck, and they were going to evacuate their partner, Ben. They were gearing themselves with weapons and bullet-proof shirts. They were covered in Grey from the neck down, and wearing Scanners on their foreheads.

"Nice job cancelling his signal, Kay." Ryder complimented

"Thanks! Everybody ready? Grant, you got a lock on him?" She asked.

"Target is locked. Let's bring him in team."

                                                                 ~~~~

   Noelle wiped the fog from the Imager. She stared at the towel-wrapped reflection looking back. She wasn't over eighteen yet, but she already had too much responsibility. Being the future Supervisor of Every Dyne was hard enough, but the future Don or Donette? She couldn't say yes to something like that. Considering what her father does, and the fact that people disappear around him, she could never be that way. She heard muffled voices coming from the walls. She moved closer, and heard them coming from the old vents. They were the voices of men, but the only one she recognized was her father's. She listened more intently to their conversation.

"Natalia is almost of the marrying age, do you have a suitor for her?" An elderly man asked.

"I have some ideas. I would LIKE to give her the choice of man--but I don't think I'd approve of the one she wants." Robert replied, Noelle scoffed

"Who would that be, Don?"

"Some Informer."

"She's been fraternizing with the Enemy?" He said angrily

"Seems that way." The men were outraged, and began to mutter amongst each other.

"Calm yourselves, please! I have an idea."

"Please, speak it then, Don."

"Her guardian, Giovanni. He's kept her safe all these years, becoming a Cortelli could be his reward." He said, Noelle shook her head violently. The looked at each other in agreement.

"It is settled, Giovanni will succeed you in the Family." The elderly man stated

"Forgive me, Don Polce but you're wrong." He said, the men were speechless. It was forbidden to interrupt a Don, but if you one you were yourself, it was considered rude.

"DON CORTELLI! You dare interrupt me!?" The elderly man banged the table in fury.

"Yes, and I will accept ANY punishment. You are STILL wrong. Natalia Cortelli will succeed my Family." A few men aimed their weapons his way.

"ENOUGH!" The senior disciplined. "Don Cortelli, what exactly are you trying to say? A WOMAN!? We cannot allow that. Giovanni will make a fine Boss,"

"I'm sorry, but he isn't my blood. My daughter will bring pride and respect to my Family."

"DON CORTELLI!--"

"DON POLCE!' They stared each other down. "Listen, all of you! My daughter means the world to me. Now, you don't have to like me, but you WILL accept my decision, and you will respect her as a woman and a CORTELLI! This meeting is done. With all due respect, GET OUT!" Robert walked through the door and made his way outside.

   Noelle backed away slowly. She didn't see Giovanni as a husband or boyfriend. She slipped on the wet floor, the thump got her bodyguard's attention. Her towel slipped away, and she gathered some of it when she heard the doorknob jiggle. She lunged herself against the door.

"D-Don't come in here!"

"Natalia, why'd you lock the door!?"

"It's what I do when I strip naked, and there are a bunch of men around." She said sarcastically.

"A naked you? Sounds hot, open up." She did, and she glared at him.

"What's wrong, Boss?"

"My dad, your DON? Wants you to be a Cortelli."

"R-Really?"

"Yes! Good luck finding a girlfriend. It will NOT be me." She turned her back to him.

"Why? You don't like me?" He asked, his words were too kind to be his. Noelle could feel his hair touching the back of her neck. It felt warm to her, but she reacted when she felt his hand start to wander.

"Hey!" She turned quickly and grabbed his forearm. He maneuvered in the other direction and slammed her against the doorframe. She punched him in the stomach, but he squeezed her shoulder.

"Let go, Natalia." He ordered

"Or what?"

"Or I'll dislocate your shoulder."

"Go ahead, you don't scare me." Giovanni gave her a wicked smile.

"Is our marriage gonna be like this?" He asked

"We're NOT getting married--EVER!" She lunged at him, but he world her around and gave her a quick peck on her lips. She kicked him between his legs and left.

