Drops of Crimson: Searching

[ladydeathfaerie]

Title: Drops of Crimson: Searching

Chapter Two: Reunion
Fandoms: a mash up of the Mutant Sues, the movie Sues, the Supervillainesses, and probably anyone else i can think of tossing in for good measure
Characters: various from the different universes
Rating: going with a pretty strong NC-17 here. seriously.
Warning: violence, sex, language, possibly other things. we'll know when we get there
Disclaimer: i do not own anyone from the Marvel universe. Dare is mine, but you don't want her. honestly. girl's a mess. oh, Mystery is mine, too. you don't want her, either. she's moody. Rose belongs to nanaeanaven. Haley belongs to dazzledfirestar. i swear i'm not making any money from this. i just do what the sick voices inside my head tell me to. i write purely for my enjoyment. and possibly the comments. please don't sue, harass, or bother me. i have no money to pay you, but i do have a really nasty temper. and i know some good cuss words.

Author's Note: so, its like this. Drops of Crimson: Hunted was only supposed to be a one shot type thing. but i started writing and the bunnies kept twitching their noses and suddenly i was staring down the snout of a plot dragon. and... welp! here we are! is anyone really surprised by this? nobody? didn't think so. hopefully this won't be super long. you know. by my standards...

Summary: "You know those fires that have been happening around the city for the past week? Clint knows who's been setting them. And why."  

Drops of Crimson: The Index

"You look like hell, Stark," Reed Richards said by way of greeting. By rights, it should have made him just the tiniest bit snarky. But in all honesty, he was too tired to drum up any kind of snark or indignation.

Instead he sighed and shook his head. "I've been up for going on three days now, trying to work out the latest round of problems we've encountered with the newest batch of serum. As brilliant as I am, I am not a genetic engineer. I do not have enough knowledge about biology and genetics to make this damn thing work."

"You're working with some of the best minds on these things. Why aren't you running the problems by them?" Reed replied, his focus shifting back to whatever it was he was working on. Once upon a time, such a move would have pissed Tony off to no end. Now, though, he let it go. That was just how Richards' mind worked and Tony took no offense. What was the point? Outrage wouldn't change the way Mr. Fantastic tackled a problem.

"I have been," Tony replied. "And they're as stumped as I am."

"Mhmm," Reed said, one hand stretching back behind him to grab something against the far wall. Tony always got a little nauseous watching the man do that. "What's got you distracted?"

Leave it to Richards to get right to the heart of the matter. "I'm worried about Clint," Tony admitted. He didn't know if it was his statement or his tone of voice that saw Reed looking up at him in confusion. He didn't care. It was just nice to have the man's full attention. Even if that was only going to last about five seconds.

"Did he miss his check in?" Reed asked.

"No. He was there," Tony said. His tone said so much more, though, and Reed gave him a hard stare.

"What's going on, Tony? What happened to Clint?"

"The Wolverine is dead." It was a starter that was sure to both grab Reed's attention and make him wonder just what it had to do with Clint. Richards stared at him for a full minute before he blinked and actually set whatever he'd been doing down.

"You've seen his body?"

Tony shook his head. "Heard it from Clint."

"How does Clint know?"

"Apparently the vampires got him," Tony forged ahead. He'd had a hard time getting his brain to settle on anything else since he'd heard the news. "Got LeBeau, too."

"Gambit? He's undead?" Reed asked. Tony nodded. That brought a puzzled frown to Richards' face. "How do you know? How does Clint know?"

"Clint had a run-in with LeBeau," Tony told him, once more seeing the haggard look that had been on Clint's face during their chat. It had taken everything Tony had not to pack up and head back to New York when he'd finally connected with Clint.

"What kind of a run-in? What's going on?"

"You know those fires that have been happening around the city for the past week?" Tony pushed on, not willing to let Reed interrupt him just yet. He wanted to get the whole story out before the other man pulled them onto another tangent. "Clint knows who's been setting them. And why."

"You're not making any sense, Tony. Start from the beginning," Reed instructed.

"Right. Start at the beginning," Tony muttered, not bothering to hold back his sigh. He raked a hand through his hair and reached for his coffee. The heat of the brew through the mug was a welcome feel against the skin of his palm. "A few months back, Clint was on a routine hunt when he came across a girl hiding in the rubble of some burned out house. She was scared and alone, so he offered her some protection."

Reed frowned at that. "Was it a ruse?"

"No. It was apparently a legitimate thing. Turns out, though, that the girl he offered protection to was Alasdare Scott," Tony explained.

Richards blinked and frowned at that. "Alasdare Scott? Why does that name sound familiar?" he mumbled. It was mostly to himself. But Tony heard him anyway.

"Dare Scott? A member of Xavier's purple team?" Tony reminded him.

Reed's eyes went wide as understanding dawned. "Haley's friend. The pyrokinetic," he said.

"Yes. The pyrokinetic. That was the girl Clint found and took back to base with him," Tony informed the other man. Reed frowned at that, his big brain obviously working something out. Tony took a sip of coffee and waited for the inevitable question.

"I thought all of Haley's friends were presumed dead?"

"They were," Tony agreed. "When the Avengers went to investigate, there were no signs that anyone had survived the massacre. It was naturally assumed that they were either dead or turned. Which is as good as the same thing. Turns out, our assumptions were wrong."

"So Clint took Dare home with him and... What? She's just suddenly setting fires around the city at random?" Reed questioned.

"She's been hunting with Clint. And one of their hunts went bad. Clint got grabbed by LeBeau. I didn't get all the details, but what I understand is that Dare hunted Clint down and took him back. Not before LeBeau tried to turn Clint into his blood whore, though. He's pretty sure that the fires are Dare's attempts at flushing LeBeau out of hiding and making him pay for what he did to Clint."

Reed sat back in his chair. Tony was surprised that the man was still giving him his undivided attention. It had been a full minute without distraction. That had to be some sort of record. "Tony, every single one of those places she torched was a vampire lair. Any vampires inside were nothing but ash by the time the fire department put the fire out. But there were corpses found inside. She killed people."

Tony absorbed that information for a few moments before heaving a sigh. "I don't doubt that she killed people. She's a pyrokinetic, after all. But do we know if the people who died were innocent bystanders or people with ties to the vampires?" Tony shifted his focus to the keyboard to his left and began typing. Images popped up on his screen, images that would also pop up on Reed's end because of their connection. "Every bit of information I was able to find on her suggests that she's very, very conscious of her powers. She's careful to ensure that no one gets hurt. She and her team were in Canada just before the school was attacked and the Canadian authorities that worked with them had nothing but good things to say about the teams' performance. There were some in depth comments about Dare's ability with a forest fire they asked her to help them with. She was very careful to ensure that anyone near the flames was kept safe from them. I don't think she'd just randomly torched innocent people."

