Kitty sat in the dark, plush beanbag almost eating her with its size. Usually her room was moody enough to begin with, covered in deep blues and purples, but it was also usually lit up, if not by the open window during the day then by the soft orange light of her bedside lamp and the sparkling belt of stars that wrapped around the top corner of her walls.

Now the window was shut behind thick curtains, and the only light came from a lavender candle that even now had melted nearly to the base. This new darkness seeped like a liquid mass around her, waxing and waning minutely with each flicker of the candle flame, erasing everything by the corners, allowing objects to exist only as impressions.

It was a comforting blanket of shadows. Kitty breathed it in along with the thick sweetness of her candle. This is what she did to calm her nerves in the rare instances when it became necessary. But now the ritual served a slightly different purpose. Now, it soothed her frustration.

Above the candle Kitty had taped a map of Roxbury that Baba had helped her find, one wide enough to fill up the wall like a big painting. Small red circles littered it, and small red Xs layered over all of those circles. Kitty stared at this image, ruminating on it, feeling more than a little defeated.

Most were stores, and most stores had been one-offs, so those had been crossed off. Then there were the bars, the clubs, the restaurants. Those had been crossed off too, though it had taken a little more time.

She had gone to each and every one over the past week, staking them out. It had been a hopeless effort. Her mark was the type to know when she was being followed. More than that, even if she didn't know, she was also the type to take precautions. And for a shapeshifter there was no easier precaution than to always go out with a different face.

Kitty had been forced to keep an eye out for mannerisms. A certain tilt of the head, or a particular method for combing back loose strands of hair. Obviously impossible when dealing with whole crowds of people at once, but there hadn't been any other choice.

Then Scarlet had finally found her out. Or at least Kitty guessed she had, because her bank account has suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. Without an account there was nothing to track, and with nothing to track Kitty could only sit there and simmer in a failure she hadn't wanted to accept was inevitable.

A knock at the door. Kitty closed her eyes, considered ignoring it, but then there was another knock, one joined by a voice that clearly strained to sound gentle.

"Kit, can you open up?"

Now she couldn't ignore it, but she still sat in place, at this point just being stubborn.

"Come on, Kit. Seriously."

Alright, fine. Kitty stood up, walked across her room, and when she got to the door she only opened it a sliver. Just enough to peek her face through and find Malcolm standing restlessly on the other side, still in his school uniform, backpack slung over one shoulder. "What do you want?"

Malcolm met her icy look with a scowl. "Baba says you haven't eaten all day."

He might not have meant it as an accusation, but Kitty heard it ring implicit in his tone. Clearly coming up to confront her about this hadn't exactly been his idea.

"I'm not hungry," she said.

"That's not how nutrition works."

"I'm not hungry," Kitty stressed, though in truth her stomach felt suddenly empty now that he'd brought the thought of food to mind.

Malcolm's head tilted slightly over, eyes trying to gaze past her and into her room. Though it was surely too dark for him to see much of anything, Kitty nevertheless leaned against the doorframe, blocking the thin opening that she'd allowed.

When he looked back at her, Malcolm's frown abated. "Haven't seen you around much these last few days."

Kitty shrugged. "I've been busy."

"Clearly. How's the search going?"

"Not your problem."

That made Malcolm's brow dip once more. "I know you like your privacy and everything, but if finding this Scarlet woman's really that important, it'd be stupid not to ask for help."

"I can handle myself."

"Can you please not pretend like that's a real argument?"

Malcolm's rising annoyance met with the impenetrable wall of Kitty's aloof grey eyes. Getting all bothered wouldn't help any, so the boy gave himself a few seconds to breathe, glanced around at the empty hallway, and then leaned in with a whisper. "Look, if you're getting into some shady shit, you know you can trust us, right?"

Now something did flicker across Kitty's face. An instant of something soft that slackened her plump cheeks and cracked the hardness of her stare. Then, to account for this momentary loss of control, Kitty's face tightened all the more, her jaw setting firm. "I trust you. That's not the problem."

