Ash stood, arms folded, while Claudia reprimanded Wren. After they'd returned to headquarters the night before, empty-handed and short two new recruits, Claudia was furious. She'd demanded to see Wren the next morning. The fear in Wren's eyes almost made the whole ordeal worth it.

Ash raised an eyebrow when two scientists entered the room, carrying the soldiers that had been retrieved from the fight at the weapons facility.

Claudia rubbed her temples. "A mind-reader, Wren. Do you have any idea how useful she could've been? And I wanted that pyrokinetic, too." Ash could tell she was doing everything to keep from screaming.

"Why do you care?" Wren asked. "We have a dozen more pyros—"

"Two," Ash muttered.

"—and we can find away to get the telepath." Wren glanced at the soldiers that had been brought in, and her face fell. On top of losing two recruits, she'd cost them five soldiers. The three that she'd wasted on the police in California were long gone, and it was doubtful that these two would be able to fight anymore. Summer hit them with enough power to fry their armor, at the very least.

Claudia let out an exasperated sigh. Tucking a loose strand of brown hair back into her bun, she ordered Wren to get back to training. Wren, head held high, turned and walked out without another word.

"You should have let me lead the mission," Ash said.

Claudia ignored him and turned her attention to the soldiers.

"Their systems aren't responding," one of the scientists explained. "But with some work we might be able to get them to function. It could take a few weeks..."

"Don't bother," Claudia said. "Scrap them. Ash, come with me." Ash silently stepped away from the wall and followed Claudia out the door.

"Wouldn't it be easier to keep the science lab here at headquarters?" Ash asked as Claudia headed toward her office. The Scorpion laboratory was located a few miles away, so the scientists had to fly in and out to speak with Claudia. Ash had always found this strange. Everything else they had was kept at HQ.

"That's not important right now," Claudia said. "We have bigger things to worry about."

Ash narrowed his eyes. Operation Black Knight, he guessed. Claudia had been obsessed with the thing for months, and it was almost time to put it into action.

"Resources," Claudia said as they entered her office. "We've been gathering weapons, and materials to build soldiers, and soon all of that work is going to pay off."

"Speaking of soldiers," Ash said, returning his focus to Claudia. "Why are you terminating them? The scientists said they might be able to get them working again."

"Might." Claudia sat down at her desk. Ash walked over to stand in front of her as she booted up her computer. "It's not worth the money to try. We have more soldiers. We have a whole army of them."

"We're running low, though," Ash said. "We've lost a lot lately. Newman's Altered are getting better."

Annoyance crossed Claudia's face. "Ah, yes. Dr. Newman's little army of 'Supers.' It doesn't matter, we'll take care of them if they become too big of a threat. Tell me, Ash, how easy is it to take down a soldier?"

Ash frowned, thinking about the question. "I guess it depends. If I can get water into their system, it shuts them down. If you have a good gun and can get at the weaker parts of their armor, then I suppose it's pretty easy."

Claudia nodded. "Kids like Summer can take them down in a few seconds." She turned around the computer monitor so that Ash could see it. It took him a moment to realize he was looking at a soldier. But this one was different than the others.

"Stronger, faster, better armor and fewer weak spots. They're more expensive, but I've been working on a separate project to pull in funding." Ash opened his mouth to say something, but Claudia cut him off with a 'What do you think?'

"Impressive," Ash said. Claudia smirked.

"I had the lab make a few prototypes. I'd like you to try them out before we begin mass production."

"Of course. Where should I take them for testing?"

"I assume you remember Claire," Claudia said. "It turns out she has a living sister. Victoria Foster. Another Altered, and we know where she lives."

"You want me to get her?" Ash asked.

"Yes."

Ash walked to the door and paused. "Why do you care so much about Ivy?" he asked. "She's just a pyro, and not a very good one at that."

Claudia looked up at Ash with a stern expression. "I have a theory and I need her to test it. Now go." Ash nodded and left the room.

The Barracks where they stored the soldiers were in the basement. Ash stepped out of the elevator and headed down the hallway. The concrete floor and harsh fluorescent lights of the sublevels gave the area a drastically different feel than the clean, well-lit floors above ground.

Ash entered the Barracks. They were emptier than usual, having lost a lot of soldiers lately. He turned and immediately spotted the large metal crate, with the word 'Scorpion' scribbled on the side in black letters.

Ash walked over to the crate, pressed the small button on the side and stepped back. The crate let out a hissing sound as the front slid open. Inside, the darkness was lit up by various lights on the soldier's armor as they powered on. Ash moved aside to let them exit the crate.

They walked out and moved into a perfect line before falling silent, awaiting instructions.

"Follow me," Ash ordered.

~

Claire and Victoria didn't live far from their high school. Ash couldn't help but notice how close the ocean was as they approached. Surely Newman would be after Victoria too.

Ash was relieved when the house finally came into view. The jetchoppers were fast, but the flight from Scorpion headquarters in Florida to the small home in California was still long. They had to save fuel when traveling over long distances and couldn't move at top speed.

Ash brought along an old soldier to pilot the jetchopper, but the only others with him were new ones. He didn't even bring any Altered.

He didn't need any.

The jetchopper shifted into helicopter mode and descended toward the one-story house Ash had identified as Claire and Victoria's. It was a Saturday, so Victoria wouldn't be at school. With her sister missing, there was no telling what she'd be doing. Hopefully she'd be home.

Claudia mentioned a father, but told Ash not to worry about him. Very few adults survived the Cladis Point. Maybe she didn't think he was their birth father? Ash didn't think they should dismiss him so easily, but that didn't matter. Claudia gave Ash one job, and he was going to get it done.

