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Okay to all those people who are reading counts one, well here's your update. Be warned: it's long. Oh and just so you know, I have changed Shadow's power. One of these days I'll change the intro.
Oh and I reuploaded this chapter after I proofread it, so hopefully there aren't anymore stupid mistakes!
He scanned the sky above, looking for something big. Beside Shadow, Ghost shifted her weight from one foot to the other in impatient boredness.
"How much longer are they going to be?" she complained. "We don't need to be caught in the rain once it starts." She looked up at the clouded sky. "And it's going to start soon." She added.
"They should be here anytime." Shadow said simply as he continued scanning the sky.
For a few moments, none of the three said a word as they waited for any sign of their guest. A sudden glint caught Shadow's eyes and he turned his head in the direction it came from. "Look." he said, pointing at the small object that dotted the sky. Both Ghost and Andy looked over at the spot that Shadow was looking at and saw the dot, growing larger with each passing second.
"Looks like they're a tad bit late." Andy commented.
They waited patiently as the spacecraft landed in a small clearing behind the Hideout.
"About time." Ghost muttered, unhappily as the three of them walked toward the silver shuttle.
Andy let out a low whistle as they came closer to the spacecraft. "Nothing like not trying to draw attention." he muttered. "Man, I'd like to get a look inside the engines of that baby."
Nobody paid any attention to the boy as the ramp of the ship lowered and six guards dressed in nothing but blue cautiously made their way down the ramp, weapons drawn as if expecting the whole meeting to be nothing but a trap.
Shadow boldly walked forward, a calm expression across his face as well as in the way he walked. Ghost shook her head and sighed as she and Andy followed suit, not knowing how Shadow always managed to seem that way.
"Greetings!" he called out, holding up his right hand as a gesture of his intent of a peaceful meeting. The guards parted the way as a petite girl made her way through. Ghost frowned as she already saw the snobbery in the girl's face as she made her way toward the three of them.
"I am Princess Acople, princess of Tarna." she said in a matter-of-fact manner. Her violet eyes quickly scanned over both Andy and Ghost and rested on Shadow. Her small mouth curved into a small, flirty smile. Brushing aside her blonde hair, she took another small step toward Shadow. "And you must be Shadow." she took another step closer. "I've heard so much about you."
Shadow polietly took a step back. "Perhaps we should get you and your things inside."
Acople's smile curved into a slight frown at not getting her way. "Well you can show me around Shadow. Those two can get my bags." she said as she pointed a slender finger toward Ghost and Andy. Ghost scowled at the thought of being someone's baggage carrier . . . especially this spoiled brat of a princess.
"I think that we should help them." Shadow suggested.
A horror-struck expression filled Acople's face. "Me? Carry luggage? How obserd!"
"Yeah, what if she breaks a nail?" Ghost shot sarcastically.
"Ghost . . . " Shadow warned. "Don't start."
The princess' violet eyes shot daggers at Ghost. Andy looked between the two girls as the fire in their eyes intensitfied. Shaking his head he realized that Princess Acople's stay was going to be a long one.
Ghost had seen no sign of any kind of that type of activity when they got here . . . and they didn't seem too worried about someone following them either what with that ship and all. Something didn't feel right about the whole thing, but she couldn't put her finger on what.
It's probably nothing. You're paranoid. she thought to herself as she flopped down on her stiff bed. She was tired although she was not sure why. Nothing ever had made sense to her before so why should this be any different. She let her pale blue eyes close, resting them, and before she knew it she heard a knock on her door.
"Ghost?" came Andy's voice on the other side. Ghost opened her eyes and blinked them quickly. Had she fallen asleep? Funny, she never remembered doing so. "Ghost? Are you coming to dinner do you want me to put in the 'fridge?"
Ghost stretched her lanky arms and legs as far as they would go, loosening up the stiff muscles that lay underneath her skin. Letting her legs dangle over the edge of her bed, she put all her weight on her feet and with long, tired strides, made her way to the door.
Instead of opening the door, however, she shimmered as she walked through it.
"Ghost! Man, you scared me!" Andy exclaimed. "Next time, warn a guy before you do something like that!"
Ghost raised an eyebrow. "You've known me for two years now . . . I figure you would be used to it by now."