Reed shook his head. "I don't know. What little Haley has told us of her suggests that she isn't entirely stable. There was the suggestion that bad things happened in her past and that those events contributed to her instability."

"Reed," Tony said, letting a touch of disgust fill his voice. Why was the man so hard headed? Just because he thought he was so smart. Tony's fingers flew over the keyboard, pulling up a new set of files to send to the other man. "I did some extensive digging into every member of the purple team when they were first starting out. And I followed their hero career for a while. They are quite capable at whatever they set out to accomplish. There has never been a whisper of any kind where Dare Scott is concerned."

"Dare? Did you say Dare?" a woman's voice asked from off screen. Moments later, Haley Stone was standing behind Reed. There was a confused look on her face and her gaze was pulled to the side, no doubt to the screen that currently showed the information Tony had sent to Reed. "Why are you talking about Dare? What's going on, Reed?" she demanded.

"Haley, I wish you wouldn't just let yourself into my lab without announcing yourself. You know--" Reed began, but Haley cut him off by slapping her hand down on the desk before her.

"I did knock, Reed. But you never listen. Why are you talking about Dare, Stark? What's going on?" she shifted her attention to the screen.

"Dare's alive, Haley," Tony told her, just the faintest hint of a smile on his face. While he didn't personally know Haley or any of the members of her team, he was well acquainted with the relief that came when discovering that someone you were close to hadn't died in a vampire slaughter. Haley's eyes widened at the news, her shock and confusion showing on her face.

"She's alive? Where is she? Why hasn't she come and seen me yet? Talk to me, Stark. Tell me everything!" she ordered.

"She's alive. She's with Clint. And I don't know why she hasn't come to see you. Maybe she thinks you're dead?" He hated suggesting it, but it wasn't really that far-fetched. After all, she'd thought her friend was dead for the longest time. Given the situation on the streets, it wasn't a thought without merit.

"And how do you know all this?"

"Because I got it from Clint," Tony told her.

"I have to go see her. I have to see her with my own two eyes and make sure she really is alive. That she's okay. I have to... " her voice trailed off and she simply stared at Tony. "The fires. Those are her, aren't they?"

"They are," he nodded. He wasn't surprised that she'd put it together so fast. He was just surprised that she hadn't put it together before. Then again, she'd had no reason to put that kind of information together. He waited for the next, inevitable question.

"Why?"

"Apparently she's trying to flush LeBeau out of hiding," Tony said softly.

"Remy? He's alive?"

"Sorry, Haley. He isn't. He was turned."

The news seemed to take the wind out of Haley's sails. Her head dropped and she more or less sagged against Reed's desk as she processed what she'd been told. Both he and Reed gave her the time she obviously needed, waiting until she signified she was ready to continue the conversation by lifting her head to stare at him. What about Morgan? Jehnna? Roxxy?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know. I haven't heard anything. I'm sorry."

"I need to see her. I need to... I need to see her," Haley said quietly.

Tony glanced at the screen, noting the time where he was. He made some mental calculations before speaking again. "Its full daylight there. She and Clint are probably sleeping. They hunt at night. So I'd wait until near sundown to go see her, Haley. I'm sure she'll be happy to know you're okay."

Haley nodded absently. "Thank you, Stark. I appreciate it," she said softly. Then she turned around and wandered away. Tony caught a glimpse of Johnny in the background, watched as Reed's brother-in-law wrapped a protective arm around Haley's shoulders. No doubt he'd heard the entire exchange.

"Go get some rest, Tony. You look like you're past the need for a good night's sleep. Whatever you're working on will wait until you get up again." Reed's attention shifted and Tony watched as his eyes moved to look at something else. That was a sign that their conversation was over. He sighed and reached up to scrub at his face.

"Right. Sleep. Let's see if I remember how to do that."

"And send me your work, Tony. I'll see if I can't find some way to figure out why it isn't working," Reed offered.

"Thanks. I appreciate all the help I can get," Tony said. The screen flickered, then went blank as Reed severed their connection. Tony sighed and took another drink of his coffee. Richards was right. He needed to sleep. His brain was getting fuzzy and thoughts were sluggish. He'd been trying for far too long to make a difference in the fight with the vampires. While he'd been able to find ways to make the fight more one sided and destroy the undead, he had thus far been unable to come up with some way of saving the people who had been turned into something not quite human anymore.

Naturally, that thought saw his brain turning back to Clint. His friend had looked very not good in their last chat and that had Tony worried. He'd seen what happened to people who had been made a vampire's blood whore, then denied said vampire's blood. It didn't end pretty. It was a terrible addiction. Having seen it, what it did to people, was part of the reason he was so determined to find a way to fully break the connection. To end the addiction.

If Clint was addicted to LeBeau's blood, it was possible that he'd go off the deep end and give everything up for another hit.

The thought hit Tony like a ton of bricks. And, suddenly, he knew that he had to go back to New York. Rising to his feet, he turned for the closet and retrieved his suitcase. He'd pack first, then he'd let his companions know he was going.

He'd find time to sleep later.

~*~*~*~*~

"You sure she's here?" Johnny asked, arm wrapped tightly around Haley's shoulder. She shot him a look that clearly suggested he was an idiot and reached out to hit the button on the box set into the brick wall.

"Where else would she be, Johnny? Stark said she was with Clint. This was the Avengers' base when they were in New York. I can't see Clint going somewhere else. Not when this place is probably better fortified then Doom's stronghold."

Johnny chuckled. "Stark can be almost as paranoid as Doom."

"So yes. I'm sure she's here," Haley replied, then jabbed the button again. Why the hell wouldn't someone answer the fucking door? This was important. She needed inside immediately. She needed to be sure that Dare was okay.

"Keep your fucking shirt on," a voice snarled through the box. It belonged to a woman and Haley didn't recognize it. She shared a look with Johnny, who shrugged a shoulder. Some help he was. "Whadda ya want?"

"I'm here to see my friend Dare. Let me in right now," Haley demanded, tossing a little team leader authority into her voice.

"There's no one here by that name. You got the wrong door. Go on. Move along or I'll sic the trained dogs on you," the voice responded.

"There are no trained dogs. And open the gate right now or I'll fucking pound it down," Haley returned. She located the camera that was focused on her, just inside the gate in a tree. She let one hand turn to stone within plain view of the camera's eye.

"I told you. There's no one named Dare here. Now take your goodie goodie ass and move along. Show's over," the voice shot back. Just before the person on the other end took her finger off the button, Haley thought she heard a familiar voice. There was silence from in the house that lasted for far longer than she liked and she was just about to hit the button once more when a new voice issued from the speaker.

"Haley Stone? Is that you?" The voice clearly belonged to Clint Barton and he sounded slightly perturbed.

"Its me. Stark says Dare is here. Let me in. I want to see her. Now," Haley ordered, making sure he understood that she wasn't playing games here.

