Seeing Double

The rest of the evening passed with little conversation about what had happened to Alec and why he had suddenly run out of the room as he had as did the next few days.. by Friday the entire episode had been all but forgotten. Everyone got a reminder however, friday morning.

Poopsie came down to the kitchen rubbing her eyes sleeply, and trying to push down the stray hairs that had escaped the bounds of her tightly braided pigtails. "Has Alec come home yet?" she asked, the words distorted by the huge yawn that came out of her mouth.

Poopsie's yawn caused a chain reaction, and as Jed yawned she closed her eyes and shook her head. "nope, not yet." she replied, then letting a sly grin appear on her face.. "why, you gonna... put him to bed again?" she raised her eyebrows a few times, and Poopsie stuck her tongue out at her. Stifling another yawn, she shuffled over to the fridge, and found a bottle of apple juice. She took a long swig of it, and then hopped up on the counter, pulling her knees up under her chin and sat facing the door waiting for Alec to return home.

Last night she hadn't been able to sleep, so she had taken her police scanner and snuck into Alec's room. Most of the evening she had layed curled up in his bed, surrounded by the smell of Tommy cologne, waiting to hear his voice on it. Though it had been a quiet night, she knew he would be tired. But at least he had a few days off now. Even though she had been accused of being a workaholic, he had not only been accused of it, but had been thrown out of the workaholics anonymous assosication because there was no hope for him. She yawned again and put her cheek up against her knees, letting her eyes close, and feeling her mind slowly drift in the area between sleep and being awake.

Suddenly, the sound of the doorbell woke her out of her dream like state. Her eyes flew open, she blinked a few times and then furrowed her eyebrows looking at Jed. "Who in the world could that be at this hour?"

Suddenly Bowie bounced into the kitchen, his toe nails clicking noisely as he ran and hopped around. "Someone's here! Someone's here!" he ran out of the kitchen and to the front door. "Someone's here! Someone's here!" he called again.

Jed shrugged. "I don't know." Standing up, she smoothed out her curly hair and started walking towards the door. Squinting her eyes since she didn't have her glasses on yet, she peered through the window and tried to make out the figure standing on the other side.

"Who is it huh? Who is it?" Bowie was jumping up and down, trying to see out of the peep hole, but he was still not quite able. "Who is it? Who's here?!" He excitedly yipped.

"It's Alec." Said Jed.

"Well let him in already. He probably just forgot his keys or something." Answered Poopsie as she stepped up behind her friend.

Sure enough when Jed opened the door, Alec's likeness stood there. At first Poopsie didn't think anything of him not being in uniform. A lof of the time he worked undercover. She just walked over to him, wrapped her arms around his waist and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "You forget your keys?"

"Keys?" he asked. He was suprised by the gretting he had gotten from Poopsie, and stiffened ever so slightly, not making any move to return the greeting. It was then Poopsie began to think things were a little strange.

"Alec?" She asked, letting him go. "Are you ok?"

"Oh I'm quite alright." he answered. "But I am not Alec."

Before he could finish the word "Alec", Poopsie had already drawn her dagger from it's sheath on her leg.

"I hope you don't mind me dropping in like this." he said to them. "I would have thought Alec would have told you I was coming."

Poopsie pressed the point of the dagger into his chest. "Into the kitchen. Now."

He quickly did as he was told. As soon he was seated at the table in the chair Jed had pulled out for him. The dagger moved closer to his neck, but he still seemed unphased by it. Infact, he seemed to be quite comfortable with it. As if this happened to him everyday. "Alright. First of all... who are you?"

"My name is..."

"Morning everyone." Tonya came downstairs. "Morning Jed, Morning Poopsie." as she walked closer to the trio she stopped and sniffed a little. "Hey Poopsie, who's your friend?" She tilted her head a little.

"I don't know. He was just about to tell us."

"My name is Tony. I'm Alec's brother."

Poopsie view him skeptically. "Alec never told me about a brother."

"I'm sure there is a lot of stuff about his family he has never told you."

"Give me one good reason I should believe you."

Tony opened his mouth, but instead of hearing his voice, Poopsie heard Alec. He had been standing in the doorway for just a moment. "I don't think I appeared in the nick of time." He said with a slight grin.

"You never could." Tony said, the grin on his face matching Alec's.

Alec looked at Poopsie. "It's ok.. he really is my brother.."

Jed nodded.. "Yes... I can see the family resembalance. You two look a lot alike."

"We aught to," Tony replied, "We are twins."

Poopsie reluctantly pulled the dagger away from Tony's neck, and frowned at Alec. "How come you never told me there are two of you?"

He shrugged a little, the grin spreading on his face and finally closed the door behind him. "You never asked."

