Isabella took the bus to avoid her Mom finding out where she was going and got off a few blocks away from Elena's place. She came into the doorframe, recognizing two voices from the weapons area.

"I'm here. What did I miss?" Isabella asked.

Elena stopped talking to Miranda and turned around to face her.

"You're late."

"Sorry, the bus took forever."

"There's no time for excuses. We'll deal with that later."

She seemed irritated by the sudden interruption, then again, she always was when it conflicted with her schedule.

Before Elena left the room, Miranda spoke up, "Are you sure Isabella was late? My watch still indicates that she had four more minutes to arrive."

Elena peered unamusingly at the clock hanging by the exit. Miranda was right. There were four minutes left before three o'clock.

"How is that possible? Unless..."

"Maybe I was wrong," Elena confessed.

She returned to the office, leaving them behind.

"You owe me," Miranda claimed triumphantly.

"I knew it was your doing. Who else has those clever skills?"

"Flattery gets you everywhere. Best friends always possess something special."

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Let's begin practicing."

"Fine, but it will be your funeral."

"I don't think so."

Miranda advanced forward and punched Isabella in the stomach. She doubled over at the sudden hit.

Miranda then pinned Isabella's arms down and said, "You're all bark, but no bite."

Without another word, she flowed energy through her hands, making Miranda burn easily. The girl jumped back in surprise.

"This is going to be fun! Well have a fair fight now that you're focused!"

"It's on."

They wrestled for hours on end. Right when Isabella was closest to winning, Miranda obtained the upper hand. This changed the whole dynamic. Both were stubborn, to say the least.

The two were practically pulling each other's hair out when Elena ordered them to stop, "That's enough. Get up."

They got up slowly, trying to walk the pain off. Luckily, none of them had any visible bruises.

"It's time for you to learn shooting," she stated.

Elena retrieved two revolvers from a basket and distributed them.

"Aim and shoot. That's all there is to it."

She pointed to a target on the back wall. Miranda attempted first, handling her revolver cautiously. The cold metal tickled her skin. Then, pressing the trigger lightly, the bullet flew into the second closest center ring.

"Nice try," Isabella commented.

"If you can't get close enough to hit your target then try to leave safely. However, if your opponent tries to corner one of you, use your powers with as less witnesses around as possible," Elena suggested.

Isabella held hers with both hands, quickly pressing down the trigger. The bullet landed front and center.

"I thought you hadn't done this before," Miranda questioned.

"I haven't. Difficult times must bring the strongest out of survival."

She searched Isabella's mind to see if any of her memories contradicted that statement, but found nothing.

"Girls, I hate to put this moment on pause but you should start to change into better attire. Make sure you bring your weapons tonight."

When everything was ready, Elena drove them to the Electric Butterfly. A huge line hooked around the corner of the street just to get through the double doors.

Miranda realized Isabella was nervous and squeezed her hand reassuringly, "This person is just like us. I'm sure that it won't be hard to convince him or her."

A smile spread on her lips, "Thanks. I know I can always count on you to make me feel better."

"Regardless of how simple the situation may be, Hellion doesn't have a reputation for making other's lives easy," Elena warned.

They went in, ready for their mission to be compromised, but that's not what went down.

Music pulsed loudly throughout the entire bar. Flashing lights lit up the people moving erratically on the dance floor and blocked their view from the circular shelves of drinks to the left.

"Where should we check first?" Miranda asked.

"I remember the letter mentioning a red hoodie. Do you see anyone wearing that?" Isabella responded.

After minutes of searching, she spotted someone sitting on a bar stool with a red hoodie hanging low over his head, "Right there."

They sat down on either side of him.

Miranda tapped the guy on the shoulder and asked subtly, "Are you waiting for someone? You do seem lonely over here."

"Who's asking?" he replied abruptly.

"I'm Miranda and that's Isabella."

"We can keep you company while you wait for your date," Isabella offered.

His cold gaze left Miranda and softened when he met Isabella's eyes.

"I'm flattered that you think I'm on a date, but that's not the case. Name's Steven. You can call me anytime."

He winked at her and she blushed almost instantly. An unusual feeling filled each of Isabella's senses with enchantment. She couldn't look away even if she wanted to. His mysterious appearance was captivating. From his black hair to chiseled chin, Steven wasn't what Isabella had expected. The confidence she once held melted away. It left her breathless and grasping for words. The purpose of their trip was lost. For now, it was just the two of them in this moment and Isabella didn't mind.

Miranda rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Steven, can you stop staring at her and answer my question? We don't have all day."

Isabella started to regain her bearings once his gaze shifted. She didn't realize that Miranda had spoke up. In that moment, her concentration had faltered.

"Why was I so hypnotized by him?"

Steven turned his attention back to Miranda, "Sorry, what did you want to know?

"I asked if anything weird had occurred to you recently."

"I came here to get a couple of drinks an hour ago, but a man told me to stay until eight o'clock if I wanted to know what this mysterious marking means."

He held out his right wrist for them to see the triangular eye tattoo.

"Did you catch his name?" Isabella inquired.

"Nope, he left before I had a chance."

The two girls shared a knowing glance,

"Wow, how convenient that Hellion could give us a week's notice as to Steven's whereabouts."

This mission had gone by without a hitch. If he was the one they had been searching for, then why was Steven acting like bait? Easy recruitment made them question their actions.