"Oh? I think it kinda is the problem." Malcolm pointed a finger at her. "I still haven't heard a single explanation for that ring of yours, or why you never told anyone about it all this time."

That same ring sat in Kitty's pocket now, usually light enough to not be felt, though now that it had been mentioned she couldn't help but hone in on its weight against her thigh. It made Kitty set her jaw even tighter, teeth grinding. "That doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Not sure I can really believe that," Malcolm muttered. Sighing, he reached up to comb through his hair. Time for his secret weapon. "Y'know, Jay's on his way home right now. Maybe I'll tell him to come and cheer you up."

Kit's entire face immediately lit up, and her expression crumbled completely, eyes wide with a kind of frenzied panic. "Don't!" Then, seeing Malcolm's smirk, she clicked her tongue back and slammed the door closed. A second later, her voice came muffled through the wood. "Fine! Just... give me a second."

She heard Malcolm chuckle then, with the soft creaking of wood, walk away. Probably back to his room to drop the bag off. He was usually so self-serious, but every once in a while he just had to play at the annoying brother. Jerk.

A flick of the light switch and Kitty's room exploded into color. She had to narrow her eyes and blink against the sudden brightness, going over to her handle and blowing it out, breathing in the last wisps of scented smoke. Then, she turned to look at the one mirror in the room, a tall rectangle that leaned against the wall like a long plank of glass.

Staring back at her Kitty saw a short pale girl, skin almost sickly and hair an ink bob, still in baggy pajamas despite the electric clock on her desk telling her it was well into the afternoon. She hadn't even showered, something her baggy eyes and tangled hair made perfectly clear.

Nothing she could care about if this were a normal day. But Jason was coming back after weeks out of town, so she might as well try to at least look presentable.

Which is why she eventually came down in jeans and a blue tank top she'd taken five strenuous minutes deciding on, hair tied in a short ponytail that hopefully hid the bedhead. Nothing special, but it would have to do.

Coming into the living room, she saw Baba on the usual rocking chair, wrinkle-flanked eyes reading past round glasses to the splayed-out newspaper in her bony hands. The old woman saw Kitty over the paper, grunted out a hello, then returned to her reading. It was blasé enough that Kitty almost missed the small sigh of relief that followed immediately after.

And then there was Zelda lying sideways on the couch and taking up the whole thing in the process, her heat-curled blonde locks framing an almost painfully perfect face. She glanced up from her phone and, seeing Kitty, gave a scoff. "Oh look, the vampire finally deems us worthy of her presence."

She would die one day. If not by Kitty's own hands, then surely by someone else’s, though the latter possibility was certainly less satisfying to consider. Kitty tried hitting the young woman with the usual stoic attempt at intimidation, but Zelda just rolled her eyes and went back to her phone, entirely unperturbed.

"Make yourself something to eat," Baba said, sounding stern.

The command sent another ripple of hunger through her gut. Accompanying it was the sudden recognition of thirst, the dryness in her throat flexing uncomfortably with each attempted gulp. Wordlessly, she went to the kitchen.

But not halfway through her cup of water the distinct rumble of Stretch's car droned outside. Kitty heard the garage sliding open below, feeling the trembling of the floor as it did, and in a hurry she downed the rest of her drink, though there was no logical reason why having a full glass on hand would've been embarrassing.

Setting the cup down on the kitchen table, Kitty heard the garage door rumbling closed. Then she heard the slow, rhythmic stomp of feet climbing up the short flight of stairs. Then she heard the door click open, swing out, and looking up she saw him.

Jason saw her too. With a warm smile and a few short strides he wrapped her up in his arms, tall enough that he instinctively bent his head with the hug. "Hey, Kit. Been a while."

