Number 106, Orchard Street, East Side.

Number 106, Orchard Street, East Side, Steel City.

Alyss slammed the door of her dark Land Rover, clicking her new house keys between her fingers. It'd been a while since she'd been round this part of town and the grime of the rest of the town, quite frankly, made her skin crawl. But it wasn't just the dirt. It was the crime the dirt covered. Crime that oozed out from the gutter, that prowled the street at night; that was spattered over the alleyways of Steel. Crime she had come back to eradicate, one way or another.

It'd been 3 years, to the date, that she'd met Darren Rayes on the street. ‘Bastard’ was her only thought. Not that he affected her as much as he used to, the memories of her childhood had faded into nothing more than a sour feeling that rose in her stomach every now and then. But when she had been fragile, untrained and volatile, as she had been three years ago, nothing could control the hatred and fear she inflicted upon him. She remembered vividly the man steadying himself at the edge of the platform, terror shining in his eyes, before jumping headlong into an oncoming tube.

And so ended the short life of Darren Rayes. The man who raped a Titan.

But how could she still be a Titan? How? No, Alyss could only run. They would have realised she was the one behind this ‘death’, this murder. The Titans would blame her, hurt her for what she had done. No Titan would kill willingly and this was pleasurable for the girl. No, she was not a Titan.
So Alyss had run from the City, taken everything about her to New York. Living in such a large city was horrid at first, but she grew used to the constant buzz, the crime, the justice and the Supers who flitted through from time to time. When she turned 17 years of age, a man appeared in her apartment with an offer.

‘Join the FBI Academy. We can train you. Make you stronger. We have a special Unit for….people with your abilities.’

So she had been watched since her arrival, but how could she refuse? Various training methods had been used, and Alyss began to travel the country to gain the skills necessary to be the calculated, calm woman she was today. She flourished with firearms and excelled at psychological profiling and soon enough the weak, fragile Alyss was gone. Only the agent remained.
The world called to her for help soon enough; her powers were exercised minimally, physical endurance tested more often in war zones and combat situations. Alyss couldn’t remember the last time she’d used her power over the mind, it had become secondary to the things she had learnt. That, and it always reminded her of how feeble she had been in the past.
At 19, her training was finished and she was given the option of where to reside, until future courses or assignments called her. Her first thought had been to return to Jump, but would the Titans still remember her? Still want to convict her? Of course she couldn’t return. No, Steel City. Near enough to Jump to visit if she was so inclined, but so thickly encrusted with crime that life could never get boring.

Gazing up at her new house, she walked swiftly towards the door with her suitcase and two rucksacks, keeping an eye out around her. No-one around, perfect. East-Side was supposed to be the more upper-class section of Steel, though she could still detect the symbols that the Underworld was present. Random graffiti, businessmen looking coked up to the eyeballs, the odd promotional poster slapped upon a wall. But overall, it wasn’t too shabby. The house itself was beautiful, all wrought iron gates, huge glass windows and a Tudor style. She locked the gate behind her, pressing the latch firmly shut- didn’t want anyone getting in now.

The pin-pad next to the door was there, as she had requested. 1984, she tapped in – her favourite Orwell novel. The front door swung open to reveal her new abode.

“Honey, I’m home,” she whispered, switching the lights on.

_____

Feel free to join in anyone!

Alyss carefully placed her bag upon the floor of her new hallway. To be fair, the Bureau had done well in finding her a place suited to her needs. Strong, secure, central...old-fashioned appearance with a dash of the future hidden away. The hallway was a grand oak affair, with an over the top wrought black iron staircase that spiralled up into the three storeys of her house. She peered upwards, seeing nothing but darkness scattered over the maze-like floors of her home.
The hallway contained little more than a runner and a sideboard. It was a little saddening if anything, everything seemed too empty. Too lonely. But she could never imagine living with anyone, putting pictures of a family on the sideboard. No, she had a different destiny plotted for her, something with more importance, more bullets.

Four doors led off to different rooms; she could remember from the pictures- Office, Dining Room, Living Room and Kitchen. Alyss began to walk towards the Kitchen, pausing only to take off her shoes.
"Mustn't get this place dirty already," she muttered, organising them next to the sideboard. Now with the wonderful feeling of soft carpet under her feet, she headed for the Kitchen.
Similar to the hallway, most of the kitchen resonated the old-fashioned, dark black tiles and shining silverware magnetically attached to the wall. A dark bough stretched from one half of the room to another, on which was sat a variety of spice jars. A huge red fridge was tucked into an alcove next to a darker, maroon tinged Aga cooker. The theme of black and red was rife throughout the whole house, almost reminding Alice who she was and why she was here.

