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The Os-Nàdarra Sentinels Prologue: Aftermath -Unity Falls, June 3rd,

2010             Volcan stared down at the streets below, eyeing some of

the damaged buildings with some melancholy as he reminisced on the cause of

their damage. This particular building, formerly a simple diner on the edge of

C-Plaza; a diner that had been in the territory of the Organization, and even

though the smaller syndicate did not run an extortion racket, the Sylvia

Syndicate, the largest one in the entire city, had decided to use the place to

send a message to the gang leader of the organization, and had bombed the

little restaurant.            Countless people had been injured in the explosion;

nobody inside of the diner had survived, and people outside, near enough to

catch the blast, had been torn up by broken glass, metal fragments and shattered

pieces of tiling, along with flames and explosive force burning flesh and

breaking bones. No one standing within spitting distance of the diner had

survived, and the Sylvia's had gotten away with it...It

was hard to believe that only a month had passed since the Unity Falls gang war

had ended; a bloody conflict, started by the various criminal factions that

dominated both sides of the city. As the only existing border city in Canada

and the United States of America, Unity Falls, despite its name, was a haven

for criminals, using the border to run from cops and pursue conflict with one

another. Soon, gangs on both sides were making grabs for territory on the

other, trying to establish a foothold, and the city's downtown areas became

bloodbaths.Even

though the conflict was over, damage was still being repaired. Volcan felt

sickened by the actions of the gangsters; they had destroyed many businesses and

even homes in their conflict, many of them just to 'send messages' to their

rivals. The particular store he watched had been wrecked by the largest

organization known as the Sylvia Syndicate, led by a woman with a tremendous

superiority complex and a chip on her shoulder and hundreds of enforcers with itchy

trigger fingers.The

gang war had only carried on for a week before Volcan got so tired of it, he

had jumped in, particularly when the group of punks known as the 5th

Street Brawlers had tried to shake down his mother for 'protection' money at

her own diner -thankfully not the one he was staring down at. He and his friend

Pavan had gone after the Brawlers at their 'base' on 5th Street -the

source of their name, which was nothing more than a rundown bar that had been

condemned almost a year ago, and the gangsters had claimed it as their own.That

was, until Volcan plunged through the roof and collapsed the place on top of

them.He

chuckled as he remembered that day, seeing the faces of the gangsters who had

been spared from the falling rubble, and there he had given them his warning;

to stay far away from his mother's diner, or their next base wouldn't be

smashed, it would be burned, with them in it. As a phoenix, he was more than

capable of carrying out such a threat. Although, it still hadn't stopped them

from trying to jump him a few times but, their so-called 'brawlers' were

usually pretty weak, cowardly, and would run as soon as the odds were no longer

in their favor; they were the easy ones to handle.But,

after that, before he'd known it he was part of the war. That act had not been

his last; before long he found himself fighting gangsters all across the city,

taking up vigilantism, or helping the police whenever he could by protecting

people who were in danger. Most of the cops knew it had been him, but they had

been so preoccupied trying to keep their own people alive, they couldn't spare

anyone to try and arrest him. Even if they could, he was doing a much better

job than they were; most willingly looked the other way when they saw him...

keyword being most.In

the aftermath of the war, the city decided they had owed him some favors, the

first of which, charges against him were dropped. So far he'd found no reason

to call on any of the other ones, and hopefully wouldn't need to. The city was

mostly peaceful again, except for the occasional street brawls between gangs

with some lingering animosity, or the street crews, racing across their new

territories when the police were distracted. Fortunately, the city still had a

guardian angel watching over it.And

that was Volcan.Helping

the city in such a way had felt good, and he wanted to keep doing his part. He

kept the morale of the citizens up with his career as a musician, and helped

keep the city streets safe at night with his patrols. He could have stopped at

any time; nobody was actually asking him -let alone paying him- to do this... but

he liked to. He loved his home; Unity Falls had its problems like any city, and

with a population in the hundred thousands, it was bound to keep having more,

but the city wasn't just a large community; it was a symbol, to the allegiance

between two countries. It was the only city in all of North America built right

on the country border, each side bound by the laws of the respective country it

was physically part of, with a few additional laws, giving the city a very

independent feel.            Volcan liked it here; he had grown up here, and the city