Heart hammering, Kitty thought to greet him back, tell him she missed him, or at the very least return his embrace. But then he started patting her head like she was a child. And, sighing, Kitty supposed to him she was one. It was all she could do to stand there like a statue and motionlessly accept his affection, cheeks burning up all the while.

Not that she could for very long. Kitty felt Jason let her go, step around her, and turn fully to Zelda.

At first, Zelda looked back at him as imperiously as ever. But then Jason's smile turned quirked, almost laughing, and Zelda's lofty condescension broke apart like a porcelain mask. She grinned despite herself, swinging up off the couch and practically skipping over to meet Jason with a deep, smiling kiss. They held each other, her looking up with arms possessive around his neck, him with hands linked at the small of her back.

"Miss me?" Jason asked.

"Of course," Zelda said, and for once her words came across more coy than biting. "You’re the only interesting person in this place."

"Including you?"

Zelda barked a laugh, head nestling under his chin. "Idiot."

Oh yes, Zelda would die. Very painfully. Watching them, Kitty didn’t know what was worse; the fact that Zelda of all people could look so sincerely happy, or the fact that Jason looked much the same.

Baba, though not thinking quite the same thing, at least thought along the same lines. "If you're going to do this, don't do it in the living room," she said, turning the page of her newspaper loud enough for it to crinkle through the room. "I don't need to be seeing it."

Zelda looked back to shoot the woman a glare, but Jason only laughed. "Nice to see you too, Baba. Everything alright while I was gone?"

"Somehow, no one died."

Jason said something back, but whatever it was got lost for Kitty when she suddenly felt something tap her shoulder. She whipped around, hand swinging in a terminal chop to some unseen neck. Hitting nothing but air, Kitty found only Stretch leaning against the doorway some feet away, amused and too far away to have touched her, though with him any distance was only a matter of whim.

Except it hadn't been Stretch anyway, something made clear to Kitty once Red laughed from his place on her other side. "I finally got you!" he said, grinning, and at her confused blink that grin turned smug. "Who's not payin' attention now, Darkness?"

Blinking again, Kitty shot another hand at him, trying to poke out his eyes, and Red leaned back out of her reach, and at that point all bets were off.

"Hey! No fighting in the house!" Baba said, but neither Kitty nor Red listened to her as they danced across the living room, the latter striking away and the former contorting himself to avoid each attempt. When Red started picking up the couch cushions and using them as shields, the old woman could only sigh despairingly. "Lord, why did we have to pick up another one..."

Zelda, still holding lightly to Jason, only snorted. "These days it's more like a playground than an Outpost."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"The place has gotten more lively," Stretch agreed, though his eyes twinkled and it was obvious he didn't mind it at all.

Jason just watched the fighting pair, considering. Red might have been having fun, but Kitty looked as deadly serious as always. Still, she hadn't pulled her knife out yet, so she probably wasn't actually trying to kill the guy.

"Looks like they're getting along," he finally decided, pleased to see the girl making new friends.

The roughhousing didn't last too much longer. Red walked backward into a wall—sending a tremble to all the picture frames hanging on it, much to Baba's chagrin—and when he tried moving off, Kitty grabbed his shirt and made him trip over her raised foot. He landed face-first on the ground with a wooden thump, and before he could do much else Kitty ground one knee on his back, grabbed his arm, and pulled.

"Okay, you got me!" Red said. Hearing him, Kitty proceeded to pull his arm even higher, making the boy gasp. "Hey, I said you got me!"

"This really shouldn't hurt for someone as strong as you," Kitty said, pulling the arm up yet another notch.

"I forgot to stretch first!" Red slapped the floor with his other hand. "Shit, uncle! Uncle!"

"You guys are too loud."

Everyone turned to see Malcolm making his way down the stairs. Already scowling down at the screen, the boy sent that scowl first to Kitty and Red on the floor, then over to the exasperated Baba, then to Stretch by the door, and finally to Jason.

"Oh," Malcolm said. "Hey."