As her hand reached out to open the fridge, just to check for food, the doorbell rang out, echoing through the house.
Her gaze snapped up immediately, every hair standing on end. Who was that? She hadn't been informed of anyone coming to see her upon arrival. She sighed angrily; none of the CCTV had been set up yet - another shrill ring came from the door. Walking through the hallway, her eye was caught by the blue rucksack that was still residing next to her shoes. Alyss bit her lip momentarily before unzipping the bag and removing her Glock 19, shoving it in the holster that seemed to be fused to her ankle nowadays.
"Just pretend that you're a new civilian. I suppose that's true to an extent," she thought, zipping up the bag. Turning the handle, her heart was pumping excessively before she steadied herself and forced a friendly smile to her face.

A tall, fairly good looking guy was standing in front of her gate, wearing an expensively cut suit. Could he be one of theirs? No, they wouldn't be so glaringly obvious. With his white hair and silver eyes, this guy stood out. He seemed to shine a little in the sun- his skin was just a little too pale - and hell, Alyss knew what it felt like to be pale. His appearance seemed anything but human. She walked swiftly down the stairs to her house, making sure to keep the gate locked just for now.

"Heya, can I help you with anything?" she called, over the noise of her feet crunching down the path. She would have winced, the gravel under her bare feet was painful, had her eyes not been open wide and studying the man in front of her.

"Jet. I'm Helen Jet." The name had been assigned to her a while ago, during her dealings with the CIA. Just to be safe. This 'Dante' didn't seem to be of any threat to her- but there was something about him.

The guy was too still, too calm. Alyss grinned wider as he motioned to the gun strapped to her ankle.

"I just heard that Steel can be dangerous sometimes and hey, I'm just moving in. Didn't want to get mugged already!" she chuckled under her breath, never taking her eyes off the man. "Dante, huh? As in Aligheiri? The Inferno and Paradisa and that?"
This guy definitely not human- he seemed too flawless. And silver eyes? Unless he was wearing contacts like her, they were that of another being for sure.

"You live next door?" she asked, not expecting or waiting for an answer. "Cool. Well I'm sure we'll get to know each other."

Hesitantly, the girl held her breath for a moment, looking up at the sky and the glare of the sun before looking back down at Dante. This guy wasn't a Titan, but she could sense something about him that wasn't mortal- power of some sort. Unwilling to use her powers to probe his mind, she looked back at him and smiled softly.

"So, how do you protect yourself in Steel City?" she asked, probing for answers.

Alyss stiffened up as the words rolled from his lips.

"…but sometimes you don’t need one if you name carries enough weight…"

He was definitely more than he appeared to be- and he appeared pretty inhuman as well. Some sort of telepath possibly, he knew who she was pretty easily. Whoever he was, he seemed pretty sure of himself- she didn't want to test attacking him when he was so much broader than her petite frame.

"...you look like a CIA girl to me..."

She kept her smile fixed, but her mind was racing over her options. How stupid she was, leaving her handgun on show. Most wouldn't have realised in the first place, another inclination that he was stranger than meets the eye.
He leant in closer, just a few inches from her face. He certainly was confident that she wouldn't attack him- his proximity suggested that he had trust in her. Or was being incredibly hostile.
She touched her hair gently as he leant back against the gate, remembering the laborious process of lightening her black hair to the white it was now. She stared straight into the man's eyes, doubting his alliance. Did he want to kill her? Report her? Befriend her? How did he know?! She should read him - no. No using powers, she'd promised herself that. Maybe a tiny sneak peak?
Fine, as long as she doesn't create, she can't give in to Fear. Now to use them, something she hadn't done in a very, very long time. The familiar feeling of the nerves behind her eyes were burning slightly- then, a numbing feeling. And the power began. Focusing on the man in front of her a sudden blur of darkness hit her brain. Flickering images of death and torment raged in front of her eyes, the dark seemed to consume her brain for a moment. The burning behind her eyes began to spread through her optic nerves and up into her brain. But, keeping the smile on her face she endured the pain, trying to escape quickly and safely. She pulled on the connection- but Fear wanted to stay. Fear felt in touch with this man, she wanted to stay. But no, Alyss pulled away and stopped the terrifying connection, before it really hurt her. This man had a connection with Death, just as she had with Fear. More affiliated, Alyss continued in the mind set of caution, but with the feeling that he wouldn't really hurt her. She could trust him. The connection was there.