had always done right by his family. Now, he felt like he was returning the

favor. Besides, he thought... there are some threats the cops just could not

handle; he was a phoenix, an elemental with supernatural powers. He was more

than twice as strong as the strongest mortal men on Earth, he could control

fire, was immune to fire -even at temperatures hotter than a blast furnace they

only energized him and caused him no injury. Powers like that were good for

something, and he had found exactly what.            He was broken from his train of thought by his phone

ringing. Lifting his leg off of the ledge he stood on, he instead sat on said

ledge, plucking his phone from his pocket and looking at it, seeing the face of

his Wind Phoenix friend, Pavan, on the phone. He tapped the 'accept call'

highlight, and held the phone to his ear. "Yep?"            "Hey, Volc; how you

doing?" The caller asked.            "Not too bad Pav; what's up?" He asked.            "Eh, bored out of

my skull. I'm looking forward to our gig tomorrow night though," returned

Pavan. Volcan heard a crunch through the phone, recognizing it as the sound of

a potato chip or maybe crackers being broken. "How about you; ready for it?"            "Totally," returned Volcan. "Compared to what we went

through over the spring, playing heavy metal music for two hours straight might

as well be a day off for us."            "You said it," agreed

Pavan. "So on the topic of 'days off',

would you consider taking one tonight?"            Volcan hummed slightly at the thought. "Eh, maybe;

depends on the incentive, or if the city's actually quiet tonight."            "Well Brent and I

dug out some old movies from some of my dad's stuff; some classical stuff I

think you'd like and plenty of good action films too!" Pavan explained,

sounding excited. "I didn't know my dad

was such an action-film lover but he's got whole collections of some kickass

films here, man!"            "Do I hear Pavan Stevenson actually suggesting doing

something other than running around the city like a lunatic, riding on air

currents and singing 'Youth Gone Wild' by Hammerfall as he does hummingbird

impressions fast the financial district?" Volcan inquired, legitimately

surprised; he'd known Pavan his whole life, and the Wind Phoenix was not

someone who liked to sit still.            "Even I have lazy

days, bro," returned Pavan. "Besides,

Brent also picked up some of our favorite snacks too."            "Oh really? He happen to get some cheddar and jalapeño

chips?" Volcan asked.            "You bet! Got you a

big bag of the things! And, Tsume's comin' out too; was pretty interested when

I told her these movies had some good-lookin' guys in it," said Pavan,

followed by a chuckle. "Though they got

nothin' on me."            "You still haven't asked her out yet?" Volcan asked.            "Just waiting for

the right time, my man."            Volcan pretended to gasp. "Oh my fucking ancestors; I

just heard Pavan use the word 'wait'. I think my brain just launched itself

through my skull; totally mind-blown over here," he teased, suppressing a

chuckle.            "Oh for fuck sakes;

and you guys call me a bag of wind!" Pavan retorted. "So, you in or am I eating all these cheesy chips myself?"              "Yeah, I'm in; I'll be out there in a bit," he said.            Almost as if on cue, he heard a crash in the alleyway,

coming from alongside the building he was on top of. "Oh, hold that thought,"

he said, grudgingly as he stood up from the ledge, walking over to the other

side and peering over into the alley, where he saw four figures, three of them

standing over a fallen anthro who lay curled up and pleading for his life in

their shadows. Volcan peered out towards the street where he saw a couple of

cars parked by the curb; a car with chain decals in the side, running from the

front of the car to the back, a car rim without a tire resting on the door,

fastened to and tangled in the chains.            The Chained Rims.            Grimacing, Volcan spoke into the phone again. "Check

that; going to be a few minutes."            "Ah damn... need a

hand? I can get out there real quick."            "Nah, just three Rim jockeys poundin' on someone in an

alley; won't take me long," he said as he leapt up onto the ledge. "See you

soon." And with that, he hung up the phone, returned it to his pocket and leapt

over the edge, flaring open his wings and bathing the alley in more shadow as

he fell; the sudden increase in darkness caught the attention of the gangsters,

and they looked up to see the phoenix dropping at them, instinctively

backpedalling in a rush to get out of his way before he landed on them. Out of

his path, the phoenix landed hard on the ground, withstanding a full that

would've broken the legs of a normal person, but shrugging it off like he'd

stepped off of a stool.            Now between the gangsters and downed man, he glared at

