How had he gotten to a point in his life, where he was standing on the corner of a seedy street, waiting for an invisible woman, who was also asleep, to show up? Sure, when Kendra had given him a ring and asked for a favour, he was more than willing to help. She'd earned some level of trust from him and deserved at least to be heard out. But it was still weird. Surprising too, considering how their first meeting had gone. That was not something he liked to dwell on, he had learnt a few concerning things about himself that he wasn't quite ready to face.

In the time since that night, he had thrown himself into his studies, of all kinds. Adding martial training and power control to his schedule had taken up enough of his time and effort to keep other issues from his mind. At least he was seeing some small improvements in his fighting capabilities because his power training was getting no where. It was like there was a wall in his way and he had no idea how to get through it, no matter how hard he tried. He knew logically it hadn't really been long enough for him to see any real changes, but it was still frustrating. Just another aspect of his life he didn't have control over.

One thing was for certain in all of this, whatever she wanted, it was probably going to involve a certain amount of trouble. He got the impression she hadn't quite learnt the true consequences of her actions yet. At least not completely. That in itself wouldn't be such a big issue if she also didn't get herself into trouble, messing with people from the safety of her invisibility.

Sighing and checking his watch, he knew he'd set off far too early. The cold didn't bother him, but considering where he was and the last time someone had pulled a knife on him, he wasn't exactly relishing waiting around for too long. He just hoped she was early as well, more issues to deal with were not on his list of activities right now.

She had tossed and turned for some time struggling to fall asleep. It was the hivewire of nerves and excitement that was causing the problems.  She was supposed to have met him by now. Yet, it was a non starter if she couldn't even fall asleep first. Sighing she sat up in her bed.  Her eyes feel on the tranquilizer gun sitting on the nightstand. She hadn't planned on bringing it but..... Kendra grabbed the holster and removed her leather jacket. Kendra slipped the shoulder holster on over her light billowy sweater and pulled her jacket back on over top of it. Pulling the gun from the holster she pressed it against her thigh and pulled the trigger.

There was a sharp sting in her thigh. Dam. Hurts every time. She thought. The effects were quick so she quickly made sure she tucked the gun back into it's place in the holster just beneath her her jacket.  The drugs didn't take long to kick in.  In her astral form she would have a slight headache, but things effected her less in her dreams.  Like everything around her was muted.  Pain was less painful, feelings were less pleading.  Her senses of taste, touch and smell were dulled as well.  It was like she was in the world, only on a different plain.  She couldn't explain how it worked, she just knew that the drugs weren't going to be much of a hindrance to her nd that was  good thing.

There was something about Kendra that people needed to know.  She was a complex woman.  Ordinarily she was very kind and sweet, a bit mousy and shy but overall a good natured person who just wanted what everyone wanted.  Love.  Happiness.  The freedom to be herself without being hated for what she was.  There was also her astral form to consider.  Yes, her astral form took on a life of her own, but it varied.  Her attitude and general disposition depended on her state of exhaustion. The way some people might become cranky when they were tired her mind did something different.  Her level of exhaustion during her dreams determined which 'daydream' you were going to get.  When her body and mind reached high levels of exhaustion the impulse control centers of her brain started to wobble off the rails.  The more tired she was, the more of a troublesome little minx she became.

She was conscious of what was happening around her and what she was doing, only she didn't care.  It didn't occur to her that she was stirring up trouble because her brain chemistry changed with her mental restlessness.  She even had a name for this 'persona' that got her into so much trouble.  Dream.  Dream was a girl who cared about the thrills and excitement of danger and intrigue.  She didn't think about the consequences because that was boring.  She wanted to have fun!  She wanted to test the boundries of what she could get away with.

The fact that she had to tranquilize herself didn't bode well for them having a peaceful night with no ill advised shenanigans.  Kendra's body slumped against the soft comforter of her bed.  Her eyes fell closed and within moments she was asleep. 

Standing outside of her body  Dream looked down on her sleeping form.  Shaking her head lightly she checked her watch.  Yep.  The scott's gonna be mad.  Wonder how far we can push that temper.  She thought with a little grin forming on her mouth.  Dream stood there, invisible to the world.  She could see her own body.  It was slightly translucent and as usual enveloped in a light pink aura.  Dream peered through the open bathroom door.  She saw her reflection in the mirror and smiled wider. Looking good girl!  She thought.  And exploded into a mist of pale white and fiery red.  She reappeared out on the lawn of the mansion.  Teleporting from her room to the soft wet grass. 