She breathed in sharply and gave the man a wide smile. She reached up to her left eye and plucked the contact lens from the surface and flicked it onto the floor, then the right, revealing the entirely black irises underneath. She hated the way her eyes looked normally- entirely black, like a pool shark. It wasn't a pleasant look for her, it showed the true maniac that used to live in her brain. The thing she had fought against for so long and finally tamed. The only part of it that remained was the deep inky colour of her eyes.

"CIA...." she murmured. He raised an eyebrow, still in his relaxed position on the fence. "Now, if I were, I couldn't tell you could I? Technically, I'm a IT Technician. Technically, I'm not even American." she relinquished the Northern American and continued in the natural sing-song tone of Southern Irish. "Technically, I don't exist."

With that, Alyss turned on her heel and began to walk back towards her front door. She stopped on the first step and turned to face Dante. "I'd suggest you leave now."
She continued walking to her door and called back to him. "I'll be seeing you around."

Continued (For me a The Departed) here:

https://ttrpg.forumotion.com/t892-the-hunt#16867

(Carrying on for me and Emblem)

Alyss awoke to the soft light that trickled in through her window, flitting over her eyelids and waking her gently. Giving a great yawn, she raised her head, a satisfied smile already taking its place amongst her features. Last night, her first hunt, had been such a success. Tonight would be an exception, she needed to study the 'Boss's' mobile phone and check for any new leads that might bring the drug trail to a close.
But for now, she needed breakfast.

After a brief shower, to cleanse herself of the remains of the blood and pulling on a clean blue shirt and black jeans, she bounded downstairs to make herself toast. Toast was the cure to everything, and it helped to purge the ever so slight guilt that was playing in her mind. Still, a good slice of jammy bread would help. Munching away happily, she switched on her laptop and tapped in the details to access her database when a thought crossed her mind. She could find the Titans using this, see what they were up to. It'd be nice to see her old friends again, even if it was just from afar.
Who first? Krious, Simca...Emmy? Yeah, she'd always looked up to Emblem- he'd looked out for her in the past. Through the CIA systems she could access the Titans files easily, just took a little tech knowledge- something she wasn't short of.
But, what she read about her old friend caused her to splutter her coffee. INCARCERATED AT IMPEL DOWN PENITENTIARY. What?!

Emblem was the whiter than white sort, he'd helped her! What on Earth was he doing in Prison? No, this was wronged. He'd been imprisoned wrongly. She could get him out, or she at least needed information on why he was there. Slamming the computer shut, she headed for the bathroom. Placing her bright blue contacts in and tying back her white blonde hair, she grabbed her ID and headed for her SUV.

This would be sorted.

_________ Three Days Later ___________


"Data, data, data! Urgh, why is everything so irritating?!" Alyss shouted, slamming her hands down on the table and thrusting her body upwards to a standing position. On her screen was an image of the last known hiding place of a notorious East Side gang who she had been tailing and putting under surveillance for the last few days. A man was walking close to the camera now, waving her a goodbye with a smirk on his face before the screen faded to a dead black. The three other screens above her wiped shut too, returning to their dull blue glow of the security system.
"No, no no!" she yelled, running her hands through her hair. "You sons of bitches."

To her utmost displeasure, her records were leading her nowhere and now this- shut down. The previous evening she had taken out another street gang with Necati, leaving her message for the city to see. As Emblem had predicted, they had replaced their taken-out members instantly- she could imagine the glee on the promoted men's faces now as they believed they were getting closer to becoming the boss of the squad. And now she had no idea who these men were.
CCTV and bugs in their meeting rooms had led to nothing, as had waiting for hours in the shadows of their abodes- and bloody amazing, her final trace of evidence had been cut off! The trail of this particular gang had gone cold thanks to this - either they'd grown wise to her trails - impossible, they would have found out who she was- or one of her contacts had squealed. Her face flushed a deep red with anger, no-one in this world could be trusted anymore. So they held a gun to your face, what did it matter? Die before betraying principle.

In another shout of boiling rage, she kicked the side of her chair and slammed the top of her laptop shut. In total darkness, she crouched by the chair, trying to regain her thoughts. Any other gang, she could follow any other gang but this one was big. This one had leads that could go straight to the top, straight to the heart of Steel's Government. Warren Powers - that was her target. He was involved in darker games than just the gangs that hit the streets, though she believed they were at his beck and call. Now with this cold lead, there was nothing she could do but start again.

Alyss closed her eyes gently, standing again and breathed deeply, letting her anger out with each exhalation. Why is it so hard? All she wanted to a safe city, at least one in the whole of America, where she- people- could be safe from harm. But no, a solitary mission couldn't be done overnight, though her message had obviously gotten out. It'd be harder now, because they were on the lookout for someone. Even someone as shadowy as Alyss couldn't manage if there were far more guards than she could handle.

