“Dex, Violet, you did a great job cleaning this place up!” Hank smiled at us as my four teammates and I made our way into the meeting room the next day at ten o’clock at night. “I didn’t expect it to look this nice after all that water!”

“Thanks,” Dex shrugged, but I didn’t think he should have been taking any sort of credit. All he really did was sit around and order me around. The only reason he hadn’t left the room was because I had locked him in there with me.

Nay wasn’t in the room with us, and I was sure that there was a reason for it, so I didn’t question why.

“We have another mission for you,” Hank informed us now, and Aiden seemed to be the only one that was really excited about it. “Now, it's not like normal missions, it's still for training, but it's one to get you… used to what you're going to have to do. You won't be tailing Nay this time, and you don't have to make out with any of your teammates.”

I felt my cheeks burn. Had he really just said that out loud?

My three other teammates looked over at Dex and me because that was where Hank was looking at.  Their eyes went wide.

“Did he just say…” Anthony blinked. I wanted this conversation to be over. “Did he just say that you two made out?”

“I'm not surprised,” Aiden shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. “It always seems to be the ones that seem to hate each other, doesn't it?”

I scowled at my team's leader. “It wasn't like it was something we wanted to do. We only did it so we wouldn't be seen by Nay.”

Hank chuckled. “But you wounded up being seen by Nay anyway.”

“Don't remind me,” both Dex and I muttered at the same time.

I was surprised that Kristie hadn't said anything. She seemed like the kind of girl that would squeal after finding out that her friend had made out with a boy. Not that I was her friend or anything; she just thought I was.

Finally, she giggled. “How cute!”

Dex and I couldn't help but disagree.

“Anyway,” Hank continued on now. “I’ll tell you who’s paired up with who for this mission.”

“Oh, no. You’re not pairing us up again after what happened last time,” I scowled, refusing to allow them to decide who I was going to have to spend my time with. “I’d rather go alone.”

Hank smiled at me. “It’s good you feel that way, Violet! Because you’re the one we picked to be by themselves this time.”

I heard Dex snort. “She’ll get herself killed.”

I chose to ignore him, because nothing good would come out of acknowledging him. I was just glad that I didn’t have to be paired with him this time.

“The other two pairs,” Hank continued on now, and even though I couldn’t care less who was with who, I decided to listen anyway, in case it was somehow important to me, “are Aiden and Anthony, and then Dex and Kristie.”

Aiden’s eyes went wide. “Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Really, Aiden, this is no time for jealousy,” Hank scolded him jokingly, and this caused both Dex and Anthony to snicker at him. “This isn’t the last mission you’ll ever go on. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to be partnered with Kristie in the future. Or Dex, if that’s who you want to be with.”

Both boys made faces, and this made Anthony and I snicker. They then glared at us, but this didn’t stop us from laughing at them.

“I think Dex and Aiden have a crush on each other,” Anthony whispered to me now, making sure that he was loud enough on purpose so that the two boys could hear what he was saying. I started laughing so hard that I had to cover my mouth with my hands.

“You wanna say that again?” Dex threatened, taking a step closer to the skinnier boy. Both Anthony and I took a step back, still laughing at the joke. Kristie looked like she either didn’t understand it or she was actually taking it seriously.

“Dex, Aiden,” Hank interrupted now as both Dex and Aiden took angry steps toward us. “We can talk about your unbearable sexual tension later. Don’t you want to know what your mission is?”

Both boys went rigid. Well, this was sure going to be fun.

But I knew that this wasn’t what was really bothering Aiden. What was actually bothering him was the fact that Dex and Kristie were going to be alone together without anyone else around to stop them from doing something Aiden wanted to do with Kristie himself.

Hank beckoned us over to one of the large computer screens, typing something as we made our way over to him. When a picture of a brown cat suddenly popped up on the screen, I couldn’t help but make a face.

“This cat has run away from home and is now lost,” Hank informed us, and I didn’t like where this was going. “Her name is Regina. You five are going to go around town and look for her.”

None of my teammates said anything until Kristie squealed. “What a cute little kitty!”