Settling her eyes on the iron gate she teleported to the other side of it and began to walk down the street.  Every few steps she took she would explode into that cloud of Dream and reappear a few feet further.  She traveled by a mixture of walking and teleporting and it go her to her destination rather quickly.

He was waiting for her on a corner.  It was her Dream persona he had met in the club.  The one he was rather displeased with actually.  She didn't seem to mind that she was making an unexpected appearance when he was expecting the shy sweet Kendra and she showed up in her stead.  She was the same girl after all, only she didn't carry the same inhibitions or fears that Kendra did.  Dream was out for fun.  Her idea of fun was dangerous.  She was out for a little vigilante justice.  There was a crack den right around the next corner.  Dream had been meaning to take care of it herself, but it'd be nice to have a little backup. 

One of the students at the mansion had OD'ed on some poison they got from this place.  Some silly twat who thought turning to drugs was the proper way to handle the stress of being a mutant with a visible mutation. Rather than face the pain they buried it in a needle and nearly paid for it with their lives.  Kendra couldn't allow that.  Dream couldn't allow that.  Dream was a trouble maker sure, but at her core she was still a good person. Her methods and ideas of fun might be a little skewed, but she still had the same core values as her waking self.  It was like an extension of her subconscious mind in which Dream existed within Kendra.  She wanted to help the world heal just like Kendra.  Kendra used her photography to try and better the world.  Dream used her fists and cocky attitude.

Teleporting right up behind Artair she couldn't resist the urge to spook him a little.  "Been waiting long?"  She spoke up from behind him unexpectedly.  She was smiling.  The air kissing her soft pale skin exposed beneath the rips of the thighs of her grey jeans.  Her hair waving lightly in the cool wind.  She was beautiful.  She truly was a dream.  To bad for her massive ego that no one in the world could see her.

Where the hell was she? Him being early and getting bored was one thing, but she was getting later and later by the minute. He'd already had to give more than one of the rougher looking people walking past a good, 'don't f--- with me' look. Most took the hint and gave him a wide berth, leaving the redhead young man alone. The few that were stupid, or drunk enough to try and start something were shut down hard, learning not to mess with random Scotsmen. It was a lesson more people could do with learning, especially a certain other ginger person he knew. He was so close to getting out his phone and leaving Kendra a less than polite message, when a soft voice addressed him directly from behind.

Artair was so on edge at the moment, and so pumped with adrenaline, his immediate response to someone sneaking up on him was quick and violent. Spinning viciously and half way to pulling out a blade, his mind finally registered the voice. Probably a good thing as well, Kendra would probably not be best pleased with getting stabbed after calling him for a favour. It would make her learn though. Nothing was a better motivator like pain. Maybe next time he thought wryly.

"Lass," he growled through his teeth, "Most people know not to sneak up on short tempered Scots." Which was mostly true, at least back home. He had rarely gotten bother from tourists back home, most being on their best behaviour when surrounded by the crazy northerners. They were also pretty well liked in Europe, unlike the English. He always found it funny that their European neighbors found common ground with the Scots over a shared dislike for England.

"I was hoping to have a nice peaceful chat, maybe learn a bit more about what made Kendra tick. Obviously thats out the window." She was wearing her mask again, flitting about as 'Daydream' or whatever she was calling herself this time. That was not what he was hoping for. With the way she had acted the last time she'd been invisible, he could only dread what she had in mind for them. It was true she deserved to be heard out, but if her idea of a favour was playing tricks on some poor sod like him, he was not going to be pleased. If she hadn't even thought about what he'd said last time, not considered the kind of damage she was doing, he was going to be more than upset. Every time she messed with people she was putting herself and others in danger. Every incident caused by a single mutant were examples bigots could use against them, as proof of their hatred.

Artair had already had to fight a bunch of anti mutant thugs, thugs who would have killed a child because she was different. Kendra put people like her in danger and over what? Pranks. "Well, you called me here for a reason. What's this favour you want and will I be upset about what I'm about to hear?" He really didn't want to have an argument with the lass, it was becoming an annoying trend.