Andy shrugged. "So...you want me to put dinner away for you?"
Ghost likewise shrugged. "Nah, I think I'll eat tonight."
Andy's shocked looked forced a smile out of Ghost, who barely ever ate anything let alone a whole meal....at least not with the others. When she would eat, she ate a small bit and by herself. Andy never understood why, but in the two years of him knowing her, he learned that he should never ask Ghost about any of her habits or why she did them.
The two walked out of the dark hallway and into the bright kitchendining area. Shadow and Princess Acople were sitting at the table. The Princess had changed into a different, extravengent outfit. Ghost rolled her eyes as she sat down in the seat opposite of the Princess. Taking a small bit of food, Ghost merely nibbled at it.
"So, Shadow," the Princess started. "The woods here are so beautiful. Maybe you and I ought to take a walk."
Ghost slammed her cup down on the table. "Hello?! You are in hiding!"
"Who's going to find us in the woods?" the Princess smiled sweetly.
"Ghost's right." Andy agreed. "It's too risky."
Princess Acople sighed angrily as she shot daggers at Andy and Ghost. Turning quickly back to Shadow, her expression changed in the complete opposite mannner. "Oh, well, that's alright then." she smiled. "I guess that's true enough. So, Shadow, would you like to show me around your place?"
The unhappy look on Ghost's face grew even unhappier. This girl was too nosey for her own good. Andy must have sensed Ghost's displeasure for he quickly finished his dinner and looked over at the Princess. "Are you done?" he asked as polietly as he could.
Acople nodded slightly. Andy grabbed her still half-full plate and took it over to the sink. Ghost immediately stood up out of her chair and walked away, leaving her nearly full plate laying on the table.
"What's up with her?" Princess Acople asked not really caring about the answer.
"Nothing." Shadow replied.
"She always acts like that?" she asked.
Andy nodded his head as he picked up Ghost's plate. "Actually it's pretty rare if she eats with us."
"She sounds pretty unfriendly." Acople replied, batting her eyelashes flirtily at Shadow.
"No." Shadow replied quickly. "That's just the way she is."
"What about you?" Acople asked Shadow.
The confused look on his face reflected Andy's confusion at Acople's forwardness. "What do you mean?" Shadow asked.
"Why do you seem so mysterious?" she asked, scooting closer to Shadow. "Is that just how you are?"
Andy rolled his eyes as he walked over to the main room of the Hideout, flipping on the television as he did so. Ghost sullenly walked into the main room as well and sat down in a chair close to the couch where Andy was seated. He slowly turned and looked at the pale girl. "What's wrong? She bothering you already?"
Ghost kept her eyes facing the television, but Andy could tell that she was just staring at it; not watching it. "No comment."
"Give her a chance Ghost." Andy said in a low voice. "She's probably not all that bad. I mean she's used to having it easy."
"Must be nice." Ghost muttered to herself. Andy threw a questioning glance toward her, but didn't ask anything. To ask Ghost anything about her life before the Outcasts was to risk her wrath . . . and being able to turn herself invisible and extracting revenge was something Ghost hardly ever did, but Andy wasn't willing to provoke her. He turned back to the television program that he had turned on . . . some movie about a road, a girl, a dog, and a pair of shoes. He found that he was barely paying any attention to it, his mind was wandering elsewhere. He shook his head to get back into reality as Princess Acople and Shadow walked into the main room. Ghost only moved her eyes as she watched the two walk in, no emotion betrayed anywhere on her face. She seemingly turned back toward the television, but Andy saw her looking at them out of the corner of her eye.
"So," the Princess started as she sat down on the couch next to Shadow. "What are we going to do now?"
Ghost turned to her. "Watch TV." she said simply and plainly.
Princess Acople opened her mouth to say something but Ghost quickly cut her off. "No, we aren't going to do anything spectacular now. We are keeping you hidden."
The Princess' mouth quickly closed and turned into a glare directed toward Ghost, but Ghost merely turned away. Before long Ghost stood up and briskly turned and walked toward her room.
"Good night Ghost." Shadow said.
"Yeah, 'night Ghost." Andy added.