Poopsie rolled her eyes a little and looked back down at Tony. "Sorry about that. It's just not everyday does a clone of my boyfriend show up at our front door."

"No worries.." Tony stood up and faced Alec. For a moment there was just silence. It had been nearly 6 years since the brothers had seen eachother. Back then they were both full time bounty hunters, but when things got a little too hot, Alec had decided to come to the states because even some of their family couldn't tell Alec apart from Tony, and he certainly didn't trust a man with a gun to be able to.

"It's been too long, Alec." Tony said

Alec nodded. "It has." Without hesitation the two hugged. It was short and sweet, but it had been a long time coming.

As it broke, they stood beside eachother. Seeing them side by side suddenly became too much for Poopsie. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she could feel a wave of dizzyness pass over her. Luckily Tonya was fast enough to catch her as she fainted.

Once Poopsie had come to, Techno was the next to start seeing double. He came up out of the basement after just waking up, wearing only an A-Shirt and an old pair of cut off shorts. He stopped right inside of the kitchen and looked at Alec then at Tony and back at Alec. He rubbed his eye and looked at the both of them again. Without saying a word, he turned and walked back down to the basement. Muttering something about he hoped they didn't all start to multiply. All this world needed was about 6 Tonyas.

"Ok. It's coffee time." Tonya bounced over to the coffee pot and with a cup in hand took the entire pot and the cup down the stairs to Techno leaving Jed, Poopsie, Alec and Tony in the kitchen. Poopsie returned to her place on the counter, and everyone else sat down at the table.

Poopsie wasn't able to take her eyes off Alec and Tony. "You know I'm going to have a hell of a time telling the two of you apart." she took another drink of the apple juice.

"Actually." Alec glanced at Tony. "There is one way to tell us apart."

"How's that?" Jed asked.

"Well, I have a tattoo of a dragon, and he has one of a tiger."

"Oh.." Poopsie nodded. "Is that the one I saw the other day that i hadn't ever noticed before?"

"That would be it." He glanced at his watch and noticed that he was still in uniform. "I'm going to go change. I'll be right back." As he walked down the hall towards his room, he walked past Zarbon and Sally who happened to be walking down the hall at the same time. Both said good morning to him and stopped just inside of the kitchen door.

"Didn't you.. just.." Zarbon started to say and pointed to the hallway..

"No.. It's Alec's twin brother." Interrupted Poopsie.

"Ohhh.." he blinked. "Alec has a twin?"

Tony nodded. "Yes. I am Tony. How do you do?" He stood and held his hand out to Zarbon. Luckily for some reason Zarbon had come downstairs in his hologram form.

Zarbon shook his hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

Tony then turned to Poopsie. "Just how many people live here?" he asked.

"There's 9 of us."

His eyes widened a bit.. "9 of you?"

"Yep.." Said Sally standing next to where Poopsie was sitting. "Its cozy." She said, letting a tiny bit of her accent show through.

"Yes, I can imagine. And I thought our house was crowded growing up."

"But at least we have enough room that if we bug each other we can go some place else." . Poopsie said.

"I'll keep that in mind." Tony grinned as Alec rejoined the group, winking a bit.

Alec smiled and nodded.. "Yes, please do." He paused. "Where are you staying anyway?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't know yet, I just got into town a little bit ago. It took me forever to find this place. The directions you gave me were a bit mottled."

Tonya, who was just coming up the stairs got a weird look on her face. "Muddled? Who's directions did you give him? Jed's?"

"No," Alec turned to her, noticing the empty coffee pot. "They were actually yours."

Tonya stuck her tongue out at him and walked over to the coffee machine, starting to make another pot. "Well, in order for the directions to work, you have to be able to read."

Ignoring that comment, Alec turned again to Tony. "You can always stay here, Tony. "

"Oh he can, can he?" Asked Tonya. "First you insult my directions and then you extend my hospitality." She said in a weird parody of an English accent.

"Oh pardon me, madam landlady," Alec said, letting his accent show through fully for the first time since he had arrived at the mansion. "Would you mind if he stayed here for a bit?"

Tonya shrugged. "I dont care." She turned and placed the coffee filter in the machine and turned it on.

"She's your landlady? Then who was the guy with the patch?" Asked Tony

"That's Techno. Hes our tech support."

"No," corrected Dee who had come in right after Tonya did. "He is a swollen thorn in all of our backsides." She looked at Tony. "Dude that is totally creepy. Did Jed put something in my drink? Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Tony." He turned to her. "And who are you?"

"I'm Dee." She said crossing the room to the fridge. She pulled out something to eat and walked over to Tony again poking him.