Dream rolled her eyes.  Not that he could see that.  She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed against her chest.  She figured he'd probably want to meet with sweet little Kendra. Girl was soft and cuddly as a little bunny, with big brown eyes to bat at you and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  The problem with that was, Kendra couldn't fight worth a dam. She could barely walk without tripping and falling flat on her face.  "Yeah? Well I was hoping we could have a conversation without one of us being an ass.  Guess we're both disappointed."  She said dryly. 

"The reason Kendra called you out here in the middle'o the night is simple.  She needs your help.  You gotta deal with me, because I love the girl, but she ain't worth a dam in a fight you're gone want me here for that. See that building over there?  The one with the portly gentleman enjoying a cheesesteak? That's called a crack house sugar.  We're here to shut it down tonight." She said stepping off the curb. The sound of her boots clicking on the pavement gave some indication of where she was standing.

"One of our friends, a mutant with low self esteem went into that crack house. Got'emselve a nice heaping helping of overdose for his troubles. They sell to kids there. Now you can be mad at me all ya want. But I know you don't want nothing happening to Kendra. Sweet...Lil old....Kendra. Now I can do it alone if you wanna teach me a'lesson, just know every injury I get is gone show up on her body. If I get shot tonight.... She's gone bleed out in her bed and never wake up. Can you live with that?"

  Dream wasn't giving him a chance to talk. She was giving him sass and feisty attitude, but she had a point. He agreed to help though it wouldn't have made much sense for Kendra to show up here herself. She wanted to show up in astral form herself. Her own personality here to be with Artair. It was the least she could do. Though when she had to use the tranq to get to sleep It invited Dream to the party in her place.

"Let's do it for the lil kids huh?" She asked. Still, there was a hint of sarcasm in her tone. She remembered last time she met Artair. He yelled at her so bad she disappeared. He forced Kendra back into her astral body. He had literally changed her mental state, her perception just by his general scariness. That was the type of person she wanted helping with this problem. Someone who was scary, someone who had the tools to help.  But most importantly... Someone who cared about doing what was right.

Well, one thing he could say about this version of the lass she did make him laugh. Sharper tongued and quicker with her wit, she reminded him of home, in some small ways. And yes, he could probably do with being more patient and tolerant of people but he'd be damned if he was admitting it to her. The verbal sparring was also too much fun to give up, at least for now. If it became too much of problem, he could always shut it down. "Considering the both of us, that went out the window when we met."

Listening to her was certainly concerning, to say the least. A voice coming from open air was pretty spooky, even when he knew it should be there and why. But that wasn't what he was worried about right now. Her way of talking about herself, as if she was two different people set off alarm bells in his head. Artair was a medical student, he might not know much about the mental health side of medicine but he absolutely respected it. The way she drew a very definite line between Kendra and whoever she was now was an issue, one she needed to address. That could wait though what she said next set his blood boiling.

He was well aware about drug use. It would be part of his work for a long time trying to help addicts and the poor sods that had OD'ed. They were sick and needed help and he felt nothing but pity for them. Drug pushers though, he despised. They fed on peoples pain and misery for greed. Those filth were scum, pushing dangerous, untested substances on people who were addicted to whatever they could get hold off. He saw them as the parasites they were, growing fat on the most vulnerable people in society. Addicts were ill, drug pushers were the disease. He was more than happy to help the lass take them down. A drunk kid didn't deserve his rage, these monsters did.

Nodding towards the disembodied voice, he already knew he'd help. This was something that couldn't be allowed to continue. "Aye lass, I'll help. Whoever these f-----'s are, they won't be pushing that filth by the end of the night. But if I'm helping we need ground rules, things we both agree to before walking in. I want your words you won't break any agreements we make." It felt best to be firm with that, she seemed more manic than at their last meeting and he wasn't about to have Kendra's death on his hands. "If things go south, if I get hurt, you bolt. Call the police. That's the only rule I won't budge on. I won't have someone else getting themselves killed over me. You not happy with that, I walk, right now and I tell your friends at the mansion about your nightly adventures."

