at home on the island. “I’m surprised you didn’t come yourself… but then it kind of looks like you’ve been breaking the rules again,” Ren chastised with an arched eyebrow.
“The time flux in your area is keeping me from jumping and giving me one hell of a headache.” Storm explained holding the bloody tissues in his fist.
“Then stop trying,” Ren glared.
Storm nodded, “We’re going to have to stay in touch this way until things settle down on your end. For now, you have incoming PIT teams and it’s time you start learning how to work with them for everyone’s sake. Since you have a photographic memory and have read their files, I’m sure you will know more about them than even they know about themselves.”
“So you’re finally putting me in the middle of a lot of people with powers? Is that a smart thing to do? What if I can’t control it?” Ren asked not relishing the idea of working with someone else besides Storm.
Storm grinned and lifted his shoulders in a shrug, “Practice makes perfect Ren and you’re about to get a crash course in human interaction. Zachary and Angelica are moving in with you so they can access the databank and all the equipment I’ve stored in the castle. They’ll also handle most of the PIT teams that are coming. As for you, your job is to try to find out what the hell is causing the time flux and barring me from the area.”
He paused for a moment before leaning toward the screen. “Answer your door.”
The video link abruptly disconnected, leaving Ren staring at it with raised eyebrows. A loud knock at the door made him look in that direction then back at the blank screen.
“I hate it when he does that.” Ren grumbled and stood up from his chair grabbing his sunglasses to hide his eyes.
Walking through the open double doors that led into the foyer, Ren answered the door and stared at his visitors… soon to be roommates.
Zachary was smiling when he saw the young man standing on the other side of the entrance. “It’s nice to finally meet the real ‘ace in the hole’ that Storm has been talking about for as long as I’ve known him.”
Ren gritted his teeth but accepted Zachary’s outstretched hand and nodded at Angelica before standing aside and letting them in. He knew every face on PIT’s roster and what their gifts were. He’d made a point to memorize the profiles of all PIT members not long after Storm took him in.
Storm had added notes into the blocked version of the profiles and Ren had mentally downloaded those too. Storm was right… he probably knew more about them than they knew about themselves.
Zachary was a little bit of a wild child with what Storm had described as a double personality… one minute Zachary was joking and the next he was as deadly as a ticked off cobra. He’d seen the news broadcasts of the fire that took out the home of a mob boss a while back and the whole situation had PIT, more specifically Zachary, written all over it. The next morning Zachary had filed the report into the PIT system and confirmed Ren’s suspicions.
Angelica’s power was a little more complicated, being able to kill demons using the magic she was born with. Storm had once called her the key but never said what the hell she unlocked.
Her file was thicker than anyone else’s… it was as if Storm had been documenting her every move since birth. Ren couldn’t figure out why… and he didn’t really care at the moment. Without a word, he closed the door and headed into the room that served as his office. Somehow he’d known they would follow him.
“So,” Zachary said after less than a minute of awkward silence, “Do you live here alone?”
“No,” Ren said. “I have new roommates.”
Angelica smirked at the dumbfounded expression that appeared on Zachary’s face. “I think he’s trying to break the ice.”
“He’s doing a bad job,” Ren said already feeling crowded.
“I know,” Angelica soothed recognizing a quiet loner type when she met one.
Zachary sent Angelica a mock glare. “Hey, you’re supposed to be on my side.”
“Why?” Angelica laughed. “Believe it or not, some of us can go for days without running our mouths. You… I’m lucky to go two seconds without hearing you going on about something.”
“I can to be quiet!” Zachary exclaimed. “Watch me!”
Zachary then commenced to slouch back on the sofa and cross his arms over his chest with his lips pressed into a thin line. Angelica rolled her eyes before getting up to take a closer look at the computer system Storm had set up.
Ren watched her closely, ready to answer any questions she might have and glanced over at Zachary. For some reason, the other man had found something very fascinating about the buttons on his shirt. Ren mentally counted down from five before the inevitable explosion occurred.
“GAH!” Zachary yelled. “I can’t stand this.”
Ren laughed making Angelica and Zachary look at him in surprise. It didn’t last long and Ren ran a hand through his hair before taking in the others. “Go ahead and explore the castle, there are plenty of bedrooms.” he said once all traces of humor vanished from his face.
Angelica nodded, “I’ll go get my suitcase.”
Once she was gone, Ren looked over at Zachary and found himself face to face with the other side of the fire starter’s personality. “I’m curious… what powers do you have?”
“Yours,” Ren smirked, “and Angelica’s… and anyone else that comes within my succubus range.”
Zachary flipped his palm up and opened it seemingly satisfied that his powers were still there.
“I didn’t say I took your power away,” Ren shrugged, refusing to resort to parlor tricks to prove what he was saying. He locked eyes with Zach and saw the disturbed man behind the mask. “By coming near me, you are giving me the same power,” he stated for clarity.
“I take care of Angelica while she’s here,” Zach announced out of the blue.
“I’m not a babysitter and you can take care of everyone who shows up,” Ren corrected him. “It’s not my job.”
Zach nodded as if he had just won a strategic war, “I know Storm is putting together an army.”
Ren nodded, “Yeah.”
“He’s going to need one,” Zach rubbed his hands on his pant legs and stood up. “Who else has he called in for this?”
“Almost everyone as far as I know,” Ren answered. “But there are a few he hasn’t been able to locate.”
“Anything I can do to help out?” Zach asked.
Ren nodded toward the computer, “Find those that Storm can’t. He’s listed all that are still missing in action.”
Zach grinned and walked over to the computer. “Let’s see who the almighty one missed.”
Ren watched, completely