"How long are you staying Tony?" Alec asked.

He shrugged a bit. "I don't know yet. I have to wait until things cool down a little bit." He gave Alec a look and he understood the meaning.

"Understood, we will talk later."

Poopsie frowned slightly. "Talk about what?"

Tony looked at Alec and Alec looked at Poopsie. "Ill tell you later." Poopsie heard his voice in her mind. He turned to Tony. "I'm going to get a few hours of sleep and then we will go out to lunch. Can I trust you all to be nice to him while I am asleep?" Alec grinned. Tonya turned to him and blinked, holding her hands in a halo above her head. The moment Alecs head was turned, Tonya held her bangs up to make devil horns.

"Right. Well, I will get some rest and see you all in a bit." He started walking towards the door and Poopsie hopped off the counter and followed him.

Tony had slept during his flight there, so while Alec slept, Poopsie interrogated him.

"Hasnt he told you anything about his family?" asked Tony. "I would think that after living together for almost a year now the subject would have come up at some point."

Poopsie shook her head. "No, he never had really talked about his past. I didnt even know he was actually English until today."

"Half English." Tony corrected. "Were Irish on our fathers side."

"I don't know. Every time I ask him about his family, he gets very touchy like he doesnt want me to know about all of you."

"There is probably a good reason for that."

Poopsie frowned. "What would that be?"

Tony shook his head. "We didn't exactly split on bad terms, but there were many unresolved issues when Alec left for New York. That and..." Tony paused and looked at Poopsie strangely. "How much has he told you about his occupation before he came here?"

"You mean about bounty hunting."

Tony blinked and nodded, "Yes."

"He's told me some of what he did, but not a lot, and I haven't ever really asked. I just assumed if it was something her wanted me to know, he would tell me." Poopsie stopped and her eyes grew wide. "You aren't here to try to get him to do bounty hunting again, are you? Because I think hes been very happy here.."

"No.." Tony inturupted. "Im not going to try to get him to come back with me. Somehow I'm not sure Alec was ever cut out for that kind of work. He did it well, don't get me wrong, but it never really suit him I don't think."

"Then why are you here?"

Tony shrugged. "I needed a place to lay low for a bit, that's all." Poopsie gave a small sigh of relief. "Besides" he continued. "The way he makes it sound in his emails, the only way he would leave this place is if all of you actually threw him out. He is pretty fond of all of you girls."

"We're pretty fond of him too." She said grinning with a little bit of a blush on her cheeks.

Later that evening, Alec and Tony were sitting at a table in the back of the bar Alec had taken them to, both drinking Guiness. Alec took another sip, leaned across to his mirror image, and speaking in gaelic asked him. "Whats going on? Your email didn't give too many details."

"We've had some trouble lately."

"What kind of trouble?" He stopped. "Where are the girls?"

"I would guess right now the two of them are in Canada. "

"What about Nick, and Caleb?"

Tony shrugged. "Italy last time they checked in. That was about 2 weeks ago."

Alec took a deep breath. That above all else was what he hated about bounty hunting. As a rule, during a run, there was little to no contact just as a safety precaution. When he was little, his mother who had also been a very active bounty hunter would sometimes stay away for weeks at a time, and they would never have any idea where she was. Nick and Cricket werent actually family, but they had worked with Alec and Tonys older brother Caleb and younger sister for quite some time.

Cricket had been around for as long as either of them could remember, and so had Nick. The girls had gone to school together, and when their parents sent Zoey to a private boarding school, Cricket followed suit. Zoey had been able to keep her secret life a secret for awhile, but Cricket began to notice the bruises and cuts she had gotten in fights she had been in. One night after she snuck out of her window, She sat in Zoey's room and waited. She was there when Zoey came crawling into the window that night.

With Nick it was a little different. Caleb had told him about his secret before he could find out on his own. Even before he told him, Caleb had started training Nick, teaching him the fighting moves his mother had taught him. When the time was right, Nick was told, and he started working with them. Between the 5 of them, and with their uncle Caleb and their mother, a lot of people, that the police wouldnt have been able to catch caught. Of course in England, their works were not legal. Not only did they have to be careful about the criminals, but also the police.

"So who are you running on?" Alec asked.

Tony shook his head. "Actually, someone is running on me."

"Thats a change." Alec said dryly. "Who?"

"Diante."

Alec stopped, glass just a few inches from the table top. "Diante." Tony nodded.

"Bloody 'ell, I should have known. Are you sure you werent followed here? If anything happens to the girls because of this, Ill never forgive myself."

"Not to worry. I was not followed."Actually, Alec had to keep from laughing at the comment If anything happened to the girls.. It would be the idiots that had followed Tony that would be in trouble if they had managed to follow him.