Jason unhooked himself from Zelda and walked over to Malcolm, spreading his arms. "What, not bringing it in?"

"... No." In a second Malcolm felt himself wrapped up in a bear hug that pulled him off his feet and squeezed hard enough to crack his back. "Ow! C'mon, dude..."

"Love you too, lil' bro." Letting go, Jason grinned down at the grumbling Malcolm, whose eyes almost immediately went back to his phone. Eyebrow raised, Jason noticed something he'd never really expected to see before. Malcolm was… texting someone? When practically everyone he knew was already in the same room? "Who're you talking to?"

Malcolm's eyes snapped up to his. "No one."

"Uh-huh." That response had come way too fast. Jason casually plucked the phone from Malcolm's hand, raising it just as the boy yelped and tried to swipe it back. "Let's see here…"

Lucass

Hey loser

Party's in 22 alister rd in the north bank

Starts @7 but tbh just show up like a hour late

U better come

I'll wingman for u boiii >:p

Jason grinned, positively thrilled. "You got invited to a party?"

Stretch broke into a guffawing laughter, Red perked up from his now cross-legged seat on the ground, and Zelda crossed her arms, instinctively disbelieving. "Seriously?"

"Yup." A growling Malcolm leaped for the phone and grabbed at his arm, so Jason passed it to his other hand and flicked it to Stretch. "Catch."

Stretch did catch it, then extended his arm high enough to nearly touch the ceiling, following the screen with an equally extended neck. "Man, North Bank? Pretty fancy neighborhood. I'm proud of ya, buddy."

Malcolm had followed the phone, and with Stretch holding it raised a good ten feet he could only glare up and stomp his foot. "If you're so proud, give it back!"

"Good half hour away, but it's still pretty early so plenty of time to get ready. Want me to give you a ride there?"

"I'll drop him off," Baba chimed in from across the room, eyes still sliding along the big page in her hands. "It's lady's night at Shahey's, Lawrence. I need the car tonight."

"Right, right. I guess Mal can Uber back after, then."

"Ooh!" Red raised his hand. "Hey, can I go too? Last week's treehouse party sorta fell through."

Kitty, standing now, glanced down at him. "You mean the attempted genocide?"

"Yeah. I mean, it was still fun and all, but there wasn't even any music."

"I don't see why you couldn't go," Jason said, making Red whoop and pump a fist. Hand on his chin, Jason looked over the boy's outfit, which was fine enough to get out of the house but wasn't exactly party material. "And I guess Mal could lend you some clothes for it."

Something suddenly shone in Zelda's eyes, the beginnings of a strategy. It'd be nice, with Jason here, to have the place to themselves for the night. Thinking this, the smile she sent at Kitty now was far too sweet. "Say, why don't you go too, Kitty? Act your age for once."

Jason hummed, then nodded. "Good idea."

Kitty wrinkled her nose. "I don't want to go."

Malcolm gaped at them. "What... Hey, I don't even wanna go!" he said, abandoning his phone and turning fully to glare at his brother. "The hell, stop making plans for me!"

"We kinda have to," Stretch said, shrinking his arm and neck back into place. "Not like you will if we don't."

"Plus, Red and Kit won't get too many chances like this," Jason said. "They're not in school like you, lil' bro. You can introduce them."

"There..." Malcolm licked his lips, thinking. "There'll be alcohol. And drugs."

Jason shrugged. "You're all smart enough to know how much is too much. Look after each other and you'll be fine."

"And... Sex! Unprotected sex!"

At this everyone in the room stared at him.

That went on for a good few seconds before Zelda brutally delivered the thing on all their minds. "I think that's the literal last thing we need to worry about when it comes to you."

"No offense!" Jason added.

Zelda sniffed. "I meant it offensively."

Malcolm tried coming up with some more material, though he saw in Jason's face that it had all but been decided. He saw the exact same thing in Red's grinning face, and in Zelda's knowing smirk, and in Stretch's almost apologetic shrug.

