Jacob opened the door to their apartment, tired and ready to sleep. He hadn't done anything all day but look at a screen trying to find any hint of Pyromancer. He had talked to Mal a little here and there, and had one text conversation with Cat, but beyond that he had found his day to be a complete drain. He found his mind drifting home to his family and a few of his other friends. He reached over and flicked the light switch for their lobby, and he saw, sitting casually in one of their comfortable chairs, Adrian. He looked up at Jacob, and pointed behind him. Jacob tried to look at the spot to which he pointed, but found himself suddenly focused back on Adrian. He looked at the table, and saw a dark figure in his peripheral vision.

"Alright Rose. Very funny," he said, smiling. Rose seemed to reach down to her wrist and pull something. He could easily look at her now, as she must have powered down.

"Meet Miss Direction," Adrian said, casually, "the second member of The Watchers." Jacob looked at them confused. There had been no mention of a group called The Watchers in Renegades. Then he locked eyes with Rose, and understood. He hadn't heard of these Watchers because they didn't exist until now.

"I'm not even going to ask for an explanation right now. I've had a question for you, Adrian," Jacob said, shaking his head, "How's Nova doing? I'm sure she didn't appreciate being whisked away by The Sentinel." Adrian smirked a little at the question.

"Yeah, I'm sure the thing that hurts the most for her is her ego," Adrian chuckled. He laughed out their little joke, though Jacob could see the actual concern for her in his eyes. "Anyway, back to business. We want you to work with us. You'd need some other alias, but we can work out those details later," he said, talking fairly quickly.

"The Archer," Jacob said, cutting him off from saying more, "That would be my alias. I just need a bow and a suit. I'll leave those to you, Sketch." Adrian looked shocked. He had figured it would take more convincing, such as a suit like it had taken for Rose. Jacob continued, "But there would be one more thing. Nova. She'll be on us in days if we go active now. Especially if both Rose and I join at the same time." Adrian thought about it and nodded slowly. "I do have a solution to that," Jacob said, looking a little smug, "What is the best way to defeat your enemy?" The others just looked at him confused. "Make them your friend. A little of Wu's wisdom there for you."

Adrian had departed shortly after they resolved their little problem, and Jacob went to bed. The next morning when he got to work he found something odd on his desk. It looked like a small clicker that teachers had used with powerpoints back in his world. Next to it was a pair of red and black sunglasses. Next them was a note that had only one word. Sketch. He quickly went to a changing room, checked for cameras, and put on the glasses. He held the device in his hand, and pressed the only button on it. It flicked out into a full size bow, and though his outfit was incomplete, he could see the costume already in his mind. They had settled on a crimson archer look, as he didn't want to look like Robin Hood. He pressed the button again, collapsing the bow, and took off the sunglasses. He slipped out and headed back to his desk, waiting for the rest of his outfit, though he was certain that it would take until at least the next day. He couldn't work on it while Nova was around. Not yet at least.

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Cat was happy to finally be out and about again. They had been cooped up the Renegades HQ since their last encounter with The Sentinel. Adrian's dads had fortunately reassigned them in the interest of Adrian's safety, as well as the rest of the team. Nova obviously hadn't been the happiest, but even Nova herself had to admit that she wasn't the healthiest either. Her leg had recovered well with help from the Prodigy doctors they had at HQ, but she still wasn't exactly herself. They had been assigned to her neighborhood after it just to keep Nova out of too much trouble. Oscar and Adrian had put a fight, Oscar being more adamant after Hugh had brought up Nova's safety to Adrian. Cat thought that was kind of a cheap shot or low blow for him, but it did make sense.