Of course she would be the one that would think that. Sure, the cat was cute, but it wasn’t anything to gush at.

“When are we going to actually get real missions, Hank?” Aiden asked our mentor now. Anyone could see that he was frustrated that we weren’t being treated like the older members of the DAU, and it had started becoming obvious after we had all met Leah and she had called our missions baby missions. That obviously had hurt Aiden’s ego. “What does finding a lost cat have anything to do with saving the world?”

Hank gave Aiden a serious look. “Maybe this cat means the world to her owner. Ever think of that?”

This sure shut Aiden up, and I was glad. I was getting tired of him complaining all the time.

“Now, Nay’s out in the RV waiting for us,” Hank informed us now, waving us out of the room and into the hallway. “We don’t want to keep her waiting, do we?”

We didn’t protest as we made our way to the RV, which was right outside. And just like Hank had said, Nay was inside waiting for us.

“Are you all ready to find a cat?” she smirked at us.

“A cat?” RV’s voice suddenly rang out. “There’s going to be a cat in here?”

Nay nodded. “Yes, there is, RV.”

“I hate cats!” RV informed us all now. “I’m allergic!”

Aiden made a face. “You’re not allergic; you’re a car.”

RV humphed. “Their hair gets everywhere!"

We ignored the complaining RV, who stopped whining when he realized that no one was listening to him. The rest of the ride was silent until we finally parked.

“Alright, go on ahead,” Nay ordered now, waving us off the RV and away from it. “The first pair to find Regina doesn’t have to clean the training room!”

Aiden scowled. “Is that why we haven’t trained in there for the past couple of weeks? Because it’s been dirty?”

Nay simply shrugged. “Maybe.” She then shut the RV door, leaving only her and Hank inside.

“There’s no way in hell I’m cleaning up another room,” Dex growled before looking over at Kristie. “We’ve got to go find that cat.”

“You barely did anything when we cleaned last time,” I had to remind him, because it was true. I was the one that cleaned about ninety-five percent of the room.

“You hit me with a mop!”

“I told you, it was an accident!”

“Was it an accident when you tipped a bucket of water over me?”

“I can’t control my powers.”

Dex huffed, walking away from us now. Kristie followed right after him, and this made Aiden follow after them as well. Anthony, not wanting to be separated from his partner, quickly made his way after them. Shrugging, I followed as well.

“You can talk to animals, can’t you?” I asked Aiden, already tired of this mission and we hadn’t even split up and really started yet. “Can’t you just call out to the thing and have her come to us? Tell her you have dinner or something.”

Aiden gave me a look that asked if I was stupid. “And have a whole herd of cats show up? I don’t think so.”

“Are they even called a herd?” Dex asked, actually sounding curious.

“They’re called a clowder, actually,” Anthony answered now, not even missing a beat.

“You would know that,” I muttered under my breath, and I knew Anthony heard me because he smirked.

“Okay, we’ve got to split up,” Aiden now told us, finally taking some action like a leader should. Though he didn’t seem very happy about it because it meant he was going to have to leave Kristie with Dex.

“Don’t worry,” Dex smirked, wrapping his arm around Kristie’s waist and pulling her to him. “I’ll take good care of her.”

Aiden took a step toward him, ready to fight, but I placed my hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Not the time,” I warned him, even though he already should have known this. “If you want to fight for your manhood or whatever later, then that’s fine. But we have something we’re supposed to be doing right now.”

Aiden huffed, turning away from me and stalking off. Anthony gave me a look before taking off after him.

“And then there were three,” Dex commented, much like Hank had done the day at the mall.

I made a face, taking a step back away from them. “And now there are two.”

I turned away and hurried off before either of them could say anything to stop me. They were supposed to be partners, not me. I had to find this cat because I refused to clean another room after the last time.

I didn’t really know what I was supposed to be doing, or how I was supposed to find the cat. Aiden definitely had an advantage, since he could talk to animals.

When I turned the corner, I was surprised to see bright lights. There were stores and restaurants all around, and they were all very brightly lit, compared to the street that I had just been on. As much as I wanted to stay in the nicely lit area, I was sure that the cat would be nowhere near this place because of all the people.