the three gangsters. "So who wants to explain this before the fists and fire

start flying?" He asked, crossing his arms as he eyed them scornfully.            "Stay outta it, Skilerain," one of the gangsters, a male

wolf, growled. "This is between us and the Orphan there."            "Orphan? You mean one of the little gangs from the

downtown area?" Volcan asked. "These guys are barely even half the size of your

crew; what interest you got in him?"            "His crew mates have been moving on our turf lately, and

yesterday one of our drivers, Lenny, suddenly up and vanished!" The wolf

replied. "We know it was these punks who did it; we're trying to find out where

our boy is."            Volcan looked over his shoulder at the gangster behind

him, who was currently in a fetal position, eyeing the phoenix in terror. He

glared back at the Rim gangsters again. "You took a moment to look at his face?

He's terrified; if he knew anything he'd have told you," stated the phoenix.

"Furthermore, the Orphans don't go picking fights with other gangs; it's not

their way and they especially wouldn't be going after the biggest street crew

in the city."            The wolf eyed Volcan, looking over his shoulder briefly

at the other two with him. Both actually seemed to agree with what the phoenix

was saying, or maybe they were too afraid of Volcan to dare try fighting him;

there may have been three of them against one, but a phoenix was kind of an

odds-breaker, especially fire-type ones.            "Alright," the wolf said, looking at Volcan. "Say we buy

that; what do you suggest?"            "I have nothing to suggest," said Volcan. "Nothing you'd

believe anyway, but either way you're going to walk out of this alley right now

while your legs are still whole enough to do so. Or," he put his clenched right

fist into his left hand, audibly cracking his knuckles. "I can show you three

how I sent your boss to the hospital a month and a half ago."            That gave them pause. Without another word, barring a

scoff from the wolf, the three turned and left the alley, getting into the cars

and driving away. Volcan waited until they were gone before he turned to the

downed man; black cat, fairly thin and hardly intimidating, like most of the

Orphans. The phoenix offered him a hand, and the cat accepted.            "Thanks," he said, shakily.            "Don't make me regret it," warned the phoenix. "Now,

there's not anything to their claims, is there?"            He shook his head. "No, there isn't; we'd never mess with

the Rims, man, honest; we ain't been making any moves on their turf neither."            "Either," corrected Volcan. "So you know nothing about

their disappearing member?"            "Not a thing, man; first I'd heard of it. Don't know who

would go messin' with the Rims," the cat replied.            Volcan, deciding he believed the cat, stepped aside and

offered to let him pass. "Get going. But consider a different line of work; I

catch you and your pals causing trouble, I know where to find you."            "Respect man; you got it," the cat returned, before he

strode out of the alley, leaving Volcan to ponder what he had just learned.            "Maybe my old buddy Gregory Vinson can shed some light on

this subject," he said aloud, before he opened his wings and leapt into the

air, the strength of his limbs launching him out of the alleyway, where in two

beats of his wings, he was airborne, and flying over the buildings as he headed

towards the nearby Police Station.             ~~~~~             Gregory shifted through the stack of papers, sighing as

he propped up his arm on his elbow and leaned his face into his clenched fist

as he read over the report. Gang violence had dropped drastically since the

announcement of the gang war's end a month ago, but it was still at a record

high, and the UFPD was stretched thin trying to settle things back down again.

It was starting to overwhelm the already over-tired police chief.            He knew his wife would be displeased with him staying

after work again, not to mention he began to wonder if his children felt

neglected, but there was too much for him to do to go home yet; if he fell

behind on work again, it'd just get bigger. After he finished reading the case

report in his other hand -a report on an assault that had taken place a few

days before that had been solved promptly, he set down the paper half-heartedly

and reached for his coffee mug, only to find it empty when he lifted it to his

beak, and groaning when he spotted another case file next to it.            "Why does being a cop have so much paperwork?" He

grumbled, standing up from his chair and walking out of the office to go get

another cup from the staff lounge.            Along the way, he encountered Obsidian, the newest member

of the team; Obsidian had been transferred to the Canadian divisions from the

American in regards to the higher crime rate being on the Canadian side of the

city. Since joining, she had proven herself a capable police officer; Gregory

was glad to have her, and was certain Lieutenant Hernandez liked having another

woman on this branch; nearly all of the officers were men, young and old alike.