If they were going to do this, they would also need to talk tactics, get a feel of what they'd both do. Quickly outlining his ranges and general ability usage, he realised they should probably not go in blind. "How do you want to run this then. Seems best to start with a bit of your invisible snooping, get an idea of how many and how well armed. After that, well we'll see."

Moving back over to where he stood she looked at the crackhouse.  Dream reached back and tied her hack back into a ponytail. She listened as he laid down the ground rules.  Rules?!? Those are such a drag!  She thought as she shifted her weight onto her left foot and leaned against the wall.  To bad he couldn't see her. 

He would know she was staring daggers at him.  Dream quietly wondered if people could feel her eyes on them while she was invisible.  It was something she never considered.  "Fine.  You have my word.  If you do something stupid and get'churself caught, I won't lift a fanger to help ya.  But'chu don't gotta worry bout me honey.  I can rumble with the big boys."  She said as she stepped off the curb.

That wasn't so bad.  She was planning on leaving his ass hanging anyways if he got into trouble.  She wasn't about to stick her neck out for someone.  Not when she had a job to do.  Dream didn't care about comroderay or teamwork.  She simply knew that getting this job done would be simpler with help.   She wasn't really two separate people.  Dream and Kendra.  They shared the same astral body.  The same pain, memories.  Only depending on her mental state her thought process and judgment varied wildly.  She wasn't crazy.  She just wanted some fun, and beating the piss out of crack dealing scumbags would be a rip roaring good time.

"Now here's my rules sugar.  You save whoever's in charge for me.  You can help me clear the way, but big boss man has to have a chat with mama we clear?"  Dream reached in her pocket and pulled out her cigarettes.  She lit one up and exhaled a cloud of smoke as she watched the outside sentries moving around a bit.  She was trying to get a feel for what her approach would be.  The cigarette was an extension of her invisible self so it acted as her clothing it remained invisible.  Though, it still took up a presence in the world. Even though Artair couldn't see the cigarette the smell of it could be noticed.  The heavy smell of delicious tabaccoo filled the empty space from where her voice rang only moments ago.

Dream only smoked it half way before flicking it away.  The invisible cigarette bounced off the wall causing the very visible sparks and embers to shower off the brick.  Funny how that works huh?  Dream turned to Artair.  "I'll head in.  When you feel like stumblin through feel free to join me handsome."  With that she exploded into a cloud of invisible white and red smoke.  She reappeared standing beside the fat guy outside who was supposed to be standing guard.  She was right behind him.  She pulled out her police baton and flicked her wrist.

There was a metallic snick of the baton uncompressing itself and the man turned around to see nothing.  Nothing at all as the baton crashed against the bridge of his nose.  He fell backwards holding his nose and landed on his ass.  He stumbled back in panic as he tried to stop the bloody stream.  Dream was smirking as she slowly walked after him.  She stalked him as he scurried away on his ass; walking backwards like a crab.  Dream brought it down over his head in a few quick vicious swings and he himself entered the land of dreams.  Looking back across the street at Artair she stopped a moment to think that he was rather cute..... Then she turned and looked at an upstairs window before teleporting herself inside. 

While he had the feeling she was giving him death glares, he couldn't help but smile at her comment. He'd take sarcasm and open scorn over the kind of weird, half politeness he'd had to get used to from people after moving to New York. Yeah, he got the occasional nasty comment or swear word lobed at him, but that kind of rural bluntness was well missed. If he was being honest, she was in far less danger than him going in. Being both invisible and able to blink around a room was terrifying in a fight. He carefully avoided thinking about how scary being able to pull weapons out of the air was either.

Going into this he would rather have a proper partner, someone who'd watch his back. Unfortunately out of the few he'd met, one would probably have serious issues with what they were doing and another was usually far too busy for random street level violence, so Kendra would have to do. For now at least. He wasn't too thrilled about her lighting up though. Artair hadn't ever liked the smell of smoke and since his stints in hospital and own medical issues, he tried to stay as far from it as possible. Worse still, the smoke would stick to clothing and follow you for days which, while not a problem most of the time, was major issue when you were trying to sneak into a hostile place.

"Aye, I'll be in soon. Try not to alert all of them right away lass. I'd generally prefer at least a few of them are out before gunshots start flying." Guns. Who the hell thought that arming your populace was a good idea was an idiot in his mind. The shift in gun perceptions when he'd moved had been radical and he still didn't understand the obsession. He also wasn't generally a fan of getting shot at.