Diante's and Alec's family had a long history together, and not a very good one. Diantes father had been the one that had put their mother's life to an end. Alec still had nightmares about that night. He had been about 15 when it happened. On one of the first runs he had ever done. He was the only person able to assist his mother since his uncle Caleb was out of town and his brother was ill. She would have waited, knowing that Alec was not quite ready for this sort of thing yet, but she had had no choice. It was either that night or never. By morning the criminals would be on the other side of the world.

They were after smugglers that night. A group that had been smuggling drugs and guns and who knows what else into England and making sure they all got into the hands of the highest bidder. Mostly leaders of gangs. Another shipment had made it onto the shores, and the dealers were sailing that night. They knew the police were onto them, so this would be the last shipment done this way, and tonight, the Panther would be on the prowl.

Alec and his mother could see the man in charge of this project, Damian Nilem from their hiding place on the dock. Neither of them could have seen the other man that had been watching them, or if they had, it was already too late. The police had first blamed Alec for the murder. It seemed logical. He was the only one in the area, and he was still holding his gun when the police arrived. He had been cleared of all charges by the end of the night, but it wasnt long after that Damian Nilem who had ordered one of his henchmen to keep an eye out for anything and ordered that he shoot to kill anything that moved came up missing. If they had dragged the river as soon as he came up missing, there might have been a chance that they would have found Damians remains. Diante was his son.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"I dont know, stay here for awhile until they lose interest in me, then maybe join the girls."

Just then Alec's cell phone rang. Alec held up a finger and reached into his pocket, bringing the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Black, I need you to come in. We've got some trouble." Said the voice on the other end. It was Humphrey.

"Right. I'll be there as soon as I can be." He clicked the phone shut and looked at Tony. "I'm going to have to go in for a bit."

"In?"

"To work."

Tony shook his head a little and smiled. "My brother the cop.."

They paid the check and walked outside to Alecs black Corvette. The one he had followed Poopsie in during their first encounter together. She had never liked that Corvette, and maybe that was part of the reason. Or perhaps it was that Alec treated that piece of junk like his child. Granted it got from point A to point B as long as point B wasnt in the mountains. She just didnt see any point to that little black tin can. Usually if the two of them went somewhere, they took her jeep, but he drove.

The brothers reached the car and Alec unlocked the doors. As he tried to start it though, something sounded a bit odd. He knew the vette, which he had lovingly named Eleanore, like the back of his hand. The slightest difference in engine sound was extremely obvious to him. He stared at the steering wheel for a moment and then turned to Tony. "Get Out." He said quickly.

Tony knew Alec was serious and quickly jumped out, and was then thrown onto the sidewalk by the explosion as Eleanore went up in flames. He stood up and blinked at the blaze taking a few steps back. He started calling Alecs name, but found him standing on the other side of the blaze. He turned to Tony rather calmly and said quietly. Someone bombed my car and killed her. Sirens began to sound and 2 firemen pushed away the mob that had gathered to see what was going on. Alec was still in shock as the flames were put out.

Pulling Alec aside, Tony slapped both sides of his face. "You have to pull yourself together. We have to decide what we are going to tell the police."

Alec blinked a little and looked at his brother. "It was just the engine. Something got too hot."

Tony nodded. "Good. As soon as we talk to them, well get back to your house, borrow a vehicle and start looking for the guys who did this."

Standing quietly for a moment, Alec began to come back to his senses. "No. I have to get to work. You will have to look by yourself."

"Surely they cant expect you to go in after your car explodes."

Alec sighed and shook his head. "There isnt much I can do about it, besides, Humphrey said there was some kind of trouble".

"You've got to be joking."

"Alec.." A voice interrupted Tony. An officer looked at Alec. "I'm going to need to get a statement from you." He looked at the car. "What happened?"

"The engine overheated." Was all he could say.

While the other officer was getting the statement, Tony noticed two men come out of a building across the street, one blonde with a goatee, and the other with long dark hair. Without even taking one look at the blaze, they simply walked to their car, got in and drove away, but not fast enough. Tony already had the plate number.

Once the chaos had quieted a bit, Alec took out his cell phone and dialed the mansion. Techno answered.

"I'm going to need a ride to work."

Techno put the phone between his shoulder and his ear and with both hands free, continued to type. "Why?"

"Someone blew up my car."

He stopped and took the phone up in his hand again. "Someone blew up your car?" he paused. "How?"

"Probably with a bomb, Captain Obvious. I dont know. I just need one of the girls to come and get us. Now." Techno got the address and hung up, immediately exchanging the phone for the intercom mic.

"Hey pigtails. I need you down to the cave ASAP."