So she found herself walking the streets she had walked quite a few times in the past few weeks, Nova beside her, and both of them somewhat relaxed. Neither of them expected anything truly dramatic or big to happen. Of course, exactly that did happen. Cat swore she heard a twang, and only a moment later, an arrow was imbedded in the concrete in front of them. On it was a small flag with a stylized eye with a W behind it. Nova pulled it from the ground, and Cat looked around for the one who shot it. She listened for the archer, when Nova pointed to the roof of a building at the next intersection. There crouched a hooded figure in red and white, a bow held in his hand. That was not Nova's only concern however. Behind him stood The Sentinel, glinting as the sun reflected off his armor. The bowman nocked another arrow, pulled back his string and fired it. This time, the arrow thudded into a building just across the street from them, trailing a line. He slid down the makeshift zipline while The Sentinel leapt from building to building, rapidly approaching them. The archer hit the ground in a roll. Nova didn't recognize the archer, but she motioned for Cat to follow him while she pursued Sentinel. This plan would have made sense if The Sentinel had not, moments after she had made the motion, leapt down and joined the archer as the two turned down the next street.

The Cat and Nova took off after the known vigilante and his new friend. They turned the corner just in time to see their targets veering into an alleyway. A small boy was standing in shock as he saw what to him looked like two superheroes. Cat wasn't sure if he was amazed by Nova and herself, or this archer and The Sentinel. He stood watching as the two Renegades turned the corner into the alleyway. Nova stopped and motioned for the boy to run, just in case things got nasty. Cat knew it wouldn't, but supported Nova in warning him away. Cat was certain Adrian wouldn't hurt either of them, but she didn't know about his new partner, so she reached to press play on her watch. She found that she had no watch on her wrist. She was certain that she had had her watch on a moment ago. She hadn't noticed anyone taking it off.

"Hey, my wristband is gone..." she said to Nova, who smiled and reached for her backup pistol. Unfortunately, both that and her own sidearm were gone as well. A look of worry crossed her face. The two of them had just walked right into a trap. The Sentinel dropped in front of them as they turned to the open end of the alley, which they now saw was a dead end. Nova instinctively reached for her sidearm, which they both knew wasn't there. Cat went back to back with Nova, both of them scanning the alley for another way out. As they watched, a dark figure seemed to materialize from a corner of the alley. The figure was clearly a female wearing a dark hood and cape. It wasn't a flashy costume like The Sentinel's or the Archer's. It was just subtle enough to make sense if she was in league with The Sentinel.

Finally, their mystery man dropped into the alley. They were not looking at good odds. Cat was no good in a fight without powers, and Nova didn't have her gear. Nova tensed as the mysterious woman reached into her cloak-like costume. She brought out their wristbands and threw them back to Cat and Nova. One of the two finally spoke.

"We are the Watchers. We have no quarrel with you Nova McLain. You have said how those outside the Renegades should not depend on heroes to save them. We believe you are right. We are the first to heed that call. We are the Watchers. We would invite you to watch with us," The Archer said to them. Cat wasn't sure what to think of this mysterious duo that Adrian had aligned himself with, but he wasn't done speaking yet. "Sentinel, go check on that kid, I want to make sure he wasn't too shocked," he said, causing the Sentinel to turn and leave alley. "Now what do you say, Artino?" he asked, in a slightly more hushed voice, "Want to have a third identity?" Nova froze at the mention of her true name. "Don't worry. He doesn't know. That is why I sent him away. Then again, you don't know who he is." Nova was still speechless, but Cat's mind was racing. A thought came into her mind. Archery and what seemed like a hiding power. She knew by now that the girl was Rose, and she was fairly certain that The Archer was Jacob. She looked him in the eye and he smiled. Cat grabbed Nova's arm and nodded slowly. They would join the Watchers.

________________

Mal was definitely the easiest to recruit. Jacob explained the idea the next time he saw her, though he wasn't sure who she would be. "How good are you at constructs?" he asked her.

"What do you mean constructs?" She asked back, confused by his terminology. She wasn't certain she understood what he was asking.