"Ah! That's not fair." He grunted

"Too bad." She entered the hall.

"Would you treat your precious Informer like this? What was his name? Ben?"

"Don't you dare say his name, after what you did."

"I KNOW where he is."

"Tell me." Her desperation made her press against his chest, she looked away and went into her room.

"Thought you wanted answers." She stuck her head out.

"Changed my mind." She explained

"He could dead, you know."

"He's not. I know that much."

"How?"

"'Cause he knows that I believe in him, and that we have each other."

"Kinda sappy for the future Don."

"Correction--it's Donnette." She smiled and closed the door. She and noticed new clothes on her bed.

There was a black vest, with a matching blazer.

[Sigh. No hoops for this look.] She thought.

She went into her suitcase, and found some accessories. She pulled out her red lace ruffle blouse and red A-line snakeskin skirt. She paired those with simple black flats and studded earrings, then she grabbed her flat iron and started styling her hair.

    Minutes later, Ben could hear some commotion above him. The racket sounded like voices and falling heavy objects. Pieces of debris were starting to drop over his head. He panicked and started to rattle his cuffs.

"Hey! Whoever's up there, you're disturbin' my torture!" He yelled

He heard some footsteps descending the stairs. Ryder's face was in the distance. He was lanky with broad shoulders and spiky hair. He stared at his teammate with his dark sunglasses.

"We'll try to keep it down next time." He ran toward him and started with his shackles.

"Simms! Man, I'm glad to see you." He expressed

"I'm not here alone. Thought you were dead for a minute there."

"You and me both, man." Ben agreed

Ryder released his hands and watched him hit the ground.

"What's wrong?"

"My legs, they're asleep."

Ryder sighed with annoyance. "And the knife in your back?"

"I said some things I shouldn't have." Ben explained

"Of COURSE you did." He grabbed Ben's arm, and tossed it around his shoulders.

"You're takin' the knife out yourself, right?" He asked, Ben stared at him wildly. "What? Your hands aren't asleep." He stated

"They're sorta numb." He explained

"You'll manage." He said, they made their way to the stairway.

   Keira made her way down to them. Her mocha skin was sweaty, and her wavy hair was sticking to her face. She looked at them with anxious hazel eyes. She motioned for them.

"Come on, let's get outta this joint."

"Sorry, I'd be FASTER if I wasn't carrying such dead WEIGHT."

"Hey!" Ben shot him a warning look.

They caught up with Grant, and managed to fight through to the outside.

                                                                ~~~~

   Noelle stared at the courtyard, she watched armed men pace back and forth. It wasn't her idea of fun, but what else was there? She clenched her fist from thinking about her possible engagement. She refused to marry someone she didn't love, let alone liked. Giovanni was alright, but he wasn't for her. To her, he was more like a big brother, except he wasn't Byron. That was enough to make her sick, marrying brothers was definitely out of the question. She wasn't the only Mafia daughter available.

"Why me? Why not Octavia? Ciri? Or better yet, Mea? Those girls REALLY wants to get married." She said to herself.

She sighed, and stared at the Max Outer Layer. Her gaze was taken to the sounds of yelling guards. She heard gunshots and saw a girl wearing a grey outfit.

    Keira maneuvered her way through every armed guard.

Noelle found her entertaining to watch. "These guys can't take down a girl? Wow, we need new bodyguards."

Keira was surrounded; Ryder wasn't close enough to help. She felt relieved when she felt Grant's hand on her waist.

"Oh! There's someone else, these guys must love the color grey or somethin'." Noelle said.

Grant rushed towards the guards, and his girlfriend followed his lead. A man tried to grab Keira, but she spun around and knocked him on his back by bending down sweeping his legs. She back flipped over him, and ran for her partner. He squeezed her hand, and waited for her body to warm up. Keira extended her arm, and watched it carefully.

Noelle kept staring and was soon speechless. A single light caught her eye.