"Hang on a moment," Clint told her. Then the box went silent and Haley glared at the camera so that he saw just how unhappy she was with being put off like this. Several moments passed, inching her tension higher and higher until she was ready to simply beat the doors down. Clint's voice was back before that could happen, issuing from the box tiredly. "Stay where you are. I'm coming out to get you."

Time slowed to a crawl while Haley waited for the gate to open. She tapped her foot in irritation, muttering under her breath about the horrible things she wanted to do to Barton and whatever idiot it was that had answered the buzzer. After what felt like an age, the gate finally swung open and she found herself face to face with Clint Barton. She remembered the last time she'd been here, remembered the last time she'd seen him. He'd been so easy on the eyes. Not so much now. He looked like he was worn down, pale and edgy, and the furtive way his eyes shifted around suggested he expected a vampire to suddenly come looming out of the shadows. When his eyes returned to where they were standing, he offered them both a smile that helped chase some of the shadows from his face. Then he opened the gate just wide enough to let them pass.

"Come on in. Just be sure to follow in my steps. The whole place is booby trapped," Clint told them, pushing the gate shut behind them. Haley heard the hum of electrical security snap into place, along with the metal bars that secured the gates on this side. Then Barton was stepping around them in order to lead them toward the front entrance. Haley shared a look with Johnny, then followed after the man.

They crossed the yard in silence, the light growing dimmer as the sun sank lower in the sky. Finally, the three of them stepped up onto the porch and Clint turned to look at them. The smile he gave them was not quite as broad as Haley remembered. "She'll be glad to see you, Haley. Storm, its good to see you again."

"You look like shit, Barton. What the hell happened to you?" Johnny asked. Clint's smile disappeared and a shadow crossed his face, Then he reached for the door and tugged it open.

"Come on inside," he invited, stepping into the entryway of the mansion. Haley followed after him, Johnny bringing up the rear. Clint made sure the door was shut before leading them further into the mansion. "I'm sorry about making you wait, Haley. We can't be too careful."

"You are in so much trouble when she finds out you went outside without her," a voice drawled from behind them, preventing Haley from making comment. She turned to find a woman standing in the middle of the hallway, glaring daggers at Clint. Said woman was of moderate height, which meant she was shorter than Haley. And she had the most unusual hair Haley had ever seen.

"Back off, Mystery," Clint said, his voice devoid of emotion. The woman called Mystery crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a dark look. "I was outside for less than five minutes. And she's still sleeping. It'll be fine. Especially when she finds out I went outside because her friend Haley came to see her. So just stop." Haley watched as the woman's eyes narrowed on him, prompting her to take note of the hand Clint rubbed against his chest absently.

"Mystery, huh? I'm Haley. Stone," Haley said, offering a hand to the woman in an effort to lessen some of the sudden tension. The woman looked her up and down with a faint look of distaste, then slipped her hand in Haley's. Haley was good and absolutely did not try to squeeze the other woman's fingers. When they broke apart, Haley let her gaze slide around the interior of the mansion. It hadn't changed much, save the fact that there weren't many lights on. And it felt empty. As if it had been without love and laughter for far too long. "Where's Dare?"

"Upstairs. Still sleeping. Last night was not a good night," Clint informed her. He started to head deeper into the mansion. Haley watched as Mystery regarded him silently for several seconds before she disappeared. Haley shot a look to Johnny and, together, the two of them followed after him. They ended up in the kitchen, Clint making an effort to play gracious host. "Can I get you something to drink? Maybe something to snack on? Stores are not extravagant. We don't get many visitors."

"No, thank you," Haley said. She crossed her arms and glared at Clint across the distance. "And now that the niceties are out of the way, you can cut the shit and tell me what's going on. You've been secretive and acting strange since we arrived. So what are you trying to hide?"

He blinked at her a couple times, obviously surprised that she was calling him on his shit. They'd only met a handful of times since she'd become a superhero, and she didn't know him very well. But she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't acting like himself. "I don't--"

"Why the hell didn't you wake me up, old man?" a sleepy voice called from outside of the kitchen. It was equal measures displeased and angry. And so goddamn familiar. Haley felt some tension slide off her shoulders at the sound of it. She turned toward the door, rapidly blinking tears from her eyes, and watched. Waited. Moments later, Dare stumbled into the kitchen, scratching her tousled hair and yawning wide. She was wearing a pair of leggings and a worn t-shirt that was thin enough to show off the lacy bra underneath. "Don't think you're going to sneak out without me. You tried that last night and..." Dare's words trailed off as she laid eyes on their guests. "Holy fucking shit! Haley!"

Dare slammed into Haley with all the force of a Mack truck doing mach six, nearly bowling her off her feet. Her arms wound around Haley, clinging tightly as she hugged for all she was worth. There was a lot of strength in her arms, letting Haley know she'd been working out. Haley slid her arms around Dare and hugged the other woman close and they did that thing where they both laughed and cried at the same time. "I thought you were dead," Haley whispered, throat suddenly tight.

"I thought the same," Dare returned. She pulled back and made a show of heading for the fridge, no doubt so that Haley couldn't see the tears clinging to her lashes. She dug into the interior of the unit, coming out with a can of Coke. She popped the top and took a long drink before giving her attention back to Haley. "How did you survive? I saw what they did to the school. I didn't think anyone survived."

"I turn into a living statue, Dare," Haley reminded her, a touch of laughter in her voice. Dare nodded and let her eyes slide to the spot where Johnny stood. "Storm. You better be protecting her ass or I will personally kick it."

"You'll try," he replied. Dare's only response was to narrow her eyes on him. As if accepting his unissued challenge. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then she closed it suddenly and turned a frown Clint's way. "Tell me you didn't go out and let them in." There was a touch of accusation in her tone that Haley couldn't figure out.

"I went out and let them in," Clint responded, his tone defiant. Dare slammed the can down on the countertop before advancing on him. Her hair was already floating around her head. Not a good sign at all. Despite the warning sign, Clint stood his ground. "Jesus Christ, Dare. You act like you can't trust me. Like I'm sneaking around on you or some shit."

"Need I remind you what happened last night?" Dare snapped at him. To his credit, Clint crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at her with his jaw set. Haley wasn't sure if he was really that brave or that stupid. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. "You are not setting foot outside this building without me at your side. Because I'll be damned if I go through all that shit again."

"I'm a grown man, Dare. I think I can manage to keep the vampires at bay," he snarled.

"Like fuck you can," she hissed and poked a finger into his chest. Haley noticed that it was dead center over the man's heart. Where his hand had been rubbing not that long ago. "You're still fucked up on that shit and I am not going to let him finish what he started. I am not losing you to that sick fuck. I am not going to let him take you away from me." Her speech had started out hard and fierce. But by the end, Dare's voice was soft and filled with fear.