"... I hate you all," he said, shoulders slumped.

Still, he wasn't the only one with reservations. "I don't need to go to some party," Kitty said, the last word spat with all the derision she could muster.

Just the thought of it made her feel exhausted. Standing around in a room full of people she didn’t even know, loud music blasting, everyone drunk and making a big mess. Talk about a waste of time.

"You should," Jason insisted. "You need more friends."

"I have enough friends."

"You have enough grown-up friends. It'd be good for you to meet more people your own age."

It was annoying how serious he was about it, like it was his job to raise her or something. Kitty stared up at him, silently defiant, so Jason sighed, reaching over to put a hand on her shoulder.

"It would make me very happy if you went," he said, voice low, looking her in the eyes. "Just give it a shot. Please? For me?"

Kitty kept staring, trying to resist the sheer force of his sincerity. But then she felt her cheeks start heating up, and she had to look away. "I'll... try."

"Great!" Smiling, Jason clapped his hands together. "I'm sure you guys'll have a great time!"

Malcolm, accepting his fate, took his phone back from Stretch. "Don't count on it..."

- - - — MKII — - - -

They spent the rest of the day sitting around, not doing much. Zelda, with some prodding by Jason, had eventually taken Kitty upstairs to "doll her up," which was the nice way of saying she should probably bathe before going out in public.

Meanwhile, Stretch went back home, tossing Baba his car keys while she made some popcorn to watch Master Chef—apparently she'd been binging it the last couple of weeks and had gotten all the way through to the seventh season. Watching it with her, Red and Jason had taken all of ten minutes before falling into a deep discussion about the closest each of them had ever gotten to dying.

Malcolm tried engaging with any of this, but he was frankly too nervous to pay attention. He fell into a cycle of turning over his phone, unlocking it, fiddling around mindlessly, then locking it and putting it back down against his lap. Anything to keep his hands busy.

It felt like he was falling, some weightless pressure ballooning persistently up his throat. The hours wound down, and with each one Malcolm tried thinking about what it would be like after the night was over, once he'd be safe back home. It was a comforting thought, but it didn't work for longer than a few seconds at a time.

The issue wasn't that he'd be going to a party in itself. Malcolm was already perfectly fine with whatever outsider status he'd earned for himself back in school, and there wasn't any reason why being surrounded by all those people outside of class would make him feel any different.

No, the issue was that the party he was going to would be in Rebecca Walton's house. Rebecca Walton, whose long red hair and graceful poise had captured him from the moment he'd first set eyes on her. Rebecca Walton, who could shatter all his disregard with a passing glance. Rebecca Walton, who straight up didn't even know his name.

But, shit, if he was gonna make a move it should be tonight, right? What better chance to at least make an impression? Just the thought of that possibility sent his brain spiraling.

Red, of course, only got more excited the closer they got to going. He'd watched every American Pie and figured that as long as things got even half that wild it was practically impossible to have a bad time. Malcolm was honestly jealous of his thoughtless confidence.

Then the time came. Red and Malcolm both stood waiting in the living room, pants ironed and shirts collared. The latter had gone for solid blue, but the former of course had to pick the one patterned with polka dot fish on white, the most colorful thing Malcolm had in his whole wardrobe. It just barely fit him, stretching on his broader shoulders.

Baba grunted while Jason gave the boys a thumbs up. "Looking good, guys. Real classy."

Malcolm grumbled, arms crossed, but Red beamed and posed with sweeping motions. "I know, right? Check it." He toyed with the black knot set loosely around his neck, eyebrows wagging. "Casual tie."

"You look like a dog on a leash," Malcolm said, deadpan.

"Whatever, Four-Eyes. You're just jealous your digs fit me better."