"Making things out of water. Constructs. You get where I'm going with this?" he asked. She shook her head, confused. "You can be a water blade wielder. I can work on your sword skills with you. Maybe even find a new style for you," he explained. She thought about his proposal, and accepted. Her outfit would be ready the next day, and the Watchers would be complete. Unfortunately, in the midst of their little recruiting spree, they now actually had their first team mission. In her research on Pyromancer, Cat had found something. There had been a few reports of activity back at the old subway platforms. How they hadn't thought of it before, Jacob wasn't certain. Ryan must have heard about their old base from the other Anarchists, and he was now camping out there instead of the cathedral, where Jacob was quite certain the other Anarchists were camped out now.

They suited up, though Trident, as he had dubbed Mal, wouldn't be joining them as she had only just joined them. Their team was almost complete. Jacob flipped his hood up and Rose's costume enveloped her in shadow. For Nova's sake, Adrian wasn't with the rest of them. Cat's new costume was based on another musical concept, Rhythm. Her outfit was simple but elegant. It was a sharp blue and white suit with a flashy mask. Mal watched as they all suited up, regretting being the last to join. Jacob had done exactly as he had promised and started training her with combat. She had to run ops for this mission with Nova, because she wasn't quite field ready.

Mal felt a little underestimated, especially after her more recent training with both Jacob and Tsunami. She had better control than ever as Riptide, and and as Trident she was getting better every day. She sat and watched her screen with an earpiece in, watching as the others approached Adrian's Sentinel suit which fed a line straight to Nova and herself, as well as the small cameras that were embedded in each Watcher's earpiece. It was impressive the image they got from most of them. Jacob's, however, they just got the inside of his hood. A problem they would have to resolve later. Rose was the first to recon the area. She reported that Pyromancer was in one of the train cars, and they moved in. It was impressive how strong Rose's power was. Mal had difficulty even focusing on the section of the screen dedicated to her camera.

Jacob advanced with the Sentinel behind him. Cat followed up at the back, making sure Ryan didn't just slip away. They edged forward when a roar of flame shot towards them. Nova shouted for them to get a move on, but Adrian simply held up his hands and forced the flames away. Mal had forgotten about his fire powers. Ryan stepped out of the subway with his mask on. Mal still got the chills when she saw his eyes through The Sentinel's camera. It was even worse now that she knew just who they belonged to. She watched as he raised his hand, and suddenly, all of their cameras went out except Adrian's suit feed, which was fuzzy. Mal stood to her feet, knowing now that the others were in trouble. Pyromancer had expected them. They were walking straight into a trap.

______________

Rose jumped away as Pyromancer swung his flaming stream around and around, faster and faster. Jacob tried firing an arrow at him, but it melted before it even touched him. Simply splashing him with a little arrow juice. Rose focused on remaining hidden. Cat was holding her own against the flame, and Jacob and Adrian worked together in an attempt to take the offense. The Sentinel was occupied by keeping the two of them alive, while Jacob tried several different approaches. He reached up to speak on his comms, but drew his hand back sharply. Her ear suddenly felt like it was burning she quickly pulled her eyepiece out and found it had melted.

Jacob caught Cat's attention and motioned for them to push him back. None of them knew how to, but they needed to get him into tunnels for whatever Jacob was thinking of doing. Rose inched her way back into the tunnels and faced Pyromancer. She powered down and called to him. He turned to see her, but he ignored her. Not because she forced him to, but simply because he didn't feel she was important. A jet of flame swirled towards her, and she dived out of the way, and he was back to facing the trio. Jacob had been inching forward, forcing Ryan back, little by little. Rose watched as he finally was back in the entrance to the subway, though unfortunately, so was she, and none of the others could see it. Jacob fired an arrow that arched high in the air. It came back down and landed on top of the subway entrance. He pressed a small detonator in his pocket, and the ceiling collapsed, trapping Ryan in the tunnels. It also closed off the easiest exit for Rose as well. She was trapped with the Pyromancer.