Poopsie, who was in Jeds room looked up at the speaker and blinked. "I wonder what in the hell he wants."

Jed shrugged. "I dunno."

Poopsie stood up. "Well come with me. If Im going to get yelled at, I dont want to get yelled at alone."

"Oh alright." Jed stood up. "But then I have to get ready to do rounds."

Before they even reached the bottom of the stairs leading into the cave, Techno began telling Poopsie what was going on. "Someone blew up Alecs car."

"Oh my God.. is he alright?"

"Apparently. He wants you to go pick him up."

"I'm on my way."

Techno nodded. "I'll call and tell him your on your way."

"You do that and I'll answer the phone. Im just going to teleport."

Techno lowered his head and looked up at her. "Have you forgotten about our guest?"

Poopsie wrinkled her nose and pointed to him. "Good point. I forgot about Tony." She turned to Jed. "You wanna come with me?"

"Nope, cant. I have rounds."

"Ok." Poopsie sighed. "Call and tell them Ill be right there."

"Will do."

Techno handed her a slip of paper. "Here's the address."

"Thanks. I'll be back."

The bar was clear across town, and it took Poopsie about 10 minutes to get there and another 15 minutes to actually find the place. She should have asked Tonya who had a nack for finding hold in the wall places. By the time she got there, the police were done with Alec, and he was standing against the building holding a piece of burned metal that read Ellie. The letters had been scorched, and the plate had been horribly twisted, but it was the only thing that had survived the fire.

"What happened?" Poopsie asked as she walked up to Alec and wrapped her arms around him.

"My car.." he said softly, still looking at the plate. "They blew up my car."

She tried hard to keep from grinning, but it didnt work, and she had to bury her face against him to keep him from seeing the smile on his face.

"I think its time to be going now." Tony said putting a hand on Alecs shoulder. Before it sinks in that there are two of us. Practically leading Alec to the jeep and away from his beloved now mangled pile of metal.

The drive home was nearly silent except for the occasional "my car" from Alec as he stared out the window in despair. By the time they had reached the mansion, he had himself under control and was now in the process of entering cop mode. Poopsie stopped her jeep in front of the mansion and turned to the brothers. "Ok, one of you, I dont know which one is supposed to go to work now. I'll wait for whichever one that is."

Alec grinned a bit from the passenger seat and kissed her cheek. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Both got out and headed for the house.

When they went inside, Tonya was in the kitchen doing dishes. "Was it a big fireball?"

Tony shook his head, letting her know that now was not the time to ask him. Alec let the question go in one ear and out the other, walking past her. He returned a few minutes later and Poopsie took him to work.

"Tonya?" Tony asked a little while after the other two had already left. "Would you mind if I borrowed one of the motorbikes in the garage?"

Tonya lifted her head slowly and turned to him. "Which one?"

"Well, I was hoping to use the vampyre." Tonyas eyebrow lifted and he quickly said. "Or, whichever one you let me use." Picking up the dishtowel, Tonya dried her hands and walked past him.

"Come with me." She led him out into the garage, and to the corner where all the bikes were kept. "You can take this one. She stroked the seat of a hybrid bike. Its almost as fast as the vampyre. It doesnt corner as well, but I wont kill you if this one gets blown up."

"Do you think I'll get it blown up?"

Tonya gave him that look and blinked at him. "Eleanore got blown up, didn't she? Alec loved that car."

"I know." He nodded. "Ok. I'll take this one." She handed him the keys and started back inside the house, hitting the wall of the doorway as she did.

Alec kissed Poopsies cheek again and opened the door. "I dont know when I'll be done with whatever is going on, but I'll call as soon as I am." Poopsie kissed him quickly. "Be careful." Alec paused just a moment as he put his hat on and stepped out of the car. He walked into the station and ignored the sympathetic looks from the others. Apperently, the news of Eleanores passing had traveled quickily. He walked to Humphreys office and tapped on the door before going in. "Whats going on Chief?"

"About time you showed up, Black. Weve been waiting for you. Mrs. McGregor is complaining about the noise from the apartment above her again. You know she wont let anyone but you in. Go and calm her down."

"Sure." Alec left and went to the garage under the station. Finding his car he unlocked it and got in, heading for Mrs. McGregor's.

Though he wasn't completely sure what he was looking for, Tony continued to drive around town with a well trained eye looking for anything out of the ordinary. As he turned towards the lower class part of town, the headlight of the bike reflected off the car hidden in an alley. He slowed down and squinted, but couldnt see the plate number of it, but it looked like the same one he had seen after Alecs car had gone up in flames. Before he could get a good look at the plates, his answer came strolling out of the back of a cheap hotel and walked towards the car. He recognized the men immediately. One with a goatee and blonde hair and the other with long dark hair.