Feet thumped down the stairs, and the boys saw Zelda leading Kitty into the room. At least that's who Malcolm had to guess it was, because the girl had been turned into a sort of dark jewel. Understated as she usually was, Kitty came down wearing a deep emerald green dress, one that hung loose past her bare shoulders and seemed soft enough to sleep on. Her hair, short as it was, had been given an almost imperceptible volume, just enough that each step she took made it bounce and sway side to side. And her eyes, still stoic and cold, had been circled by thin black lines that spiked sharply on each side like two short obsidian wings.

She looked, in other words, more beautiful than she had ever looked. Jason whistled, and even Malcolm found himself humming appreciatively.

Red, on the other hand, took one look at her expression and barked out a laugh. "Ha! You look like you wanna murder someone!"

Kitty, who did very much look decidedly pinched the whole way down the stairs, shot him a narrowed glare. "Don't tempt me."

"What Red means is you look very pretty," Jason said, welcoming Zelda with a sideways embrace.

"Of course she looks pretty," Zelda said. "I'm the one who just spent like two hours making it happen." She hummed, staring down at Kitty with half-lidded eyes. "Not my finest work, but it'll do. And you better take care of that dress. If I see a rip, I swear..."

At this point Kitty joined Malcolm in the crossed-arms club. "Let's just get this over with already."

Jason held his hand out, reaching into his pocket. "Wait! Before you leave, we gotta take pictures."

Kitty clicked her tongue and Malcolm cringed, but Red grinned. "Oh yeah!"

"Do we have to?" Malcolm asked, miserable.

"Of course we have to," Jason said, pointing his phone's camera at them. Zelda smirked beside him, and if his own quirked lip was anything to go by he probably enjoyed their squirming about as much. " This is exactly the kind of thing that should go on the scrapbook, lil' bro. Now c'mon, closer together, guys."

Neither Kitty nor Malcolm made to position themselves, so Red threw his arms around both their shoulders and sandwiched himself between them. Both instinctively made to escape, but Red's grip was much too strong and, seeing that even Baba wasn't doing anything to stop this, they settled into a mutual scowl of shared helplessness.

"Look like you're having fun," Zelda said, leaning over to see them framed on Jason's phone screen, smirking. "The sooner you pretend the sooner you get out of here. So say it with me now: cheese! I want to see teeth."

In the end, Red was the only one to show any teeth. The picture showed him looking at the camera, grin wide enough to split his face and nearly close his eyes, both hands folded into peace signs. Kitty on the right staring at the camera too, face severe, hands folded tight in a clear effort to restrain herself. Malcolm on the left, still cross-armed, glancing away with a pout he would never be allowed to live down.

Just a group of kids heading to a party. Normal as normal got.

- - - — MKII — - - -

Outside, a motorcycle sat parked just across the street, and a helmeted figure sat on it with one leg on the ground, whole body in a skintight jumpsuit. She stared through the tinted visor, thoughts inscrutable.

Dark as it already was, the Roxbury Outpost stood like a large shadow in the night, each window a bright screen shuttered so that they were filled with thin black stripes. Through those stripes the figure could see the Rangers standing around the living room, moving about like a group of mimes, taking pictures.

One of them was particularly interesting. The girl in the green dress. A familiar sight, and it looked like she'd gone straight. Or at least as straight as someone like them could manage. Good for her.

Unfortunately, that would have to stop now. Phone coming out, the cyclist flipped it open and dialed, all the while thinking through an idea. After a few rings, the other line picked up, and a tight voice came through.

"Good news, or bad news?"

Under the visor, a smirk hidden from the rest of the world. Just like him to get right to the point. "Good news."

"Well, don't leave me in suspense."

"I found someone who might work."

"How good are they?"

"Oh, she's the best of the best. I can vouch for that."

Silence. He was thinking, trying to decide whether or not to believe her.

"Fine, Scarlet. Bring her over." And just like that the line cut dead.

Chuckling, Scarlet put her phone away. What a hard man to please. Well, good old Kitty was the same way, at least from what she could remember. Surely that hadn't changed.