Ghost turned back and, with a slight nod of her head, walked into the darkened hall where the rooms were, passing through her bedroom door without opening it.
Acople turned to both Shadow and Andy. "What's wrong with her?"
"She likes to be alone alot." Shadow replied.
"So she's anti-social as well?" the Princess asked, eyebrow raised.
"No." Shadow said, a bit defensively. "Don't judge her. You know nothing about her."
Princess Acople looked at Shadow. "Oh, I did not mean it to come out like that."
Shadow turned his attention back to the televsion but Andy could sense his uneasiness as Princess Acople began to scoot closer to him on the couch. She was very forward and Andy knew that Shadow wasn't comfotable around people who constantly put pressure on him . . . unless, of course, if it was either him or Ghost but they were all the family that each other had.
Andy looked over at the Princess. "Uh, Princess Acople, would you perhaps like to see your room?"
Both Shadow and Acople looked over at Andy, Shadow's face showing a quick glance of thanks. The Princess' gaze went from Andy to Shadow, then back to Andy. "Oh all right. I suppose I should see where I'll be cramped . . . erm, staying while I'm here."
"Follow me." Andy said as he walked into the hallway where Ghost had disappeared earlier. As Andy went by Shadow, Shadow nodded his thanks to him. Andy slightly nodded his head back as he led Princess Acople down the hallway and past Ghost's door. He could hear the girl moving around in her room, probably getting ready for bed as he passed on by.
Finally making it to the end of the hall where the guest quarters were located, Andy opened the door and walked inside, flipping on the light as he did so. "Well, it isn't much, but you'll be safe here." he told the Princess.
Acople's initial reaction was to stand in the doorway, staring at the room in horror and disgust. "Th-this is where I have to stay?" she asked, shocked.
"Sorry Princess Acople, but we don't have any nicer quarters." Andy replied, shaking his head slightly. He actually thought that this room was one of the nicest in the Hideout - which it was. There was nothing wrong with the room, it was well-kept and all, but it wasn't up to the standards Acople was used to.
The Princess sighed unhappily. "Oh, all right. I guess it's not so bad."
"All your things are already in here." Andy continued as he walked back to the doorway. "If you need anything, just holler."
"All right." the Princess replied.
"Good night, Princess." Andy said.
"I sure do hope so." the Princess muttered as Andy walked out of the doorway, shutting the door as he did so. With a sigh of relief, he walked back into the main room where he had left Shadow.
"There. The Princess is all tucked away safe and sound." he commented as he walked in.
"Good." Shadow responded. "I am going to go to bed."
Andy yawned. "Yeah, me too once I put the Hideout in lockdown."
Shadow nodded slightly to him before walking down the hall where his room lay. Andy quickly turned toward the main computer that sat at his left. Typing in his password, as well as a few commands, he put the whole building under servailance before heading off to bed himself.
Ghost sat in the middle of her bed, writing in a notebook. The notebook was the only possesion she really cherished. It had been her friend for many years . . . even before meeting Shadow and Andy, and she hardly ever let the innanimate object out of her sight.
Finally finished writing in the small item, she closed it and set it on the table next to her bed. With a yawn, she crawled underneath the covers of her bed and laid her head down on the pillow. However, sleep didn't come easy as it never did. Despite the fact that she was tired, thoughts kept swimming in her head, keeping her awake. Mainly the thoughts of Princess Acople and her stay at the Hideout. Her stay was going to be a long one and Ghost wasn't sure if she was going to get through it without guffling on to the snooty girl.
Ghost shook her head. If she did that then there'd be a war between Arthain and Earth . . . not something she wanted to be responsible for. With a sigh, she closed her eyes trying to bring the elements of sleep around, but to no avail.
She continued to lay down until finally, unable to stand it any longer, she sat up in her bed. She glanced around the dark room, only able to distinguish a few outlines of some of her belongings. Swinging her legs over the bed, she put her feet on the ground beneath her while she stared at the blackness outside her window for a moment before standing up and walking toward her bedroom door. She figured a cup of tea would help her racing mind calm down a bit as it had occasionally in the past, however before she walked through her door, a sudden sound caught her attention. She listened a moment to make sure she had actually heard something and that it wasn't just her imagination. She heard it again, faintly, but it was there. Silently and cautiously, Ghost passed through her door, not sure what to expect once on the other side.