Once they landed, he wouldn't have much time. People were bound to notice a helicopter in the middle of the street. Ash slid open the chopper door and jumped out as soon as they touched down, the soldiers right behind him.

"Search the house, find Victoria Foster," Ash told them. While the soldiers split up, Ash scanned the area and noticed a black car parked along the curb nearby. A woman in sunglasses sat at the steering wheel, looking at him.

Ash frowned. The car looked familiar. After a quick glance at the Foster family's home, he walked over to the vehicle. The woman watched him approach, turning her head to follow his path. He stopped by her door and knocked on the window.

"Who are you?" he asked when the woman rolled down the window. She smiled, her eyes hidden by her sunglasses.

"I remember you," she said. "You were at the fire in Colorado. Ash Savage, correct?"

That's where he saw the car. Colorado. After the fire.

"Who are you?" Ash repeated.

"If I'm correct, we're here for the same reason," the woman said, nodding at the house. "Which means, I'm afraid, that you'll have to go."

"What are you talking about?" Ash took a step backwards, ready to run.

"Well we can't both leave here with Victoria, can we?" The woman held up a gun and pulled the trigger. Ash dropped to the ground and the bullet barely missed his head, instead hitting a nearby tree trunk. A strange crackling sound came from the tree, but Ash didn't have time to investigate. He jumped to his feet and ran as fast as he could from the car, zig-zagging to dodge any other bullets the woman might fire at him.

He reached the front porch and almost crashed into the man coming down the steps. The woman's partner. Before the man could react, Ash grabbed his arm and pushed him into the railing.

Something in the man's pocket fell to the ground. He pulled out a gun with his free arm and pointed it at Ash. Ash moved to the right to dodge the bullet, but he wasn't fast enough. The man fired the gun and something hit Ash in his arm.

Ash turned to look at the injury and realized he hadn't been hit with a bullet. A small, round device had latched onto his skin. He'd barely registered what happened when a wave of pain flooded his body.

The electric shock was enough to make Ash collapse. He fell to his knees, then the ground. Grunting in pain, he grabbed at the device, trying to pry off. The man's feet stepped away from the railing.

Ash's gaze found the object that fell out of the man's pocket. It was a badge of some sort. Big black letters spelled out 'SCI.' There was more below that, but the man bent down and scooped up the badge.

Gritting his teeth, Ash continued to try and pull the device off. He finally managed to get a good grip and yanked as hard as he could. The device fell and skidded across the concrete, throwing off sparks. When Ash looked up, the man was gone.

Ash pulled himself to his feet and shakily examined his arm. There was a small burn mark where the device had been. Ash pulled out his phone and connected to the soldiers' comms.

"Have any of you found Victoria?" he asked.

"No, sir," one of the soldiers responded.

Ash sighed. "There's a black car out front. A woman is inside, a man might be with her. I need two of you to pursue them." He lowered the phone. The soldiers would obey without any further discussion.

Ash jogged up the steps to the door that one of the soldiers had blasted open. Police sirens sounded in the distance. Time was running out. Ash stepped through the doorway and looked around. It was mostly quiet, except for a small television set in the kitchen. He walked over the the TV, curious.

It was a news broadcast. A reporter stood outside of the school Ash had picked up Wren and Claire from.

"Police are still investigating the disappearance of two students. The school's principal told the police that Wren Cartwright, a new student, had a gun. Some think that Claire Foster may have been taken against her will."

Ash rolled his eyes. Leave it to Wren to make a scene. She couldn't even handle a simple recruitment.

"Many conspiracy theorists have spoken out, claiming that this case is related to other teens who have gone missing over the past few years. In a press conference yesterday, President Holmes himself addressed these claims."

The screen changed to a clip of the president. "No, we have no reason to believe the cases are related. Some of these people are claiming that all of the missing teens are survivors of the Cladis Point accident, but they have no proof that..."

Ash turned to walk away from the TV and noticed something sitting on the table. He picked up the piece of paper and frowned. It was a note.

Victoria, don't worry about me, I'm okay. There's a lot I haven't told you, about our abilities and what happened to your mother. Some men came by earlier and they might come back. Lock the doors, don't let anyone in, hide in the panic room if you have to. I'm doing everything I can to find Claire. I hate to leave you like this but I know you're capable of taking care of yourself. Call my cell when you're safe. Love, Dad.

Ash put the note back down and looked around. Panic room? He headed back into the front area, looking for something that might indicate the presence of a hidden room. As he moved into the living room, movement outside the window caught his eye. Police cruisers were outside.

This was supposed to be a quick mission, in and out. But the people from SCI, whatever that was, had complicated things. Maybe it was time to retreat.

Another car appeared. The silver vehicle pulled up along the curb on the other side of the street. The doors swung open and Ash groaned. It was the Supers. A few of them, anyway. Victoria's sister Claire, along with Spencer and Terrence.

Ash's phone rang. The soldiers. He answered, keeping an eye on the Supers outside. "Hello?"

"Sir, Spencer Cross, Terrence Manning, and Claire Foster have arrived."

"Thanks, I noticed," Ash muttered. "Any sign of the others? Summer? Ivy?"

"No sign of Summer Lu or Ivy Ackerman."

Ash watched the three Supers assess the scene. The street was in chaos. Police cruisers, the chopper, and a few neighbors stepping out of their houses to see what was happening.

"Sir?"

"Yes?" Ash asked, still trying to decide what to do.

"We found Victoria."