The poor sod outside didn't stand a chance. The almost comical sight of him being clubbed into unconsciousness by an unseen assailant broadened his smile. Time for some fun. Quickly crossing to the entrance and checking the guy was truly out for the count, he was impressed by the girls ability. He'd be down for at least an hour, certainly long enough for their plans. He pulled him out of view before carefully pushing the door open. It wasn't locked, or guarded on the inside. Christ these pushers weren't very clever, if basic strategy was beyond them.

Giving Kendra a couple of minutes to get to work, he eventually decided to move in. Pulling out a large thick, round shield and a nasty looking mace, he slowly and quietly followed the corridor. Sounds of movement were going on in the floor above him, but he couldn't hear anything from the one he was on. That itself was suspicious. The lack of any people or guards only deepened his paranoia. Something was wrong here. He was getting a horrible feeling he was walking into a trap. Had the lass set him up?

Dream found herself upstairs. The walls seemed to dance and move with lingering shadows cast by the passing cars' headlights on the street below. The place for all intents and purposes seemed empty. Not at all what she was expecting. She found herself in an empty room. Pausing to listen to the house she heard nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. Where is everyone? She wondered as she tightened her nervous grip on her baton. 

Dream moved through the room quiet as she could. She wasn't graceful or at all stealthy. In fact she was quiet clumsy and inattentive naturally. Though in her current state of mind she was just reckless and care free. Still, it helped to be smart so she moved at a slow pace. A car passed on the street below sending a shadow streaking across the wall in front of her. Dream froze lifting her baton ready to strike. Only it was just a shadow.

This was the right place.  Her info was good. There was a guard standing outside. She had seen a few other guards roaming the grounds of the place like clockwork. It wasn't small house  by any means. Not many million dollar homes being used as a crack house / cook house, but this one fell to that very specific criteria.  Though this time of night some less than reputable characters populated the streets.  Dream moved quietly down the hall. Her heavy boots causing muted foot falls against the soft plush carpet. Beneath the quieting rug there was smallest of squeaks. Her weight screaming against the floorboards; causing them to wail and cry. Every creak caused her to flinch and bite her lip.

Suddenly a bedroom door opened to her right. Dream didn't think or hesitate. She shoved the metal bar of the police baton against his throat and shoved him back. Gripping the baton at either end she beared her weight on it shoving the bar into his throat and driving him to the wall. She was surprisingly strong for her size when she was worked up and angry. Her brown eyes furiously dancing over the startled features of the supposed drug pusher. "What the F*ck!" He cried out beneath the weight of a crushed trachea.

Dream let go of the baton. with one hand and the man relaxed and gasped for breath.  She swung the baton hard into his knee cap.  He let out a surprised cry.  He didn't see anyone in front of him, he had no clue what the hell was happening.  He started to scream but she shoved her hand over his mouth.  He could feel the warmth of her flesh against his trembling lips.  She pointed the baton into the man's chest.  "I gotta gun on you now.  Don't scream, don'tchu lie to me.  Are yall cook'n drugs here???"  The man started to speak but it was muffled through her hand.  "Don'tchu speak just nod."  He nodded to her question.  His eyes darting around desperately trying to find the source of his situation. 

Dream smiled.  Now we're getting somewhere.  She thought.  Her voice was low and rough.  A bit scratchy with that sweet southern undertone that made her poisonous bitter words taste a little sweeter.  "How many of em are there?"  Dream asked.  Her lips were slightly parted.  She was holding her breathe waiting for the information.  Apparently however, he decided to grow a backbone.  "More than you can handle b*tch!"  He spit at her when she uncovered his mouth.  Dream placed her hand on the side of his head like she was palming a basketball and shoved it hard into the dresser he was standing beside.  His head bounced off the corner of the dresser and he slumped to the floor.  She looked at him for a moment.  A thin line of blood ran down the side of his face, but he was still breathing.  Not that he deserved it.  She thought. 