Stepping back a bit, a small growl escaped his lips as he snarled. Taking his sunglasses off to take a closer look at the men, he recognized them as two of Diante's henchmen. He cursed himself silently for not realize it before. So he had been followed, for that he had to give these two credit. It was difficult to follow Tony when he wasnt being very careful let alone this time. He had used all of the tricks his mother had taught him, and yet they were still able to follow him.

Tony's eyes squinted as he watched the two open the doors to the car, the growling getting louder. The growl that came from him was not like a man imitating a wolf. Alec had kept another family secret from Poopsie. They had both come from a very long line of shape shifters thanks to their ancestor Raven whos mother had been a gypsy woman working in the Kings stables. When Raven was born, she cast a spell on him, saying that when he was old enough to, he would be able to use the power given to him to choose one animal to be able to shift into, but she had not expected the spell to be passed onto Raven's children. Even after so many generations, the spell held true, and not only Tony, but Alec, Zoey and Caleb as well had the power.

Closing his eyes, he could feel his body changing and soon, in Tonys place was a large white wolf. The growling became louder as he took on his wolf form. Finally one of the men heard it and looked over to the direction it was coming from. He watched as what he thought at first was just a big dog stepped out into the light provided by the street lamp.

"It's him." The blonde man said.

"That bomb should have done them both in." Replied dark hair.

"Obviously it didn't."

"We're screwed arent we?"

"I'd say so."

"Should we run?"

"That would be my plan." Both men began to ran down the alley away from the wolf, but Tony ran quickly after them. He was capable running much faster in this form. Fast enough that he could run circles around the both of them, but as they came out into the street, and ran a few more blocks, he realized where he was and came up with another plan. Luckily for Tony, Alec had given him a small tour of the town before they reached the bar.

Soon the two men bolted into the police station and stood against the door, baracading it from what had been chasing them. "You've got to help us." Said the blonde to the officer sitting at the desk. "There is a wolf after us."

"A. wolf?" The officer asked, raising an eyebrow. .

"Would you like another cup of tea?" Mrs. McGregor asked, smiling at Alec and holding up a white tea pot with blue flowers on it.

He smiled and shook his head. "No, Mrs. McGregor, two is enough."

She nodded and sat the tea pot down, placing the towel she had been holding it with beside it. "Its so nice of you to stop by and visit Officer Black. I do so enjoy our little visits."

Alec grinned. "So do I.". Mrs. McGregor had all but adopted Alec as her legal grandson. She had very few friends, and it was hard for her to get out of her apartment, so she would use any excuse she could to call the police. Either or cat was missing, or there was too much racket down or upstairs. Alec was the only one she would let come in the door. She liked him because while the other officers would only be interested in her report, Alec would come and just talk to her. By the time he was done, there was usually no report, because she had forgotten about it.

Her husband had been a cop, many years ago, and then her son as well. Her husband had died two years before of heart failure, and her son never came around. He lived in California. It wasnt that he wasnt able to come see her, it was just that he couldnt stand to be with her, the way she was now. He had noticed it a long time ago. She was forgetful, and kept losing things. For as long as they could, they had marked it up to old age, but as the problem got worse, she would get in the car to drive somewhere and just a few blocks later would forget where she was going. They had taken away her drivers license and put her on medication, but he didnt think it was helping any, just prolonging the disease.

Suddenly the walkie talkie attached to Alecs belt came to life. An officer with a thick southern drawl came on the mic. "ya'll wanna hear something funny?" he said, chuckling. "These two bozos just came in here swearin' up and down they was bein chased by a wolf." He laughed again. "A wolf. Can you believe that? Here in tequila heights." He paused for just a moment and tried to get his laughter under control. "Man I wish I had me some of whatever those two were on." He laughed again and the walkie went dead.

Alec looked up apologetically at Mrs. McGregor. He knew she couldnt have heard what was. Even he barely heard it. "Mrs. McGregor. I really must get going. They are sending me to a different assignment for something."

"My, my, you boys are busy, arent you?"

"Yes." Alec agreed. "We are very busy. Im sorry, Mrs. McGregor, but I really must go. I'll show myself out." Alec half sprinted for the door, and broke into a full run as he reached the front porch.

Techno had been listening to the scanner as well and looked up at Tonya as he heard the report about the wolf. "Do you think it could be any of the wolves at Charlene's?" he asked

"No," she shook her head. "I dont think so. Nikon is the only wolf that can get out of the cage and he wouldnt leave right now. He has a litter of pups to take care of. "

Techno grabbed his cell phone and dialed Lucy. "Lucy, I want you to drive over by the police station. There has been a report of a wolf chasing 2 men."