I could help.

With a swift slap to her own head, she beat Fear back. "You shut it. Stay where you belong."

The girl sighed deeply and sat back down at her desk, re-opening the laptop. Was Necati home yet? She could really use the company to help her think. To help her focus. Forcing herself to take a quick drink of water and another deep breath, she looked back over to her records for something - anything- she might have missed.

After another two hours of examining the last two minutes of footage, she gave up for fear of losing her head again. A spark from her conversation with Emblem in Impel Down caught her attention. Mr Dorian, what was he up to? Maybe she could look another day, but for now she needed to eat.

"Necati?" she called, getting to her feet and walking out of the office. Sunlight? Her eyes adjusted momentarily after her 10 hour stint in the dark office. If the curtains had been open in there it would have revealed the real mess she had made- stacks of papers, random chemical experiments, broken equipment and gun shot holes in the walls from Alyss's brief 'boredom' couple of hours ago. The office was her space to be messy, to allow chaos to reign, but she'd rather not see it. When her eyes had adjusted to the light, she called out for the friend again. "You around, Death Man?"

Alyss visibly stiffened as he mocked her abilities. Only human, sometimes this guy drove her up the wall. Gathering her thoughts and suppressing the need to kick Necati in the kneecap, her original intent crossed her mind again.

"Can I use your phone?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. She noticed him peering into the mess of her office and quickly slammed the door shut, blushing sheepishly. Alyss was always clean, mess was like a secret thrill for her but she felt it bad for others to see. Her mind wandered to another topic and she headed off towards the kitchen, Necati following as she mumbled under her breath to herself.

The girl took a seat upon one of the padded metal stools that circled the island in the middle of the kitchen and steepled her fingers under her chin, looking down at the marble top of the kitchen unit.
"How..." she was interrupted by a large growl from her stomach. "Yes, your phone. Can I use it? I can't be bothered to go and buy a disposable one and there's always a chance my number could get recognised in the future."

With a slow breath, she shut her eyes and began to concocte ideas in her mind. "And yes, I'm human but a damn clever one, so stop with the jibes, Mr Adams family. And the gun shots, well....the wall had it coming. I was bored and annoyed." she hissed, focusing her thoughts on Warren Powers. She had his cell, but to catch it would be so much harder than anything else, he was a sneaky bastard.

"And as you're playing up to the servant persona, I could use a glass of water," she said, opening her eyes. "Ah, yes, the phone!"

With a flick of her wrist she produced a piece of paper from her pocket, sliding it across the table to Necati.

"Say; need to meet, biz, with a z not an s, have info for you. Old Steel, 1AM, 4th Cross .MH' Text it to this number." she said, pointing at the paper before placing her hands on her temples and closing her eyes thoughtfully. Marcus Harrod was a member of the gang, pretty high up, she had taken out the other night. He was in cahoots with Powers, she was sure of it and hopefully, this little excursion would prove it for her. She didn't want to even touch Powers tonight, just see if he would make the visit, to see if she was right. Being correct was something the girl craved and with an opponent this powerful she simply had to be sure before making a move.
"Are you doing it?" she asked with her eyes still closed. With another impatient breath, she leant her head backwards against the back of the chair. "Have you done it?"

Alyss raised her eyes to meet him, a glare piercing his gaze. She was burning out fast thanks to lack of sleep and food. But it made her more alert, more on edge. When working a case she preferred it this way.

"Warren Powers. He's involved in all of this somehow. And I'm so close..." she trailed off, pinching the bridge of her nose. "So close to gutting the bastard and leaving him dead on the sidewalk."

With a brief grin, she drank down the tumbler of water, licking her lips gently as her senses began to function again. "I like to focus when I'm working, which means that food gets in the way. Plus I can't really get tubby, not with all the running and jumping across buildings that we do! And I do so have a penchant for pizza."

With a wistful smile, Alyss turned her head to Necati and moved to be perched on the arm of his chair. She deftly tucked her knees up under her chin and peered at him from the resting point of her own legs.
"I can't imagine I'm very easy to live with. I do get bored so terribly easy." She closed her eyes and slid her thin legs out onto the arm of the chair. "I sometimes wish I could lead a normal life, you know? Don't you? I mean, we seem fairly content in killing and whatnot but don't you just sometimes wish that you had a little more....I dunno - humanity? I guess that's what I mean. Like, owning a dog and growing a garden - crap like that. Family."

The girl rested her head wearily on Necati's shoulder. "I'm probably just being stupid. I imagine you don't even care what I'm droning on about. I do tend to go slightly mental when I'm overworked."