But I walked through anyway, looking around just in case. I could smell freshly baked bread from a bakery, and cotton candy from a candy store.

I looked over to see a little girl, who looked about four, point up to the cotton candy machine before pulling on her father’s hand. He looked hesitant to get her candy so late at night, but her mother then smiled before buying it for her daughter anyway. The three of them then walked down the street and out of sight, the girl holding both of her parents’ hands as her mother held the cotton candy for her.

I just stared in the direction they had left. They all looked so happy together. I wondered if I ever had any moments like that with my parents. I was so young, the same age as that girl, when they were taken from me that I could barely remember.

Then I saw all the couples eating in the restaurants around me. There were couples eating inside, outside, and then couples just walking up and down the streets. I didn’t know why, but it really bothered me. There I was, all alone, in both the mission and in life. These people had no idea how good their lives really were.

When I continued to walk down the street, my shoulder immediately rammed into someone else’s, causing them to drop whatever they had been carrying. Luckily, it had only been a book, and not something like food.

I knelt down to pick the book up, as did the owner of it. Our hands brushed up against each other, giving me a chill, and our heads immediately snapped at each other and our eyes locked.

“Um,” was all I was able to say to the boy that stared back at me. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it was my fault,” he assured me now. He picked up the book, but neither of us got up. We just continued to stare at each other. “I’m sorry.”

“Tom!” someone suddenly snapped, and we both looked up to see a very pretty dark haired girl glaring down at us. “What are we doing? We’re going to be late to the movie if you don’t hurry up!”

He immediately stood, so I did as well. “Sorry,” he apologized to the girl I assumed was his girlfriend. She merely humphed before turning away and starting down the sidewalk. This Tom guy gave me one last apologetic look before following after her.

As I watched him leave, I wondered if I’d ever see him again.

When I finally walked through the bright part of town, I was back in the dark where there were only a few badly lit streetlights. I was sure I’d never be able to find the cat like this.

But when I suddenly heard meowing, my ears perked up. I listened as it continued, and I quickly followed the sound to an alley, which was almost pitch black. But that was where the meowing was coming from, so that’s where I was going.

All I could really make out around me was trash, but I continued to hear the meowing, and now that I was closer, I could hear purring as well. There was definitely a cat in there with me.

“Why, hello,” a new voice suddenly purred, and I looked over to see a silhouette. “I didn't expect to see you here.”

It was a woman, I could tell. And as she sat on top of a large cardboard box, Regina purring in her lap as the woman stroked her back, I could see her eyes shine like a cat's. 

She had long nails, and that was the first thing that I noticed after her eyes. The cat seemed to be enjoying herself as the woman stroked her fur. But I couldn't help but get a sickly feeling from her.

“I didn't expect to meet you so soon,” the woman now said to me. “But I am very honored to finally get to meet you.”

She picked the cat up off her lap and placed her on the cardboard box. Regina seemed to not mind this at all, since she was still audibly purring.

“Violet King,” the woman chuckled now. “What a pleasure it is to meet you.”

I took a step back away from her. “How do you know my name?”

She laughed again. “You'll know soon enough.”

I didn't like this. I felt uneasy, and almost scared. I didn't know if this woman was on our side or not. I didn't know if this was the same kind of situation as it had been with Randall. I didn't even know if she had powers at all. I was guessing only that she did.

Suddenly, there was a horrible pain in my right arm. I let out a shout and fell to the ground. She had attacked me, and she was quick. So quick that I could barely see her move, even if we were in terrible lighting.

“Violet!” I heard someone shout out now, and suddenly, both Hank and Nay were soaring over my head and landing right in front of me; shielding me from this woman. It was Nay that had shouted. “Stay back!”

I heard footsteps skid to a stop behind me, and I knew that my teammates had arrived.

“Come here, Regina,” Aiden spoke to the cat, whose head immediately shot up at the sound of a voice she could understand. She immediately made her way toward him and jumped up into his arms. He then handed her to Kristie because she obviously wanted to hold her.