He waved to her as she passed, but her nose was in a case file she was reading

and she didn't notice his wave. Shrugging

it off, the chief kept walking up the hall, pulling his wing aside to let

another officer pass on their way out of the staff lounge; he walked over to

the coffee pot sitting on the counter by the sink, and found there was a fresh

batch inside. He filled his mug, adding a sugar cube to it and starting another

batch for the next person wanting a cup before he left the lounge, returning to

his office. But when he got there, he heard his intercom buzzing; a call coming

from the front desk. He pressed the receiver button, and spoke."Vinson,"

he said."Hello chief; it's front desk. I have young

man here who wishes to speak with you?""Did

he say who he is?""Volcan Skilerain, sir."Gregory

blinked after hearing the name, and then, "Send him to my office," was his

reply. He sat down in his chair, setting the coffee cup aside where it couldn't

spill over his computer or his papers, and waited.A

moment later, a large red and gold avian filled the office doorway; Gregory

didn't know why he expected anyone else, as Volcan was the only phoenix in the

entire city besides his mother. Someone like him was unmistakable, especially

since his face was often in a the news anyway, regarding concerts or new album

releases in his music career. Although,

more recently, most of the city knew him for his actions during the gang war,

where he had openly opposed the gangs and criminal syndicates, resisted them,

and even ended one of the most dangerous gangs -a group led by three Super humanoid

criminals called The Mana, who had been on the city's most wanted list for

years, but the police, consisting mostly of regular folk, had never been able

to apprehend them. Super humanoid beings were rare; species born inherent with

such powers, such as Volcan, were equally rare. Even

if Volcan had been charged with vigilantism during the gang war, his actions

having done more good than the entire police force had managed led to him and

his friends being cleared of the charges, mostly at the demand of the city's

population... and Gregory himself had been among them."Good

to see you, Volcan," said Gregory."Hello

chief," said the phoenix, smiling in greeting at the middle-aged hawk before he

saw the stack of papers on his desk, gawking at how much there was. "Oh shit...

did I come at a bad time?""Nothing

that can't wait a moment," lied Gregory; he really couldn't spare much time,

but he needed a break from the paperwork too, and faced Volcan, folding his

hands across his lap. "What can I do for you?"Volcan

sat down in the chair across from Gregory, tucking his wings so that he

wouldn't sit on his feathers. "A little while ago, I jumped in on what looked

like a shakedown by some of the Chained Rims, going after a member of the

Orphans.""You

stopped them?" Gregory asked.Volcan

nodded. "Yeah. No punches were thrown, but they were going after the guy for

information apparently," explained Volcan.Gregory

tilted his head curiously. "Information about what?""Apparently,

a member of the Chained Rims disappeared a while back," explained Volcan,

repeating what he had learned from the Orphans gang member. "The Rims seemed to

think The Orphans were behind it, so they were trying to find out how, but the

Orphans guy clearly knew nothing about it so I stopped them from beating on the

poor guy. Would you happen to know anything about someone named 'Lenny' or

something close to that disappearing recently?""Let's

see," said Gregory, turning to his computer and bringing up a search bar for

the city case files, typing in 'Lenny' to narrow down the long row of ongoing

cases the page revealed. Only one appeared. "Here we are; Lenard 'Lenny'

Frankston, a suspected member of the Chained Rims; he disappeared from his home

three days ago.""Anything

you can tell me?""Well,

based on the case file, the Orphans were probably not involved," said Gregory.

"Did you encounter anyone during the war who had tremendous strength?""Besides

one of the bosses of The Mana, no, and he died during the fight when his heart

exploded," replied Volcan. "Why?""Someone

or something literally ran through the wall of the house from the outside,

through the living room and out the back again. The house walls were made of

bricks, and the hole left was too narrow to have been a vehicle, and no

evidence of a bomb or tools being used"Volcan's

eyes widened. "Even I couldn't do that," he said. "Not without breaking my arm

or dislocating my shoulder anyway.""The

hole was too big to be caused by you anyway, which is why you weren't a

suspect," informed Gregory. "That, and your mother, who I contacted, confirmed

you were at her diner that night, with your friends."Volcan

nodded. "I was," he replied. "So the culprit is clearly someone with superhuman

strength.""Yes.