"I'm on it." She replied, hanging up the phone and starting her car.

"Maybe I should go out there just to make sure." Tonya said and she left.

Seeing that the pair were safely inside the station, Tony hid in the shadows and changed back again. That had been almost too easy he smirked to himself. Now all he had to do was to make sure that Alec let someone know they needed to check Interpol and see just what these two had been up to. They would then be shipped off to England and he would have another crack at them. Next time they wouldnt be so lucky.

Alec quickly made his way to the station, and got on the radio, "Did either of the two guys who just came in say where the wolf came from?"

"Nope, just said they were being chased." Came a voice on the other end.

"Did anyone see where it went?"

"There was no wolf these guys are just nuts. Can't understand half of what they say anyway.."

Alec frowned and put the radio on the holder. There was no doubt in his mind that the wolf the two men had seen was Tony, and he planned to get a hold of him before he pulled another stupid stunt like this.

Tony looked around and stepped out of the shadows when he was certain the coast was clear, and headed back to where Tonya's bike was parked. His adrenaline still pumping and heart still racing. He knew Alec would be furious that he had done what he did, but he didnt really see the problem. It wasnt like anyone else was going to believe that a wolf actually chased the two into the station. They would be deported, and that would be the end of it here anyway. Just then, a police car pulled up beside Tony, a door opened and he heard Alec say "Get in.. now."

Hesitating for only a moment, he opened the door and sat down next to his brother. The car sped off and Alec was silent for a few moments. "What the hell were you thinking?" Alec asked quietly as he stopped at a stoplight.

"Those were the two that bombed your car."

Alec shook his head. "I don't care if they were the ones who bombed the bloody car, you should have let me handle it."

"You wouldn't have handled it "

Alec turned to him and frowned. "Not like that I wouldn't have."

"Why are you so afraid of using the power?"

Alec shook his head and pressed the gas peddle as the light turned green again. "I dont know if you have ever heard of them, but there is a group of vigilantes around herefive girls that call themselves The Others. Theyre sort of local superheroes, although they have been sighted in other places. You can be sure they will be investigating this. What happens when they track this back to me?"

"How are they going to track it to you?" Tony asked. "You couldnt have possibly done it."

"These girls are not idiots they will find out. All they have to do is talk to those two guys at the station, and they will talk."

Tony shrugged. "So what if they do?"

Alec stopped the car and glared at him. "How exactly do you want me to explain it? I came here to get away from things like this... to attempt to live a normal life. To try to find a place where no one had ever heard of us and didnt know about us, and now that might have just been blown out of the water. He turned and looked out the front of the car. I really wish you had not done that." He said quietly. "If they find out you did it, then they are going to automatically assume that I can as well."

"Alec, you can..".

"But I wont. "

"So what, are you just going to leave just because a couple of girls dressed up in Halloween costumes playing cops and robbers might find out what you are? So what if they do? Who are they going to tell?" Tony paused for a moment. "Wait a minute.."

"What?" Alec asked as he started driving down the street again.

"You said there are 5 girls in this group, right?"

Alec just nodded.

"And you live with 5 girls." Tony turned to Alec, and opened his mouth to say something, then shook his head".. no way."

Alec tried to keep a smirk off his face, but it didnt work. Luckily in the dark, Tony couldnt see it. "Where do you want me to let you off at?"

"The bikes up the road just a bit. Tonya let me borrow one of hers. Did you know she has a vampyre?"

"She has two of them, actually." He paused and then smiled. "She wouldnt let you ride it either, eh?"

Tony just shook his head. His eyes caught a purple volts wagon bug coming from the other way, and so did Alecs. Suddenly, Alec turned the wheel and did a U-turn in the middle of the street. "What are you doing?" Tony asked as he tried to hold on.

He turned on his lights and sirens and waited for Lucy Diamond to pull over. "Thats one of the girls I told you about. Lucy Diamond." He turned and glared at Tony. "The one who is supposed to be able to talk to animals." The bug pulled to a stop on the side of the road, and Alec grabbed his hat off the console. "Stay here."

Lucy rolled down her window and relaxed when she saw it was just Alec. "Good evening, officer, can I help you?"

"Did Techno send you out looking for that wolf?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "Yeah, any sign of it?"

"None at all. I wouldnt worry about it. The guys are just probably a couple bums wanting to spend the night somewhere inside".

"Tonya went out looking too, but she reported back in a few minutes ago saying that the only wolf was safe and sound in his cage."

"Good. Hey, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Call home and see if you can get me a ride home from work. Ill be here in just a few minutes and Im clocking out as soon as I get there."