"We've been over this, Dare. I can't hide here. I have a job to do," Clint replied evenly.

"You have that punk ass bitch's blood in your veins, Barton! If he gets his claws on you again, I don't know that I'll be able to save you in time. And I don't know if I'll be able to handle that."

"Dare?" Haley asked, bringing the attention of both Dare and Clint her way. Dare had the grace to blush when she realized that Haley and Johnny had been privy to their argument. Clint maintained his defiant attitude. Haley looked from her to Clint and then back again. "What's all this about? That chick Mystery said pretty much the same thing. What's going on?"

"Let me explain," Dare began, then grimaced and shook her head. "No. There is too much. Let me sum up." The movie reference didn't go over Haley's head, but she didn't comment on it. Maybe later, when she understood what she and Johnny had walked in to. Dare retrieved her Coke and moved to take a seat at the breakfast bar. Her gaze slanted toward Clint and, after he glared at her for a short time, he crossed the kitchen and took the seat next to her. Haley and Johnny had no choice but to join them. She sat across from Dare. Johnny was across from Clint.

"Clint found me on the street a few months back. I was not doing all that well, so he brought me back here. I stayed and, when I'd had time to settle and get my head together, I started hunting with him. Which was all fine and good. Until a few weeks ago. We went on a hunt that went tits up in the worst way imaginable. We got separated and Clint got grabbed. By Remy."

"Stark told me Remy'd been turned. I didn't want to believe it. He shouldn't have fallen prey to the vampires," Haley replied.

"Believe it," Clint said. He had his hands spread across the surface of the breakfast bar, palms pressed to the smooth granite top hard enough to turn his knuckles white. "He's a full blown vamp. And he's got his sights set on Dare."

Haley blinked at that. Her gaze turned to Dare, who sat stone-faced and silent. "Why? What does he want you for?"

"I don't know," Dare commented. Haley heard the frustration and anger in her voice, though. "Turns out the hunt we were on was a ruse in order to try and draw us out. So that he could grab me. But he found Clint instead. And he took him, thinking he could get Clint to give me to him. He tried torturing the information from Clint."

"He used sex and sexual torture. And blood." Clint's voice was flat. Emotionless.

"He tried to make you his blood whore?" Haley asked, voice a whisper.

"He almost succeeded. If Dare hadn't found me and gotten me out..." Clint trailed off and shook his head. Haley watched Dare reach out and lay a hand on his arm, the action tender and deliberate.

"I wasn't going to abandon you," she said softly. There was a world of emotion in that statement that caught Haley by surprise. Even more surprising was watching Clint's hand reach up and cover her own. Johnny shot Haley a look, then pushed back from the breakfast bar and stood.

"I know you haven't been patrolling the streets on foot, Clint. Why don't you show me what you've got hidden in the garage? Let the girls get to know one another all over again." Haley watched Johnny's gaze slide to Dare. There was a faint smile on his face that she knew meant nothing but trouble. "No doubt Dare wants to talk about girlie things in private."

"Yeah. Because I'm sure you really don't want to hear how I plan on removing your nuts, Storm," Dare replied without batting an eyelash. Johnny grinned at her comment. But the grin slowly faded away when Dare's expression never changed. It was likely he didn't know if she was kidding or not. Haley hid a grin. She was sure Dare was kidding.

Well. She was pretty sure.

Clint's eyes shifted from Dare to Haley, then to Johnny. He stared at the other man for a moment, then nodded and stood. He might have walked away without saying a word or giving a backward glance, but Dare's hand shot out to catch his. The action saw him coming to a stop and giving her his full attention. Dare threw herself from the chair and wrapped herself around him, pressing a deep, personal, intense kiss to his lips. Clint crushed her to him briefly, then let go and set her back from him. He nodded his head at Johnny and silently headed for the door, leaving Haley and Dare staring after him.

~*~*~*~*~

"Well," Haley drawled slowly, a touch of something personal in her voice. Dare felt her spine go straight because she was sure she knew what was coming next. "That was quite the show. How long has that been going on?"

There was a tone in Haley's voice that said she wasn't going to let it go. As far as she was concerned, she was still leader of purple team and that meant she was going to have Dare's deepest, darkest secrets. Damn Storm for dragging Clint away like he had. And damn Clint for actually going. Turning, she gave Haley a look. Then she picked up her Coke and downed it. She'd never been very good about being human just after getting out of bed without replacing the blood in her caffeine system. "Come on. Let's go someplace a little more private," she said, then started for the door.

She didn't wait to see if Haley would follow her. She knew the other woman would.

They exited the kitchen and, once in the hall, turned to follow it deeper into the house. Dare didn't bother with lights, knowing her way around the place by memory in the dark. But she did conjure flames into one hand and held it up just a little bit so that Haley had something to see by. They walked in silence for a few moments until they came to a wooden panel stained a deep mahogany. Dare extinguished her flame before putting a hand on the knob and turning. The door swung open to reveal a darkened room. Dare went in and crossed the floor until she found the lamp on the desk. A twist of her wrist saw soft golden light flooding the room.

She watched the awed expression steal over Haley's face as she got her first glimpse of the room. It was the library, a large and spacious chamber filled with floor to ceiling wooden book shelves. Shelves that were laden with books. Those books were all shapes and sizes and colors. Dare had explored them at length the first few days she'd been here, learning that many of them were hard to find first editions and they covered a wide plethora of subjects. There was the obligatory heavy wooden desk in one corner, near a broad wall of windows that were protected by thick steel plating. Couches and chairs crafted of richly stained wood and soft, lush leather. A large hearth had a place of honor on one wall, a handful of chairs grouped before it. Dare started a fire in the hearth with barely a thought, then moved to sit in one of the chairs. Haley trailed after her, mouth gaping slightly in awe.

"Yeah. It is pretty impressive," Dare said, letting her gaze slide over the walls of books.

Haley reached out and laid a hand over Dare's, bringing her attention to where the other woman sat. There was an intensely emotional expression on Haley's face. "I thought you were dead. I thought the vampires had gotten you." Her voice was soft. Filled with fear and sadness.

"I thought the same about you, Haley. I got back to the school and... Everything was gone. Everyone was gone." Dare's voice was soft with long suppressed memory. She still had nightmares about the horrors to which she'd returned.

"The school was already in chaos when we arrived, Dare," Haley told her. The fear had gotten deeper. Stronger. "People were panicked. The Professor had gone missing. So had Jean. Scott had lost contact with them. He and Logan were preparing to go look for them when Morgan, Roxxy, Jehnna, and I got back. Members of the blue and red teams went together, leaving Kurt and Bobby in charge. We tried to help them keep the students under control. We almost succeeded. But then, two nights after Scott and the others left, they came."