What is more interesting however is that Lenny himself is a suspected Super

humanoid," said Gregory. "He's exhibited signs of being able to throw

projections of light from his hand, capable of blinding people; he's done this

to get away from police officers before. Yet, despite this, there were no signs

of struggle at the scene."This

caught Volcan's attention. "Wait, hold on; someone knocked down the wall of

Lenny's house and he didn't try to fight back?""If

he did, he was beaten effortlessly," replied Gregory. "Absolutely no traces

besides a mild blood spatter -blood that belonged to Lenny, we confirmed, was

found at the scene. It was like whoever broke into his house simply grabbed

him, ran through the back wall and then knocked him out on the porch where we

found the evidence. After that, though, there's not a single trace of where he

might've gone.""How

could someone that powerful simply disappear?" Volcan asked. "Didn't the

neighbors see anything?""They

said they heard a pair of crashes, but not much else; nobody actually saw the

attacker break into Lenny's house -or back out again for that matter, or saw

where they went. It was quick, clean, and left no trail to follow," his

expression faltered somewhat."There's

more, isn't there?" Volcan asked, noticing the grim look on the hawk's face."I

can't say any more," said Gregory, turning to Volcan. "What I've told you so

far would be enough to get the mayor biting my head off.""Greg,"

Volcan stated. "If there's more to this, you should tell me," he said with

insistence in his voice. "You know I'm out almost every night; I could spot

something."Gregory

eyed the phoenix with consideration for a moment, before he leaned forward on

his desk. "Close the door," he whispered.Volcan

looked over his shoulder at the office door, and leaned over in his chair,

reaching back with his wing to push the door shut with a dull click, before he

turned back to Gregory and leaned forward onto the desk as well, listening as the

hawk spoke to him in a low voice."This

isn't the first kidnapping that has taken place since the gang war ended,"

explained Gregory. "There have been two others, very similarly done.""Meaning?""All

of the victims who disappeared are registered Super Humanoids," said Gregory.

"Whoever is doing this is targeting them specifically, attacking them in their

homes or while they're away, leaving without a trace or signs of struggle. The

previous victim was Pyrokinetic, like you; I'm only using you as an example,

but I don't believe it's even possible that anyone could attack a Pyrokinetic

and there aren't clear signs of them fighting back, so whoever is doing this,

they're doing it without their targets getting a chance to even defend

themselves."Volcan's

eyes widened again, this time with realization. "They're attacking super

humanoid citizens," he said."That's

why I'm telling you this, because I fear you may become a target," explained

Gregory. "You, or others..."Volcan

scowled. "My friends..."Gregory

nodded to him. "It may be best if all of you stay together as much as possible,

or if necessary, get out of the city and hide somewhere. Whoever is behind

these kidnappings is worse than the Sylvia's or The Mana; if they could take

three super humanoids already without a trace, they may be too much for even

you to handle."Volcan

was not fond of that idea. At the end of the war, he'd made an oath; an oath

that he would stand against threats like this one Gregory was talking about.

Threats like The Mana and other dangers the police simply could not handle on

their own. This sounded like one of those threats, and he knew leaving the city

was the last thing he could do; even if he got to safety others would be

targeted, others who did not know these kidnappings were even happening, when

he could possibly have been there to prevent them."I

can't," he said, without another thought."What

do you mean you can't?" Gregory asked. "You can't leave the city?""I

can't run away from this," replied Volcan. "Especially not after you told me;

if I become a target, I'm expecting it, and I'll stand a better chance of

stopping it before anyone else gets hurt.""Volcan,

you...""Gregory,

when the war ended, I promised this city I would help protect it," the phoenix

continued. "Threats like this is just what I want to protect it from. I joined

the conflict because my mom and brother were threatened, but when that was out

of the way, I knew I could make a difference, and I still can. Long as that

fact remains, I can't run away, not when someone else could be their next

target. My friends and I will be ready for these bastards when they come

looking for us, and we'll put an end to them then and there."Gregory

eyed the phoenix, and rubbed his eyes in frustration after staring at him for a

brief moment. "I don't know what it is that makes me not want to get irritated

with you, but... I can't force you to do anything or stop you from looking for

these guys, now that I've told you about them, and if these kidnappers attack

you, you'll have every right to defend yourself." He pulled his hand away from

his eyes. "Just promise me you'll be careful; this city really can't afford to

lose someone like you."Volcan

irked an eyebrow at him. "Someone like me? But I'm not that special; I mean...""You're