“Oh, look,” the woman chuckled darkly now, looking back at the four teens behind me. “The whole crew has arrived. I definitely didn’t expect this; not this soon! I feel so honored to be in your acquaintance.”

The sarcasm in her voice stung. This woman was definitely bad news.

“And I did not expect one of them to be so cute,” the woman continued on now, her green, cat-like eyes pointed right at Dex as he helped me up off the ground. “The girls on this team are definitely lucky.”

First Lena, and now this woman. Of course.

“Well, Violet is.” Of course, Kristie chose this time to speak as she pet Regina’s head. “They’ve already kissed.”

“Hmm,” the woman now hummed, eyeing me now, her eyes stopping when she saw that Dex hadn’t let go of my uninjured arm yet. “Interesting.”

I didn’t even want to know what she meant by that.

“Get out of here,” Nay growled at the woman, her hands glowing blue. She never reminded me of Lena more than right then. “Now!”

She shot a sharp icicle at the wall beside the woman. She did this on purpose, obviously expecting this to make the woman jump and back off. But she didn’t. This didn’t faze her in the slightest.

I didn’t know why Hank wasn’t doing anything. Maybe because there wasn’t any technology around us, since we were in a dirty old alley. Was he going to do anything else besides shielding me?

The woman laughed. “Come on, Nay. You knew this was going to happen eventually. Why not now?”

Nay’s eyes narrowed at the woman. “What are you talking about?”

“What else could I be talking about?” the woman only cackled again, and Nay’s fists clenched even harder. “I’ve been assigned to this team!”

I had no idea what this meant, and when I looked back at my teammates, I could see that they didn’t understand it either. But both Nay and Hank understood what she meant perfectly.

“Who else?” Nay demanded.

The woman shrugged, uncaringly crossing her arms over her chest as if this was no big deal. But by Hank and Nay’s reactions, I knew that it was. “Just one other person. I’m not allowed to say who, but that doesn’t mean I can’t give you a hint. Let’s just say… he was with me the last time we saw each other.”

Nay’s face went white, but she quickly shook this off. She couldn’t show weakness, even if she did know exactly who this woman was talking about. “Of course it would be him,” was all she had to say about it.

The woman cackled, taking a step back away from us. It was still too dark to really see her; all that I could make out were her bright green eyes on her black silhouette.

“I’ll see you guys around,” she smirked devilishly at us now, letting out a suggestive growling meow at Dex before agilely jumping over the wooden fence blocking off the rest of the alley, much like a cat would.

“Well, that was…” Dex blinked, unsure of what just happened. “Flatteringly creepy.”

I couldn’t help but make a face. “I’d just go with creepy.”

Now that she was gone, I used this time to roll up my sleeve to see the damage she had caused. I had three scratches and it looked an awful lot like a giant cat had scratched me. The woman had scratched through my shirt, and I could feel blood as I reached up to touch it. I hissed when I touched it and it stung.

Hank pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and started dialing. “RV,” he began once he put it to his ear. “Come and get us, and hurry. Just track my phone. We’re in an alley.”

I let out a shaky breath. “I still think it’s weird that the RV can talk.”

“Let me see your arm,” Nay now ordered, grabbing onto my forearm and examining the scratches closely. She then let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, you’re going to be just fine. We should still bandage this though, to stop the bleeding.”

Hank nodded in agreement. “As soon as RV gets here.”

But at that moment, I didn’t care about my wound. I cared about who that woman was. I hadn’t ever seen Hank or Nay like this before, and it worried me slightly. And why did the woman say she had been assigned to our team?

“Who was that woman?” I had to ask now, voicing my thoughts. “And what was she talking about?"

Nay let out a long sigh. “Come on,” she began, making her way back toward the RV once it suddenly parked right outside the alleyway. “I think it's time we show you all something."

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Happy birthday to me! :D

This is the third year I'm on Wattpad for my birthday, and I've promised to my self that every year on my birthday, I'm going to update every one of my stories. It's like a weird birthday present from myself to you guys. So you're welcome. (This author's note will probably be the same author's note on all of the chapters, too. Because eh, why not?) xD

This one was the second slowest to write, after Beauty and the Beat...

Please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN! :)