Moving out of the room quickly she came to a set of stairs.  It was dark upstairs but there were many more lights on down stairs.  She could hear voices as she crept closer.  Laughter even.  The laughter in the crack house made her jaw clinch.  She could feel the anger swelling up inside her.  She started to head downstairs.  She didn't like to teleport when she didn't know where she was going, so she tried to keep that as limited as possible.  She made her way down the stairs when her boot made a loud creak.  She froze.  "You hear something? Bobby go check it out." She heard someone say. Dam!  She was going to have to deal with that....

Sounded like whatever Kendra was doing, it was happening above him. Good, that gave him room to work with around him. He'd rather not have to worry about skewering the poor lass with a stray knife mid fight. That tended to sour things in a friendship pretty quickly. It would also not be easy to treat a stab wound on a patient when you couldn't see her, the wound or how much blood was being lost. Probably best that they stayed out of each others way for now. She shouldn't see what he was planning on doing either. Yeah he wasn't walking into this wanting to kill them, but if push came to shove, he would go lethal. These people were scum. He was not risking his own safety over them. This was one time he would gladly cross that line, if he came to it.

Muffled voices from above snapped his attention back to the mission. This was going to go louder much quicker than he would have liked, but he was committed now, he needed to take as many down now before all hell broke loose. Quickening his movements, he managed to keep relatively quiet while he scouted. Door after door led onto empty rooms, or at least empty of people. Some were piled high with boxes or equipment, others with empty beds. This was weird, why was no one around on the ground floor. Inching forwards, he quickly discovered why.

The corridor lead up to a large open room. In any other place, with any other inhabitants this would be a charming room, filled with potential. Unfortunately the only thing it was filled with now was people. There must have been at least fifteen of them, arranged variously around, some in conversation, other sitting alone. At least a few of them look so far gone with whatever crap they were peddling that they would be useless in a fight. This, was not what he had been hoping for. There was no way in hell he could fight them all.

He needed a plan and fast. The moment one of them investigated the front door, all hell would break loose. Cycling through various plans in his head, each seeming more and more suicidal, he settled on one that would hopefully not get himself killed straight away. Quickly preparing a few various items and pulling out a knife just in case, he readied himself for possible his single worst idea so far. Toppling a pile of boxes and darting into the room opposite, he waited, hoping only a couple of them would investigate.

"The f--- was that!? And why the hell is no one already finding out!" a particularly rough voice shouted, probably a higher up in the gang Artair thought to himself. "You two morons find out before I start smashing faces!" Thank god his luck was holding tonight. It had to go in his favour every once in a while. Now he just had to wait for his chance to strike, and keep his weapons hidden. They didn't exactly glow, but pure white lines tended to stick out.

Sounds of movement got closer and closer, the two sent to find out grumbling all the way. He had to time this just right. Getting it wrong would be a costly mistake. Luckily they didn't think to check the room he was crouched in, instead going directly into the room the noise had come from. Letting the first thug go in, he leapt forward the moment the second was in view, sending his knife spinning off after the other. Surprise and confusion worked to his advantage as his first blow clipped the mans temple and sent him crumpling to the floor. Swiftly kicking him in the side of the head as he passed, he entered the room after the first thug, wondering why he wasn't even shouting in surprise, if not pain.

There was one, sickening reason why not. Artair had better aim than he thought, than he really wanted right now. The thug was lying face down, his blood slowly pooling around him. A glistening, white blade embedded in the wall across, slowly dripping a few, small drops. All he could hear was that sound. He'd crossed the line, a line he couldn't cross back from.

Downstairs the boys were having a meeting. A discussion on threats to their empire and how they should handle them. They were just going over what local thugs were pushing up on their turf and how they could get them to back down. Some of the big shots were in the room.  Dream and Artair had stumbled upon something bigger than they had intended.  Had they been cops this could have been a major bust. But they were dealing their own secret brand of justice tonight.

Back in the safety of her room Kendra was fast asleep. She rolled around under the weight of her dream experiences. The heart rate in her sleeping body began to climb as her astral form's adrenaline raised.  It caused her body to toss and turn restlessly.  Her sleeping body covered in a light layer of sweat from her night's dreaming adventure.

Dream could hear someone investigating the noise on the stairs.  She quickly headed back up and ducked into a little bathroom.  She kept the door cracked.  Peering out into the hall she held her breathe.  She didn't know where Artair was.  She didn't know if had had even entered the house yet, but she couldn't depend on him right now.  This was her problem.