Haley's gaze turned to look at the fire, the expression in their depths haunted by her memories. Dare waited, knowing her friend would go on when she was ready. "There were so many of them, Dare. Too many. And there were so few adults at the school. Those of us left tried to protect the children. Tried to fight the vampires off. But the children panicked. And... I don't know. I don't know what happened. We were just suddenly overrun. They were inside the school. Children were screaming. We fought them as long as we could. Held them off as long as we could. But there were too many. We had to go or we would have fallen. We had to retreat."

Haley stopped, voice thick and wet with emotions. With tears she didn't want to shed. It was obvious she blamed herself for what happened. No doubt she thought, since she was a leader, that she should have led them to victory. To safety. To something other than their graves. "Maybe, if you'd been there," Haley whispered.

"Maybe," Dare replied. Having seen what the vampires had done, though, she wasn't so certain. "We can't change that now, Haley. And agonizing over it won't make it any better. I have no doubts you did the best you could, given the situation."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, Dare. I couldn't save them. I... I watched them die and a I ran away like a coward," Haley snapped, reaching up with one hand to wipe at the tears trickling down her cheeks. "Because when I called the retreat, it was obviously too late. I didn't know where Morgan was. I didn't know where Roxxy was. I didn't know where Jehnna was. I ran like a coward and left children to die. I left my classmates and friends to die. I wasn't much of a hero."

"You were human, Haley. Just because you're a hero doesn't mean you stop being human. What were you supposed to do? Stay there and let them kill you? I've seen what those fuckers can do, Haley. There's a reason the authorities have been calling them a plague. They're like fucking locusts. The only way to stop them is to exterminate them. And if you don't have the right equipment, you go get it. Stop blaming yourself for deaths you couldn't prevent," Dare told her quietly.

"Easy for you to say, Dare. You weren't there. You were safe in Canada, fighting off a forest fire," Haley accused.

"I was standing in front of a towering wall of flames that wanted to eat everything in its path. Including me. I was the only thing standing between those flames and a small town that had no where to go. It took me two days to contain and extinguish the flames. Two days. By the time I had the fire under control, I was blind with pain and so dehydrated that I couldn't even sweat. I still hadn't recovered when I returned to the school," Dare told her softly, not an ounce of accusation in her voice. "And when I got there, what do you think I found? Bodies. So many bodies. Rotting, stinking corpses left to bloat in the sun. There was blood all over the ground. Splashed on trees. It covered everything. All I could do was stand and stare. And wonder if you were still alive."

"You didn't watch them die and do nothing," Haley said, refusing to give up her guilt. Dare gave her a look, then stood and pulled her shirt up over her head. Tugged her leggings down. She was left in her bra and panties. She stood there and waited, knowing Haley would see the scars. Knowing she'd ask about them.

It didn't take long for the other woman's gaze to latch onto the silver lines running across Dare's flesh. And when it did, Dare let the hardness seep into her tone. "No. I burned the man I loved to a crisp. I stared up into his face as I killed him. And I saw it when he knew he was going to die."

Haley's face had gone pale. Her eyes were wide. She got up and moved closer, one hand reaching up to touch a scar that traced its way across Dare's shoulder. "You killed Logan?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Remy got to him. Remy turned him. I don't know how, but he did. I keep wondering how such a thing was possible. His healing factor should have kept him safe. He shouldn't have been turned. But he was. And Remy sent him for me. After everything he did for me, I repaid him by setting him on fire."

"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry," Haley said, tugging Dare into her embrace. Haley's arms were tight when they wound around her. Dare let Haley hold her, let herself sink into the strength of the other woman's arms. They stood like that for some time, Dare taking solace and comfort from Haley's embrace. She didn't know what Haley got from her. She hoped it was the same, because it was obvious Haley needed it. Finally, after long moments had passed, Haley set her back and stared down at her. "Tell me everything."

~*~*~*~*~

Clint waited, shoulders tense, for Storm to say something. He swore he could feel the man's need to run his mouth burning on the air. At the moment, Storm was taking in the modifications that Clint had made to the SUV he used for hunting. He'd been silent thus far, but Clint knew that the man's silence was coming to an end. It was just a matter of time.

"She's a little young for you, don't you think?" Storm got out casually, head under the SUV's hood.

"She's an adult," Clint reminded him patiently.

"But she's a young adult. Aren't you taking advantage of her vulnerability?" This time, Storm looked up at him. There was concern on his face.

"She's a young, consenting adult who is free to make her own decisions. She was dating Logan, in case you didn't know. I think age is a moot point after that," Clint said.

"Maybe. Isn't it possible, though, that she's attached herself to you because of the trauma?" Johnny asked. He was careful to keep accusation from his voice, something for which Clint was thankful. He'd hate to have to beat the snot out of Johnny for being a nosy fuck.

"Of course its possible. Did Haley pick you without letting her trauma enter into it?" Clint questioned. It brought Johnny's argument to a standstill a moment. Then he shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe her trauma played into it some. But I'm still closer to her age than you are to Dare's," Johnny pointed out. Clint took a breath and tried to find his center. It was hard to do these days. LeBeau's blood in his veins left him off kilter quite a bit. He closed his eyes and imagined he was holding his bow. Imagined he was drawing the string back, arrow nocked and aimed at the target. It worked, his limbs loosening and the tension sliding from his shoulders. When he opened his eyes, it was to find Johnny watching him closely.

"Maybe. But Dare is the one who made the choice. Not me. I didn't push her in to any of this," Clint informed him. He moved to the wall where a photo of the team was hung. His gaze traced over each face in the picture. That was such a simpler time. "And don't you think its entirely possible that I need her as much as she seems to need me?"

Johnny shook his head. "She's still impressionable. I just think you should take care in how you deal with her. Consider what happens to her if something happens to you."

Clint snorted and shook his head. "Don't you think I haven't been down that path already, Storm? What do you think I was thinking the entire time I was LeBeau's captive? I honestly kept hoping that she'd forget about me and move on. The last thing I wanted to have happen was for her to try and rescue me."

"She did that," Johnny interrupted.

"And if LeBeau had gotten his hands on her? What then? I was useless to do anything to prevent it. I'm still useless to do anything, when it comes down to it. He's got me so fucked up in the head. Half of me demands that I protect her and keep her safe, despite the fact that she's the perfect vampire killing machine. Because all I can do is picture what LeBeau will do to her if he does get his hands on her," Clint shook his head and chuffed a humorless laugh. "The other half of me is screaming that I walk out that door and find him. Beg him for one more hit of his blood. Because during the time he had me as his prisoner, he made sure that I got addicted to him hard."

Johnny stared at him a moment. "You love her that much?" he asked softly.

"That obvious, huh?"

"If you know what to look for. Does she feel the same?"