"Will do."

"Thanks." He nodded to her, turned, and started walking back to his car as she drove off.

"Well?" Tony asked and he returned.

"I think I convinced her to stop looking for the wolf."

Tony shook his head. "I still dont understand why you are so against using the power." When Alec didnt respond, Tony decided it would be best if he let the subject go for right then. Alec dropped him off at the alley he said the bike was parked and then drove on to the police station. The entire place was still talking about the wolf attack and each time the story was told by a different person, it got a little more detailed.

"Hey Alec!" Harvey called after him as he trotted to catch up. "Did you hear?"

"Hear what?" Alec asked, turning around.

"About the attack!" He said excitedly. "Two guys were attacked and nearly torn to bits by a wolf that had escaped from one of the labs just outside town. It was part of some weird experiment." He looked around, and then making sure there was no one else around, he leaned in closer and spoke quietly. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, but they think it was the doctor that was doing the experiments. He somehow accidentally turned himself into a werewolf. The lab downstairs is working on making silver bullets for all the officers."

Alec raised an eyebrow and put his hand on Harveys shoulder, trying not to laugh. "Harvey, someone has been messing with you. There was no wolf attack, just two men who came in here saying they saw one. Ok?"

The next morning, the group, minus Zarbon and Techno who were both still asleep, huddled around a small hole in the backyard, Poopsie put her arms around Alec as he looked at the piece of metal in his hands, the world Ellie barely visible. One of the firefighters had been able to pry off the license plate from the car and had given it to one of the officers to give to him. He sighed quietly, and placed the plate into the ground.

"Its ok, Alec." Sally said reassuringly. "She's in a better place."

He looked up and half-smiled. "I guess your right."

"How anyone can get so attached to a car is beyond me." Tony said shifting his weight, and leaning against a tree.

Alec looked up at him as he bent down to cover the small grave with the dirt laying around it. "What about that bike you had back in school?"

He shrugged. "A bike is one thing but a car? How did you come up with the name Ellie anyway?"

"Do you really have to ask?" He stood up and wiped the dirt from his hands. Of course, she had been named after Eleanore Rigby in the Beatles song of the same name.

"Can we go inside yet? Please?" Dee asked, yawning.

"Yeah." Alec looked up and took Poopsies hand. The procession continued inside, and Tony went to the cabinet on the far wall, looking for a tea bag. He looked for a moment, pushing a few more things aside.

"I thought there was some tea left in here?" he asked, frowning and moving to the next cabinet.

"Dont panic, its over there." Tonya said and pointed over to the counter. "I had a cup of it this morning." She answered him in an English accent and he nodded as he saw the box.

"Since when do people in the colonies drink tea that doesnt have ice in it?" He asked as he walked over and pulled out a bag.

"Ive always liked hot tea." She answered, still in accent. Poopsie looked at Alec, and covered her face with her hands as she shook her head in a hes going to get it now fashion. "And I was not aware that Kansas was part of the Colonies. She said, sitting up in her chair and smiling. Maybe they teach it differently in the UK, but there were only 13 colonies, and I do not believe that Kansas was one of them."

"All of the states are colonies." He said as he poured hot water into a coffee cup. "And what is with you doing that accent?"

Alec smiled and shook his head. "They all do it. These two are the worst." He nodded towards Poopsie and Tonya.

"Why?" Tonya asked, laying the accent on even thicker. "Is it getting on your nerves? She smiled sweetly at him."

"I wasnt going to say anything, but now that you mention it, yes".

Just then, Zarbon walked in. "g'day all." He said and then walked over to Tonya. "g'morning luv."

She looked up and smiled. "Good morning."

Tony shook his head. "They've even got him doing it."

"Doing what?" Zarbon asked looking over at Tony.

"The accent." He took a sip of his tea.

"His is real." Alec interrupted.

"It is?" he took another sip. "He sounds like a bloody aussie."

Tonyas mouth fell open a little and she grinned. "He is a bloody aussie. Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Im from Britain and have my knickers all in a knot?"

He shrugged. "No, not really." Taking his cup and tea bag, he walked over to the table and sat down next to Alec. "So how did the two of you meet, anyway?" He asked him and Poopsie.

They looked at each other for a moment, and finally Alec answered. "We met at the fair last year."

Tonya yipped. "I nearly got my tail singed off that night."

Tony looked up at her over the rim of his coffee cup. "Your tail?" he asked.

"Yes." Her brown belt began to unwind from its normal place around her waist and she took "Tail... singed" she held it up and with her other hand, smacked her forehead.. after a moment she looked up at Poopsie. "So, Poopsie, should we go get those shirts made now??"