a hero to these people, Volcan," interjected Gregory. "Not just for your

actions in the war, but you're loved for your music as well. People are

motivated by you and what you represent by both your actions and your songs;

you inspire confidence in others, and you entertain the masses, taking their

minds off of their everyday stresses. If you were lost, I fear the city would

feel its impact as a much greater tragedy than the gang war itself had been."Not

only that, but I depend on you," the hawk went on. "I shouldn't; I'm a cop, you

should be counting on me to protect you, but like you once told me, there are

some things not even I or my officers can handle, yet you can, and you're

willing to do so voluntarily with justice as your only reward. Threats like The

Mana still exist in this city, but I love this place; it's become a home for me

and my family. I don't want to leave, but I want to make sure this city can

remain a safe place for my children -my son and daughter, to grow up in, and I

believe that you are the one who can ensure that. All I ask is that you not

push yourself too far or take on something you're not ready for, so that dream

can be realized."The

two avians stared at each other for a while, their eyes meeting. A silence

stretched out longer than either was comfortable with, evident by how their

wings fidgeted behind their backs. After a moment, Volcan stood up from the

chair, and held out his hand to Gregory, his eyes never leaving the hawk's."For

your children then," he said. "I'll make sure to call you for help and keep you

informed if my team and I find anything."Gregory

nodded back and grasped Volcan's hand. "I can't officially sanction this... but I

hope that with your help, we can stop whatever menace is causing these

disappearances before it becomes worse.""We

will," promised Volcan. "Together, we will."With

that, both released the hand of the other, and with a last goodbye, Volcan

stepped out of the office and departed from the police station. Gregory watched

him until he was out of sight, worried for the phoenix's safety, but confident

that he'd be able to weather the storm the hawk felt was coming. Volcan was

capable and willing to do what was best for others, with his life on the line

-he had even done such, having been killed once during the Gang War, only to

return to life and return to the fight all over again like nothing had

happened. That steely determination and selflessness always served to remind

Gregory of what being a police officer really meant...His

eyes fell back to his paperwork, and then at his watch; it was already an hour

past his shift, but there was still much work to do. Still, Gregory had his

family to consider as well; he couldn't spend all of his time away from them

anymore than he could forsake his duties. He reached for the next case file

report. "Last one, then I go home," he said. "Might still make it in time for

dinner, be able to help Victor with his homework and put Rachael to bed." ~~~~~ Volcan

touched down outside of Brent's trailer after a short flight from the city,

landing on a hilltop property ringed with trees, just outside of city limits.

The property wasn't overly remarkable, consisting mostly of gravel up to the

tree line, but with three separate buildings -including the trailer, a metal

Quonset serving as Brent's workshop with a large garage door, but no windows,

and the covered parking garage, which rested alongside the workshop and was

wide enough for four vehicles, but only two were there at the moment; Brent's

blue Silverado, and a brighter blue Dodge Avenger, which Volcan recognized; it

belonged to his friend Tsume.He

thought back to when he'd first met Tsume; The Mana had been trying to shake

down her father, a wealthy citizen of Unity Falls, for 'protection' of his

properties in their territory. Tsume had no taken kindly to crooks threatening

her father, and so joined Volcan's fight against the gangsters. She had proven

herself a dependable ally with her impressive repertoire of skill and

discipline, although sometimes he wondered if may she'd had a little too much fun hurting them...Shaking

off the thought, Volcan approached the trailer, knocking on the door to

announce his arrival before stepping inside. "Hello?" He called.The

living room, to his immediate left, housed his friends; Pavan poked his head up

from the couch and turned to Volcan. "Hey, what kept you?" The light-brown Wind

Phoenix with red, diamond-shaped markings on his forehead and neck, asked."Stopped

to see Gregory on the way here," replied Volcan. "Some shit going on in town

has the gangsters all riled up."Tsume,

a green and brown earth phoenix, glanced over from the other end of the couch

where Pavan sat. "It's the aftermath of a gang war; what do you expect?" She

asked. "Hostilities will remain for quite a while.""I

know that, but what Gregory told me," the phoenix explained, "it seems there's

some kidnappings happening in the city, and the targets appear to be people

with supernatural powers, people like us.""Except

me, you mean," Brent chimed in from his armchair; the hyena, light brown with

darker highlights around his muzzle and for his scalp hair, was the only one

among the four in the room who didn't have any sort of powers, although he did

possess an inventive mind and an excellent grasp of mechanics and advanced

electronics.Volcan

grimaced at Brent. "You know I didn't mean any offense.""I

know; was just saying, I'm not at risk," he remarked, humorously. "But, joke

aside, the cops have any leads?""None

yet," replied Volcan. "But he wants us to be careful; he's worried one of us

could become a target for... whoever's doing this. At the same time though I

intend to try and find them myself, too. You guys have my back on this?""Always,"