Clint sighed and headed for a cupboard in the corner. The door opened to reveal a fridge stocked with beer. He tugged one out and handed it to Storm, then grabbed one for himself. He gave himself time to think about the question by taking a drink off the cold brew. He wasn't a big drinker, but he did indulge every once in a while. "I honestly don't know. I see the way she looks at me when she thinks I'm not paying attention and I think that maybe the answer is yes. But then its like she becomes a completely different person and the look goes away and I don't know what to think anymore."

"Maybe talk to her about it?" Johnny suggested.

Clint sighed and shook his head. "It isn't the right time. She's still mourning Logan's death and I don't want her to stay with me out of some weird sense of pity. I want her to stay because her feelings are genuine. Right now, she's confused about her feelings because she feels guilty that LeBeau grabbed me. And she feels obligated because the sick fucker got me addicted to his blood. She blames herself for that."

"You try telling her it isn't her fault?" The question earned Johnny a look that clearly suggested the man was an idiot. Storm ignored it. In fact, he slipped into silence for a while that was really unlike the man. Clint stared at him and wondered what was going through his flame soaked brain, sipping idly at his beer the whole while. The silence had almost gotten to be too much when Storm finally broke it. "What happened? With LeBeau, I mean? Why did he grab you?"

Clint heaved a sigh. Not exactly what he wanted to talk about. But it was better than being told he was too old for Dare. Especially when he knew he was too old for her. Setting the beer bottle down, Clint moved to the computer terminal housed in the garage's interior wall. Tapping a few buttons brought his files up to the screen and he clicked open the one he'd compiled for that absolutely disastrous hunt. "I'd been hearing chatter for days that the different covens were coming together to attempt one big hit. It was all over underground radio."

He watched Storm's eyes skim the information. The idiot persona had melted away and in its place was a man with a sharp mind. His face was serious as he read through the information Clint had put together. "It was a trap," Johnny surmised.

"It was definitely a trap. I should have seen it ahead of time. But I didn't. And its a miracle things didn't go worse than they did," Clint replied. He let his mind play over that evening, wondering if they could have done anything better. "The numbers were overwhelming. Dare did her best to hold the vampires off, but she isn't a machine. Her powers might be limitless but her energy isn't. It wasn't safe and we decided that the best course of action was to get out of there. But we split up. And the next thing I knew, LeBeau had me."

"You think he orchestrated the whole thing?" Johnny turned from the terminal to look Clint dead in the eye.

"I do. Looking back at it now, I'm positive he started the chatter about the get together."

"To get his hands on Dare."

"He wants her. I don't know why, but he wants her."

"How did he know she was with you?" Johnny wondered aloud. Clint had wondered that himself.

"She'd been hunting with me for a couple months. I imagine any survivors of our encounters took stories to their covens of her ability to burn their kind without effort. Word got around. Or those survivors belonged to his coven. And either they knew her personally or they told him enough that he could put two and two together. So he set a trap and I walked right into it." He couldn't keep the self-loathing and the disgust from his voice. Storm said nothing about that, made no attempt to soothe Clint's battered ego.

"So he puts out these rumors and draws the two of you out. And?"

"I told you," Clint said. "We realized we were outnumbered and had walked into a trap, so we ran. And we split up. And moments after Dare left my side, LeBeau came barreling out of the darkness and slammed me into the concrete. He demanded I turn Dare over to him. I refused. He knocked me out and when I woke, he tried torturing her location out of me."

"You split up. And he just happened to find you. You don't find that a little suspicious? Not even in the slightest?" There was immense skepticism in Storm's words. Clint nearly gave in to the urge to punch the arrogant little shit in the face.

"Of course not. And if you even think about suggesting something so ludicrous again, I'll shove a fire extinguisher up your ass and pull the trigger. Dare did not set me up and fuck you for even thinking it."

~*~*~*~*~

"Clint found me hiding in a burned out building. I was tired, hungry, dirty, and scared out of my mind. And, somehow, Clint found me. I'd been on the streets since getting back from Canada and I didn't know who to trust anymore. I thought you guys were all dead," Dare explained, once more settled in the chair before the fire. She'd put her clothes back on and her body language screamed that she was trying to protect herself. She had her arms crossed over her stomach and she wouldn't look Haley in the eyes. Haley wanted to tug the other woman into her embrace and not let her go. But she knew Dare well enough to know that her friend wouldn't let it happen.

"And you'd been forced to protect yourself by burning Logan. You were afraid to use your powers," Haley said softly. Dare didn't look at her, but she nodded in answer. "What happened when Clint found you?"

"He recognized me," Dare replied. Haley couldn't hide the smile that came at that. More than likely, Clint had recognized her friend's hair. Dare had kept purple and blue streaks in her hair as long as Haley had known her, and it was definitely memorable. "He brought me here. I didn't know any of the heroes were left. In the entire time I was on the streets, I don't remember seeing any of them. He was the first."

"He's been hunting the vampires since after the school," Haley said. "I know that much. I also know Stark is off somewhere, trying to find a cure with a bunch of other brains. But I don't know anything about any of the others. Reed gets reports, of course. But he doesn't share them unless he's sure they're from credible sources. Stark is the reason I knew you were alive."

Dare nodded. "I knew Stark was alive. Clint has check ins with him every month." She fell silent, her gaze locked on the dancing flames in the hearth. Haley waited a few moments, to see if Dare would continue her story without prompt. But the seconds ticked by and Dare gave no signs of going on. So Haley cleared her throat softly.

"Clint brought you back here?"

The dark head nodded again. "He gave me food. Shelter. Uncomplicated companionship. Given what had happened with Logan, I was glad. He gave me safety."

"A rare commodity these days," Haley commented. "When did you fall into bed with him?"

"It took some time," Dare admitted softly. "Almost a month. He gave me space to grieve my losses. To find myself back. When I was ready, he offered to spar with me. Keep my mind and my reflexes sharp, he said. I'm still convinced he chose me because he knew he could kick my ass. I'm no Captain America. We sparred every day. It was always... There was this physicality between us right from the start. I felt it, and we know how observant I am."

"You observe just fine. People don't give you credit for being smart," Haley replied. Dare glanced up at her, a touch of confusion in her eyes. Then she shrugged a shoulder and glanced at the floor.

"Things were fine until this one particular sparring session. I was determined to beat his ass. I hadn't done it yet and this day... I wanted it bad enough to pull out all the stops. Bits of Logan. Bits of Remy. The things they'd taught me. I used it all. And I put him on his back on the floor. For a minute or two. Then he put me on my back and his body was touching mine in all the right places and I just... wanted him."

"You always were impulsive," Haley commented, remembering the uproar the school had been thrown into when Dare and Remy had returned from a night out. And the one that had come when Dare had chosen Logan over Remy. Dare gave a very faint half smile, then sighed. "So you had sex with him. Because you'd fallen head over heels for him."