As soon as she was through, she glanced to her left, toward the living room as well as Andy and Shadow's room. No one was there. She glanced toward her right where Princess Acople's room was and saw a figure lurking in front of her door. For a moment she thought it was one of the boys, but soon realized that the figure carried a plasma blaster with him . . . something none of them ever carried at all. Quickly she turned invisible so that the figure wouldn't notice her until she wanted him to.
"Stop right there!" Ghost shouted as loud as she could, hoping to wake Shadow and Andy. Even though she couldn't be seen by the man, that didn't mean that she was incapable of getting hit with a stray shot . . . she needed her teammates out here now.
Just as she had thought, the figure turned to her and began shooting toward the direction he had heard her voice. She dodged the shots better than she had orginally thought, shouting again for the boys, not that she figured they needed any more urging . . . the sound of the blaster should have been enough.
On cue, both Shadow and Andy immediately ran out of the room.
"He's going after Acople!" Ghost shouted, still invisible as the two of them ran out of their rooms. Immediately the man turned and fired in the direction of Ghost's voice. Ghost found herself conered with no chance of escape or a place to hide.
As the figured continued to fire, one shot barely connected with her, but it was enough. As the blast grazed her elbow, she yelped in unexpected pain. "Shadow!" she called out in despiration, seeing how hopeless her situation was. Knowing about where she was at, Shadow's hand shot out, putting a protective field up around her. Ghost immediately regained visibility as the blasts relected off the black shield, keeping her from harm.
Andy knew he had to distract the man while Ghost recovered from the attack. Grabbing into his belt, he pulled out in his own weapon - a device he had invented days earlier to disrupt other electric powered machines. Shooting the Electomagnetic Disruptor toward the plasma blaster, a redish beam travelled toward the plasma blaster striking it right in the middle of the figure's weapon. The plasma weapon sputtered a moment, giving Ghost a chance to get out of the corner and to get beside her teammates.
She had just gotten to a safer place when the plasma blaster began functioning again.
"Split up!" Shadow called out in a voice he only used when addessed his team during a fight.
Immediately, Ghost and Andy ran forward while Shadow put forcefeilds up around the three of them. This took much of his concentration so he was unable to aid in the fight . . . at least not until he could retract the sheilds once they were out of immediate danger of being blasted.
Ghost and Andy ran on opposite sides toward the figure, determinded to stop this quickly. The figure aimed his blaster at the two of them, but the sheilds protected them from certain death.
"High and low!" Ghost shouted. Immediately, Ghost rose high in the air, the shield flickering and disappearing around her, exposing her to impending danger.
However, the figure was more consentrated on Andy's ground assault. He threw a few circular spheres at the figure which caused tiny explosions in his face, momentarily blinding him. Ghost took this opportunity to swoop down and grab the plasma blaster. However as soon as she tried to pull it away, the man clutched it tighter which soon resulted in a tugging match.
While this was taking place, the forcefield around Andy dropped as Shadow prepared his assault. While the tug-of-war continued, he closed his eyes as he turned his palms toward each other. He opened his darkened eyes as tiny circles began to grow inbetween his palms. The two circles suddenly formed into a large rock. With a grunt, Shadow directed it toward the man, the rock connected with the side of the figure's head. Immediately, the man's grip on the weapon weakened significantely. Ghost easily wrenched it from his grasp, flying higher in the air to prevent him from grabbing it.
"What should I do with it?" Ghost shouted to Shadow.
"Put it -" Shadow started as he ran toward the man. He was immediately stopped as the man jumped inhumanly high toward the pale girl who held his weapon.
Momentarily shocked, Ghost didn't have a chance to react as he grabbed his gun, kicking her away. She connected hard with the wall. Stunned, she fell to the ground, trying to blink away the fuziness that clouded her vision. The figure swung around, poining the blaster toward Ghost, ready to blast her.
She saw the danger and passed into the wall behind her before she was blasted. As she landed on the other side, she looked up to find herself in Acople's room.
"What is going on?!" she demanded boldly. She tried to look unafraid - and she did very well - but Ghost could see the fear in her eyes.