returned Pavan, giving Volcan a thumbs-up. "I didn't run out on you during the

gang war; sure as hell not going to now!""I'm

in too," added Tsume. "I could use a little excitement; it's been pretty damn

boring lately."Brent

looked unsure. "Don't know how much help I could be, but I'll do what I can

too."Volcan

nodded. "Knew I could count on you guys," he said, gratefully. "Although, this

doesn't mean I'm going to go looking for trouble, or...""You

better not," a voice spoke from behind the phoenix, making him jump slightly at

the unexpected intrusion.Volcan

spun around abruptly, turning to face the doorway, where yet another avian,

this one with a body of electric blue feathers, bright yellow eyes, and a very

athletic build to his form, stood, arms crossed facing Volcan. The avian bore

something of a resemblance to the fire phoenix, beside their eye and feather

colours, and the blue avian being shorter, but physically they were quite

similar. Although the blue avian was much more unkempt than Volcan; he wore

tattered, light blue jeans, dirty with motor oil and soil, and a black tanktop

with a tear on the lower right, revealing some plumage beneath, along with a

minor cut that looked fairly recent."Lighris?"

Volcan asked, recognizing his brother in less than a second. "What're you doing

up here?""Followed

you," replied Lighris.Volcan

tilted his head curiously. "What for?""I

saw you coming out of the police station," replied Lighris. "And, I've been

listening in on the conversation a bit; I heard someone mention something about

kidnappings?" His expression hardened. "Are you getting yourself into something

that's really not your problem again, bro?"Volcan

returned his brother's scowl. "If the kidnappers decide to come after me or

you, it'll become my problem," he

said, thought quickly added as he gestured to his friends behind him. "Our

problem. The kidnappers are targeting super humanoids like you or me; with how

well-known my name already is, it's only a matter of time before I fall into

their sights.""When

that happens, be ready but don't go chasing after these guys," stated Lighris.

"It's not your problem; you already did enough of that bullshit in the gang

war, and that's over now, so get on with your life and drop the hero bit, will

you? You're going to get yourself hurt, or worse, killed again, and we might

not be able to resurrect you."Volcan

cringed as he remembered that incident... as a Phoenix he was semi-immortal; he

aged much slower than other species, and even if he was killed, by being

exposed to his element -in his case, having his body burned by a large, hot

fire- would allow him to return to life, but only if his body was not mutilated

or badly decomposed. It had to be fresh, and Volcan had been lucky the first

time; dying in the aftermath of his fight with The Mana and falling through

darkness until he felt himself return to his body.And

when he woke up, he'd been in excruciating pain; the act of coming back had

been worse than dying, but despite how horrific it had been, nearly causing

Volcan to give up on his vendetta against the gangs of Unity Falls, he

eventually bounced back when the opportunity to end the gang war presented

itself; the opportunity to drive off the Syndicates and stop the street crews,

and rather than cower, he took the initiative, and returned to the fight. He

beat the leader of the Chained Rims, and with help from his friends, he took

down all of the top lieutenants of the Sylvia Syndicate and the enigmatic

Organization.It

had been a long, harsh road, but he had done some real good. In the end it'd

made his death and return to life worth the excruciation. "Sorry bro, but

despite your insistence, I can't just hide from this," he stated, defiantly.

"If the opportunity to find these kidnappers and put foot-to-ass on them

presents himself, there's not a force on Earth that's going to stop me. I did

some real good in the gang war; I want to keep doing my part to keep Canada

safe, even if it's only this one city. And that's final."Lighris

groaned, rubbing his eyes in frustration with his brother's stubbornness; he

respected Volcan's wanting to do something good with the gifts he had been born

with, but it still worried the Lightning Hawk. "One of these days bro, you're

going to get yourself into something too big for you to handle," he stated."Not

if I have a good, reliable team at my back," replied Volcan, looking over his

shoulder. "As I found out during the gang war, nothing's impossible if you have

the right people at your back."Lighris

looked past Volcan, eyeing Pavan and Tsume. "If that's your definition of the

right people then I'm even more scared.""Hey!"