Haley watched as Dare actually jolted when the words filled the air. And then her cheeks flushed pink. She turned away to look at the fire without saying anything.

"I know you well enough to know you don't give yourself over to someone just for the sake of sex. You're a romantic at heart and you need to have deep feelings for someone before you get naked with them. That's how it was with Morgan and Logan and Remy. Does he love you?"

"I think so," Dare said, a touch of uncertainty in her voice. "We haven't talked about it. But the things he's said... He held out against Remy for days because he didn't want to give me up."

"Tell me how you went from getting into his pants to getting him away from your undead ex-boyfriend," Haley suggested. Dare shot her a look that was pure Dare, all anger and annoyance and threat rolled into one. Haley smiled at that, glad to see that her friend was still the same person despite everything that had happened.

Dare shifted in her seat, some of the tightness of her position loosening so that she sat mostly upright in the chair. She brought her knees up and tucked them against her chest, chin resting on them while she stared at Haley. "There are radio channels he listens to. People in the city who broadcast on various channels about vampire activity. Its how he finds them when he hunts."

Haley nodded. "I've heard them. I never gave them credit, though."

"They're legit," Dare told her. "Anyway, about a month and a half back, chatter picked up. People were talking about this big group of vamps getting together to fuck the city up. Like, different covens cooperating to really make a dent in the city's mortal population."

Haley pursed her lips. That wasn't something she'd heard of before. Vampires tended to be territorial and covens were more like gangs than anything else. Each coven controlled a single territory and they were careful about not stepping foot into another coven's land. "It was a trap," she guessed.

Dare nodded. "We prepped for that hunt for weeks. Clint developed new arrows for that hunt. And its a good thing, too, because when we got to the location that had been mentioned in the broadcasts, it was overrun with vampires. On the plus side, Pyro is toast." Dare paused a moment, then chuckled softly at her own joke. Haley didn't bother to hide her smile. She knew exactly what kind of relationship Dare had had with the other pyrokinetic. She'd always considered him second rate and he'd always considered her a bitch.

"What went wrong?" Haley prompted.

"There wasn't one specific thing," the other woman said, gaze unfocusing as she made an effort to recall that night. "There were far too many vamps and they were trying to surround us. Clint and I realized that we'd been set up. So we used one of his new arrows, then ran like hell. We got split up. And Remy grabbed him."

"Because Remy wants you."

Dare looked up at Haley and frowned. "I guess so. But I don't know why. I mean, we barely dated and he loved Morgan more than he loved me." She tried to hide the minute traces of jealousy and pain those words brought, but Haley heard them all the same. She said nothing.

"How did you find Clint?" Haley asked, steering her thoughts back on track. Away from painful memories.

"I tortured any vampire I found for information on his where abouts." There was a coldness in Dare's eyes and her voice that Haley couldn't recall ever hearing before. She stared at the other woman for a few seconds, trying to reconcile that coldness with the woman she knew. "It took a while. But I eventually got the information I needed. And then I recruited help. Because I knew there was no way I could get in and out and rescue Clint on my own."

"The woman I met earlier? Mystery?" Haley thought it an odd name for a person.

Dare nodded. "Mystery. And her friends, Keira and Rose."

"They don't look like they'd be very good against vampires," Haley remarked. Other than her attitude, Mystery had struck Haley as being really unimpressive.

Dare smiled, letting Haley know she was amused. Which meant Dare knew something she didn't. And she was going to gloat about it. Just a little. "Come on, Haley. Surely you know a powerhouse when you see one."

"Honey, I spent years working with you. There isn't a bigger powerhouse on the planet than you. So I'm sorry if I don't recognize who or what Mystery is," Haley told her, honesty painted each of her words. Seriously. Haley had seen the files on a bunch of heroes during her leadership of team purple. She'd never come across anyone who could compare to Dare in sheer, raw power. And she had to doubt that there was anyone who lived with a bigger 'fuck you' attitude than the pyrokinetic.

"You've heard of Flare?" Dare asked softly. Haley frowned. The name sounded familiar, but she was having problems placing it. She couldn't remember hearing or seeing anything about a hero named Flare. She'd heard about a villain named... Haley's thoughts came to a screeching halt and she turned wide eyes Dare's way.

"Are you fucking kidding me? She's a villain?" Haley asked. She honestly hoped Dare was pulling her leg because she had a hard time seeing her friend working with a known villain. No matter the circumstances.

"She is. She can blow just about anything up. Her friends are villains, too. Chill and the Emerald Rose," Dare told her. Then her tone took on a deep note of defiance and she glowered at Haley. "I didn't have a choice. I don't have the luxury of knowing how to get ahold of the other heroes. And no one has seemed really willing to get out there and put their asses on the line in order to fight the vampires off. Just me and Clint. I got help where I could find it."

"Dare..." Haley began, only to trail off. She honestly didn't know what to say.

"I got help where I could. Because I knew if I didn't get Clint away from Remy as fast as possible, I wouldn't get him away at all. Mystery can blow shit up. Keira can freeze shit. And Rose is amazing with plants. Once I discovered where Remy was holding Clint, they went in with me to help liberate him." Defensiveness dripped from each one of Dare's words, along with anger and a touch of fear. "He'd done so much for me when he didn't have to. He could have left me in that burnt out house and gone his merry way. But he didn't. He took me in and made me feel safe. Wanted. Needed. I was just returning the favor."

"Okay, Dare. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to pass judgement. I'm just trying to understand," Haley assured her. She was honestly having a hard time with that bit. "Is there a reason they're still here? I would think Clint wouldn't want them in the mansion."

"Rose has created things that can help with the withdrawal symptoms. She's been administering them to Clint in order to keep the worst of Remy's call at bay."

"Dare, are you sure you should trust her?"

Dare shot a glare at Haley. "Is there any reason I shouldn't. She hasn't run away with the silver yet. She's been sitting with Clint when I go out and hunt, making sure he doesn't leave when the need gets too great. Mystery and Keira have both been helping me with the hunting duties. Keira knows technology and she's been trying to create some tech that will aid us in the hunts."

"Dare, they're villains," Haley reminded her softly.

"They're villains who are in the same fucking boat as the heroes. It is in their best interests to help us fight the vampires off. I'm taking the help where I can find it. And I don't have to explain my choices or decisions to you, Haley," Dare snapped and rose to her feet. One hand gestured to the shuttered windows behind her. "In case you hadn't noticed, there's a plague trying to steal the city from us. Maybe you can sit back on your stone ass and hide away from it all. But I can't. And I won't. I'll do whatever I have to to protect innocents. Even if it means getting my hands dirty with the villains."

The fire went out a moment before Dare stomped from the room, leaving Haley sitting alone in the dark.

~*~*~*~*~

"How bad are the cravings?" Storm asked, the beer Clint had offered him sitting mostly untouched on the work bench beside him. Clint counted to fifty. Then counted again. The Human Torch should have been called the Flaming Pain in His Ass. He had his nose in every aspect of Clint's business and didn't seem to think he was out of line.