"Don't worry, we can handle it." Ghost answered. "You alright?"
"Do I look alright?" the princess snapped.
"Sorry your Grum-" Ghost stopped herself mid-sentance. It was not the time to start that up . . . she had to get back out and help her friends. "Stay here." she told the princess and without waiting for a reply, she bolted out of the princess' temporary room and into the battle raging on in the narrow, dark hallway.
Shadow landed beside her as soon as she appeared on the other side of the wall. "Is she alright?"
"Yes." Ghost replied quickly.
"Don't like her, do you?" Shadow asked as the two of them jumped away from another blast.
"Now's not the time to discuss people I may or may not like." Ghost replied.
"Guys! I can use some help over here!" Andy's shout came from the end of the hall. Shadow kicked the man away from him and Ghost, exposing the danger Andy was in. Somehow more figures looking similar to the first had made their way into the Hideout, and had surrouded Andy.
Ghost took off running at the closest one, smacking into him full force. Kicking him to the ground, she heard a loud clatter coming from the man.
"They're robots!" she called out, knowing that once Andy knew that, he'd be able to get at them quickly.
And he did. Immediately, one of the robots seemed to short out and fell to the ground. Two more then fell like the first.
"That's much easier." Andy commented. "Now I want to know how they got past my security system!"
Before any reply could be made, a loud scream came from Acople's room.
"Shadow!" Ghost yelled. "She's in trouble!"
Shadow glanced over at his teammate to see that she was surrounded by robots. He quickly glanced over toward Andy to see he was in just about the same perdicament. This whole observation took less than a second before he took off running toward the princess' room.
Before he got close to her door, two more robots blocked his path. Turning his palms toward each other, two shadows of stones grew larger and larger between them until he flung them straight at the two metallical men, sending them flying to the floor. He knew that every second that he didn't get into that room was a second more that an attack could be made against Acople.
"Help!" Acople's voice echoed through the halls. Shadow sprinted as fast as he possibly could, jumping over the fallen robots, but when he tried to open the door, he found it was locked.
"Open the door!" he demanded, pounding his fists against it.
"I can't!" came Acople's muffled response.
Shadow tried desperately to open the door, but was unsuccessful - it was locked from the inside. Only one person could get through the door and that was -
"Ghost!" Shadow shouted. "The door's locked, I can't get in!"
"Coming!" Ghost shouted back. Immediately she flew up above the heads of her attackers and turned invisible. Shadow fought some attackers back, waiting for Ghost to get the door unlocked.
The pale girl quickly passed through Acople's door to see the danger the girl was in. A tall, older-looking man was standing over the fallen girl, blaster raised.
"Drop it!" Ghost shouted at him. Immediately he spun the weapon around, leveling the weapon at her head. Ghost hardly had time to jump out of the way as a shot was fired toward her.
"Ghost! Open the door!" Shadow's muffled demand came from the other side of the door. Ghost quickly rose to her feet and sprinted toward the door but was instantaneously knocked off her feet, away from it. She laid on the floor, face stinging from where the man's hand had struck her. Hate pulsated through her body and showed through her eyes, but she didn't move. She looked up at him as he stood over her, not daring to move - not even to breathe. He had many weapons on his person, within easy reach. In the blink of an eye he could grab a weapon and blast her without her every being able to do anything about it.
"Ghost?!" Shadow's voice yelled out again as the banging on the door increased.
The man glanced at the door momentarily, giving Ghost an opportunity to react. She jumped to her feet as fast as she could possibly could. Using as much force as she could muster, she slammed into the man, sending him to the ground, giving her the opportunity to press the button to open the door. Immediately Shadow and Andy barged into the room just as the man got to his feet and launched himself toward Acople who had crawled into a corner and was now hiding there. The three superheros all launched themselves at the man simutaneously, ready to bring him down at all costs. He was quickly knocked off his feet as the three teens slammed into him.
Without one word the man glared at the three then scrambled up out of the window. Andy ran toward the window and looked out. "He's gone!"
Shadow and Ghost looked at each other, then at Acople. "Who was that?" Ghost asked.
Acople sighed as she rose to her feet. "That was Warlord - the one who wishes to assassinate me."
So, what do you guys think? Please review and tell me!