The two phoenixes barked, glaring at Lighris."So,"

began Lighris. "When some real danger comes your way, like a demon or a big

damn robot, or even just a pissed off phoenix," he smiled at his brother. "You

better make damn sure you call me, because nobody's going to mess with my kid

brother."Volcan

stared blankly at Lighris for a moment. "First you try to talk me out of being

a... crime fighter or whatever... and now you're saying you'll back me up?""If

I can't stop you I might as well get your back," returned Lighris. "About the

only way I can think of to keep you from getting killed again."Volcan

frowned at Lighris. "I lived with you for fifteen years and I still can't

always figure you out, bro."Lighris

shrugged. "Back at you.""Well,

long as you're here," said Volcan, and stepped aside as he looked at Brent.

"Mind if he joins us for the movie night?"Brent

shrugged. "Okay by me, long as he doesn't raid my fridge and drink all of my

cola again.""Aw,

would I do that?" Lighris asked sarcastically. ~~~~~ Into

the darkness of the strange, metal, Lenny was dragged by his arms, too weak to

resist his captors as he was hauled against his will. They had beaten him,

drugged him, even broken one of his legs to keep him from trying to flee, and

blindfolded him for their journey to the unknown place. Even if he were to

fight back now, he had no idea where he was or where to go to get out of there.

Not to mention, with one broken leg, he'd never get far.Suddenly,

he was thrown to the floor, one guard standing with his gun pointed at Lenny's

head, while the others hoisted him up once more, forcing him to eye level with

a human standing in front of him; an elderly man with balding white hair, a

neatly-combed full beard, light brown eyes, and a frail figure, forcing him to

lean on a cane as he stared daggers into the young anthropomorphic male wolf

standing before him.             The wolf looked at the man, a pleading expression on his

face. "Look man, if you work for Sylvia, I was just comin' to pay her back!

C'mon man, let me...!" He was interrupted by a fist striking him across the face

by one of the guards. "God dammit, I'll pay her already; just let me go!" He

cried.            "I'm not here to collect for some gang boss, boy,"

returned the elderly man. "And, you need not worry about those anymore, because

as of now, you no longer exist."            "Say what?" Lenny asked.            "As of today, you are nothing more than a test subject

for the Intelligence Team of the Unnatural and Extraordinary; forget your old

life, because you no longer have one," stated the man.            "Whoa what the fuck, man, why do you want me?! I'm

nobody; I'm just a fucking street racer, not some mutant!"            "You're a super humanoid; you have unnatural powers,"

said the man. "And our mission is to rid the world of people like you. Now,

you'll assist in that endeavor." He stepped aside. "Cells."            "On our way," returned the guards as they dragged away

Lenny, the wolf kicking and screaming through the base; his struggles became so

enthusiastic that one of the guards bludgeoned him again, knocking him unconscious

to cease his struggles.            "Another piece of filth off the street," stated the

elderly man.            One of the retrieval team members, Observer One, he was

called; the second-in-command of the first retrieval team, and the eyes and

ears of Jacob Rex for the squad, turned to the man. "What is our next

objective, sir?"            "I'm glad you asked, Observer One," replied Rex. "There's

a phoenix in the city; one that could pose a threat to our work."            "You are referring to Volcanoran Skilerain, sir?"            "Correct; you are indeed worthy of your title

'Observer'," complimented Rex, turning to the masked figure fully. "You're aware

of his 'hero' title, I presume?"            "Of course; he's been in every newspaper, web site and

local networks for weeks," returned Observer One.            "Well, we both know it is a façade; he's poisoned their

hearts, making them trust him so that when the E.B's make their move, the good,

normal people of the world will never see his betrayal coming," he tapped his

cane on the floor. "The police will be watching for us, so we must bide our

time for the moment, but in one week, maybe more,I want you to round up a standard

squad, and retrieve him; I want him here laid across a lab table for dissection

where his kind belongs."            Observer One nodded to Rex. "I will do so, Doctor. I'll

personally make certain we bring in the phoenix."            Rex nodded. "To a purified world," he said.            "May the day of the purge come swift, and thorough,"

returned Observer one.