The man walked through the carpeted halls.  His soft footsteps were hard to track.  They were quiet and muted with his light step.  She looked beside her and could see her reflection in the bathroom mirror.  It was slightly translucent and covered in a pink glow. She stared at it a moment.  She noticed the wild crazy excitement shimmering in her eyes.  The fact that she was a bundle of nerves didn't change the fact that she was smiling and quite big.  The smile slowly faded from her face. 

Her body back in her room had settled into a more peaceful rest.  Her muslces relaxed and her breathing steadied out.  Her mind began to calm in these few quiet moments in the bathroom.  Her body back in her room sunk into the comforter and a peaceful smile spread across her lips.  A peaceful smile spread across the lips of Dream in the crack house.  Dream was slowly disappearing.  Her mind was beginning to settle and the chemical balance inside her head was leveling out.  She was no long this wild reckless persona she was simply herself. 

It was the first time she would have interacted with Artair in her astral state with her own personality, but she was simply Kendra now and nothing else.  She wasn't brave or courageous.  She didn't mock and taunt challenges she tried her best to conquer them, but there was no overwhelming confidence.  She was just a simple southern girl with her heart in the right place.  Though, her lofty goals were much out of her comfort range now.

She continued to stare in the mirror as the man searched upstairs for her.  She let the man slip from her thoughts for a moment.  She reached a fascinated hand out to the mirror. She saw her slightly translucent form staring back at her, but the expression had changed.  It was no longer cocky and self assured, but tired, scared and in a little over her head.  Dream was just a part of herself.  An example of what her personality could be like when her impulse control came unplugged, but that wasn't WHO she was.  It was who she was trying to not be.  She shared in Dream's memories.  It was all happening to her after all.  She knew everything that she told Artair tonight.  She knew that he would be coming in after her.  Only he might be expecting a little more help on her end.

I can't let him down.  She thought.  I can't let him get hurt.  This was my idea. She had asked for this favor. She was the one that wanted to take down this drain on the community.  It wasn't about revenge for one of the mansion students. It was about putting an end to the poison flooding the streets.  This was going to make a difference in so many lives.  Kendra peered out into the hall and took a deep breathe.  Dream would have been out there taking that guy out.  Kendra didn't have the courage so she hid in the bathroom trying to be quiet as possible.  How the heck Am'I gone get through this?  She wondered and gave herself another unsure look in the mirror.

He could feel his mind starting to freak out, starting to panic at what he'd done. Taking those thoughts, those feelings and carefully compartmentalising them away, he refocused on the current problem. After this was all done he could have his break down, deal with what he'd done. Right now, he was in hostile territory with one of them dead by his hands and his friends likely getting antsy when they'd not reported in. With his partner in places he couldn't imagine, he was on his own. He would need a plan and he would need it fast.

Pulling the unconscious man into the room with his friend, he could feel the more reasonable part of his mind screaming at him whenever he saw the body. It was the first he'd seen, and it wouldn't be the last considering his future career plans, however the knowledge that this one in front of him was his fault ate at him. Carefully shutting down each and every part of his mind trying to force this fact to attention, he went into full doctor mode. Cold, calculating and logical. It's what he needed right now. Time to be human later. Looking down, he was almost shocked by how steady his hands were. Apparently he was getting better at this, being able to shut off his emotions. He couldn't tell anymore if that was a good thing.

Pulling the last remaining boxes down onto the prone forms, he knew that the only way to do this was to go loud, hope he got Kendra's attention. Getting her to take out the back line while he drew fire would severely hamper the thugs ability to function and nothing would freak them out more than an invisible assailant amongst them. All he needed was a shield, one strong and hard enough to last through a hail of gunfire, or two. His other weapons already scattered from his shock beforehand. Artair blocked out everything, bending his mind inwards, imagining every curve and contour. He built it slowly, giving it every bit of strength he could and when it was ready, he poured all the strength he could in, ripping it into life in front of him.

The world rushed back when he opened his eyes, sounds and smells registering again. In front of him stood the tower shield, shining brighter than anything he'd tried to make. This was everything he had, focused in one form. Already he could feel it drawing his strength faster than other constructs. He had to move, now. Voices were getting agitated, clearly upset with the lack of contact from the scouts. Striding down the corridor, not bothering to hide his movement, he burst into the room with the shield in full view.