Keira smirked and opened her eyes. A Dragon-like flame began to crawl around her arm. The flame roared and moved slowly down her arm, it's head started to grow. The head was blinding to the men, and they shielded their eyes. Keira moved her arm around. Each strike was like a whip to their faces, and she managed to knock each defender to their feet.

"Whoa! These guys aren't hu-man." Noelle said

Grant planted his feet for the next group coming their way.

"Start the truck." He told Keira, she nodded and dashed for the vehicle. 

    A fighter grabbed at him. He grabbed the man's shoulders and stepped on his foot. He slammed his knee into his. The crack sent the guard backward, he moaned in pain. He grabbed for his blaster, but Grant hit the ground and put his hand through the man's body. He squeezed his spine until it snapped. He flinched when he saw the blood dripping from his hand. He saw Ryder fighting in the distance.

"Simms!" He called

Ryder saw his friend in trouble. He set Ben on the ground, and gave him a blaster.

Noelle heard noises in the hallway, she opened the door. She saw Giovanni heading away, he stared at her.

"Stay where you are, Natalia! Close the door!" He ordered, she did what she was told.

She rushed over to the window.

   The men were everywhere, and surrounding the Informers. Ben crawled his way to a wall. He sat there and pulled out the knife, he grunted from the discomfort.

He glared at the man hovering over him. He smiled and lunged for his collar. They both hit the ground, and the man glared at the Informer on top of him.

"This is awkward, I'm sure you agre--ah!" the man yelled and squeezed his neck.

Ben's voice was silenced. The guard grabbed the knife from his spine, and placed it against his throat. Ben chuckled quietly to himself.

"What's so funny, freak?"

"First off, that's offensive. Second--" Ben blew in his face and the man was soon frozen solid. Ben stared at him, and pulled the man's hands away from his face. He stood up and stretched, he cringed when he felt the Abrogatium still in his veins. Clearly it was starting to fade.

Noelle couldn't believe her eyes. She was witnessing actual Veers. She reacted when she saw a familiar face.

"B-Ben?" She started to beat on the shatter-proof glass. She saw her bodyguard behind him.

"No--NO! BEN! BEHIND YOU!" She pounded hard on the glass.

"Must be wearin' off, won't be long now--" Ben stopped short at the blade that slit his neck. He fell to the ground and added pressure to the artery with his hand. He rolled over and saw Giovanni.

Noelle gave up and ran down the hall. She was stopped by some guards, but she fought her way through.

[Ben! Hang on!] She thought

"How's that slice to the throat?" He asked

"I've had better." Ben choked

He stepped closer, and the Informer moved as fast as he could on the ground. Giovanni took out his pistol and aimed at him.

"You will NEVER be a Cortelli!" Giovanni shouted

"S'okay, I prefer MY name anyway." Ben shot back

Giovanni yelled and shot him. Keira pulled into the courtyard, making sure to hit some defenders along the way. She pulled up in front of Giovanni, and tossed her Dragonlike whip towards him. It crawled its way to them, and stretched across the Area. Its flames grew taller and separated the two of them. It roared and its head lunged at them.

"Let's go, Faxio!" She ordered and grabbed the steering wheel.

"Yes, ma'am." He choked and made it to his feet. He zoomed for the automoblie, and bowed tauntingly at Giovanni.

Ryder hopped in quickly. The men started shooting at the reptile flame in front of them.

Grant wasn't fast enough, so he climbed a tree, and leaped onto the roof of the vehicle. He gripped the metal tightly when his sweetheart hit the gas. They were nearly out of eye shot. He closed his eyes and like a ghost, slowly descended through the roof.

"Don't forget your Dragon friend." Ryder said.

"Never." She smiled

Keira made a grabbing gesture at the air, and watched the dragon reappear on her wrist. It quickly faded into a smoke.

Ben was in the passenger's seat. He could barely kept his eyes open, but he had to try. Waiting for Noelle was his top priority, he had to see her one more time.