"They're bad," Clint replied, not bothering to keep the anger from his voice. If Storm heard it, he ignored it. "Bad enough that Dare won't let me go outside in the dark by myself. She's afraid I'll run right back to LeBeau if she does."

"Maybe she's just trying to--" he began, only to trail off when Clint shot him a glare.

"If you imply one more time that Dare had anything to do with LeBeau grabbing me, I will personally kick your ass out onto the street," Clint warned.

"No you won't, old man. Because I will fry his balls," Dare said, voice filling the garage before she stepped through the door. The look on her face clearly showed she was very unhappy and she was spoiling for a fight.

"You'll try," Storm corrected. Dare glowered at him.

"There's no try about it. I will fry your balls."

"Have you forgotten that I have fire powers, too?" Johnny asked her. He sounded smug. As if he knew that she couldn't touch him. Which was exactly the wrong thing to say to her when she was already in such a bad mood.

Dare's eyes narrowed on him before she took a step forward. The fireball appeared only seconds before it slammed into Storm's chest. Clint was surprised to see the man stagger backward, as if he'd been hit with something much heavier more substantial than a fireball. A second fireball appeared, but before she could lob it, Storm threw one of his own. It sailed right at Dare and Clint worried that it would do some damage. But Dare's fireball disappeared only seconds before she actually caught Storm's fireball with one hand. As if he'd lobbed a baseball her way. She held it for a moment or two, then closed her fingers down around it until she made a fist. The fireballs squeezed down under the press of her fingers. Extinguished under the press of her fingers.

Dare never moved.

"Is that the best you can do, Storm?" she hissed, voice low and deadly.

"Dare! That's enough. Stand down!' Haley Stone barked, her voice filling the garage with authority.

"You aren't the leader of Purple team anymore, Haley. It doesn't exist," Dare spat out, each word hard and clipped. She didn't take her attention away from Storm, even though she had to know that Haley was closing in on her back. "Besides, can you trust me to follow your orders when its so obvious that I'm untrustworthy now. I'm dealing with known villains. And I'm apparently responsible for Clint getting snatched by Remy and turned into a goddamn junkie. Maybe you shouldn't put faith in my ability to follow orders."

"Damn it, Dare. That's unfair," Haley replied. "Last I knew, you thought the villains didn't deserve to see the light of day. Now you're cozying up to them like they aren't capable of doing bad things."

"I don't have the luxury of condemning villains anymore, Haley. None of us does. And don't tell me you aren't capable of doing bad things. We all know I'm capable of doing bad things," Dare shot back, though there was a lack of heat in her voice this time around. "We all know I've done bad things."

"I don't want to fight, Dare. I just find it strange that you went to the villains for help."

"I wasn't going to leave Clint to Remy's tender mercy," Dare whispered. Clint heard a touch of something in Dare's voice that he couldn't quite place. It sounded an awful lot like knowing horror. But he couldn't figure out where that would come from. "I didn't have anyone else to turn to."

Clint could see that Dare was on the edge of some emotional upset so he moved toward her with slow, steady steps that he made sure she heard. When he curled his hand over her shoulder, her muscles screamed with tension. "Dare. Baby. Its okay. Let it go. It isn't worth getting upset over."

"Storm is accusing me of setting you up. And Haley is implying that I failed by seeking out the help of the villains to get you back. I'm going to get upset over it. Either I'm too good and naíve to know that villains are liars or I'm too bad to be trusted. Haley is conveniently forgetting that I've done terrible things in my past. I could so easily have slipped into the villain slot."

Haley muttered a curse under her breath and moved deeper into the garage. She only stopped when she was between Dare and Johnny. Dare never took her gaze off the Human Torch. Johnny looked at Haley a moment or two. "I'm sorry, Dare. I don't think you're naíve. I think you were desperate and maybe didn't think your actions all the way through. We both know you're impulsive."

"And if it had been you who'd been taken by Remy. Who was being tortured by Remy. If I had gone to the villains to get you back. Would you feel the same? Or would you not even give it a second thought?" Dare asked, some of her temper sliding away. "If I had had to make compromising choices to ensure that you came back and came back as yourself, would you be so quick to question my senses? My choices?"

"But it isn't the same thing, Dare," Haley replied.

"It is to me," Dare said, finally turning to look at Haley. "You're a friend. You're one of the few real friends I have. You're more than a friend. You're family. I would do anything I had to in order to protect my family. To rescue my family if someone had taken them. Anything, Haley."

Clint felt warmth fill him. Dare had admitted to feelings for him without admitting to them.

"I don't know what kind of family you come from, Storm, but I don't sell out my family. I don't sell out my friends. And if you ever accuse me of such things again, we'll find out how long you can hold out against me before I roast your balls," Dare warned.

Tension filled the silence when she finished speaking. Storm only stared at her, not sure if she was being truthful or not. She was absolutely being truthful. Clint might have tried to reel Dare in, but he lost the chance when a new voice filled the garage and shattered the building tension. "That sounds like it could be fun. I didn't know we were having a party. How come no one invited me to join in?"

Comments

[cathryne]

Oooooo! SO glad Hayley and Dare got reconnected! :-) I love Mystery's reaction to Hayley and Johnny's arrival...the girl is uber protective isn't she?

Love it!!

And you and your damn teaser chapter endings...EVIL!!! ;-)

[ladydeathfaerie]

i fully plan for the girls to reconnect where they can. Dare needs her family. blood or found, it doesn't matter. she needs them.

Mystery reacts like that to all the heroes.

glad you enjoyed it, bb.

[nanaeanaven]

My money is on Dare. I don't think Johnny really understands who he's up against. I mean, she took out Logan for fuck's sake. That should at least give him a clue.

So nice to see everyone play nice-nice together. *snickers* Ahem.... Seriously though, it was great seeing Hayley and Dare catch up. Might've even gotten me choked up a little there.

And, dammit woman, who the hell was that at the end? Mystery is the obvious choice (hello snark), but I'm thinking it's actually Keira. Won't that be fun? lol

[ladydeathfaerie]

oh, my money is absolutely on Dare. Johnny really has no clue. and the tests Xavier did on her didn't even really begin to cover the full depths of her powers. Dare is quite literally a one woman wrecking crew.

isn't it great that the first thing that happens when people get together is a nice, heated verbal argument? so nice to know that Johnny and Haley both hold Dare in esteem. you've got Johnny thinking she sold Clint out. and Haley is questioning her mental facilities by turning to the villains. but its just a minor rough patch. it'll all get smoothed over. eventually

you'll find out who was at the end in the beginning of the next chapter. promise. and when you do, we'll see if you were right or not

thanks for reading, bb. hope you enjoyed