"Evening lads. I hear you lot have been naughty boys, selling drugs to wee kids." They almost seemed impressed when a crazy Scotsman had just strode into the room and started berating them. Almost. Mostly they just leveled their guns at him nervously, noting the white shield outlined in front of him. Good, the longer he kept them confused, the longer he had for Kendra to make an appearance. "Now then, what have you tossers got to say for yourselves then? Got any explanations why you're slinging that s--- so obviously. Getting all sorts paying attention?"

Daydream was about to make her move. She had taken several minutes to get up the nerve and she was about to make her move. When suddenly, she could hear a familiar voice. It was far off, in a different part of the house. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but it was hard to misplace the accent. The man upstairs turned and started heading back towards the stairs and that's when she made her move.

Kendra sprang forth from the bathroom and charged the guy heading down the stairs. It wasn't sleek or stylish. It wasn't badass or something you'd see in an action movie. It was pure craziness. Daydream charged out of the bathroom, tripped over an area rug and collided with the poor guy. The two of them sailed down the first few steps and crashed into a banister railing. Their bodies went tumbling the rest of the way to the first floor.  Daydream landed on top of the guy and the guy felt the air rush out of him as his invisible assailant landed on him.

Daydream wasn't to badly stunned. She tried to scramble to her feet. The man wasn't to badly stunned either because he reached out to catch whatever was on him. He caught her foot and clutched it with a ferocious grip. Daydream turned around and kicked him in the head until he finally let go. 

 When he did all of her weight leaning in the opposite direction caused her to stumble back into a table that had alcohol on it. Crashin through the table now she was covered in beer and liquor that had been left on the table.  The droplets rolling down her leather jacket caused her to be someone visible but not much.  You really had to know what you were lookin for to notice a few floating droplets among chaos.

. This wasn't good. She had lost some of her invisibility.  She had to be more careful.  One wrong stupid move could blow this whole operation for the both of them and then it wasn't just a slap on the wrist.  Screwing up could get them killed.  She wasn't sure what Artair was doing, but she could hear his voice much clearer now. He was close by. She grabbed her police baton in one hand and pulled her tranquilizer gun out in the other hand.  She knew this wasn't ideal. Hell, this was like making a well laid plan and doing the complete opposite. She only hoped that her partner could improvise.

Kendra moved through the living room to where she thought she heard the voices coming from.  She could see Artair standing in the doorway.  Sneaking up behind him was a guard with a gun.  He hadn't noticed Daydream yet.  She lifted her tranquilizer gun and pulled the trigger.  The dart hit him in the neck and he felt woozy almost instantly.  He collapsed in a heap. 

Daydream crept up to where Artair was.  Peering inside the room around him she teleported inside the room.  To the back of the room.  She was standing behind everyone now.  Their attention solely on Artair.  Daydream looked down and saw a table with stacks of money on it.  Profits from the drug game?  She picked up a bottle of vodka some poor dope had been drinking and quietly poured it over all the cash.  Her eyes darted back to Artair as she pulled out her zippo lighter and set the whole lot of it ablaze.

Some of the thugs caught onto the general tone of his words, keeping their weapons trained on him, others didn't seemed to quite get the underlying tone. Others still probably didn't even understand his accent, they just stared stupidly at him as if he'd spoken in another language. Unless, had he? After some shocks he'd sometimes reverted back to Gaelic but he was fairly sure he'd spoken in English. Almost positive.

The first person to snap out of it Artair took to be the boss. He wasn't big, probably a few inches shorter than himself, but the guy stood with a sense of authority, as if he expected those around him to obey. That and the very ornate gun in his hand tipped of the Scotsman. Scare this man, make him break, and the rest would run. "The f--- are you then, walkin' in here and makin' threats." Glaring around at his men, making some of them rally, he turned on Artair. "Must be a basket case if you walked in here on yer own. This is my turf, freak." The anti-mutant jibe just helped Artair feel less and less guilty about what he was doing.

"Me and my boys don't like you muties much, playin' around like gods. Actin' so much better than us." The thugs were getting confident, more ready for violence, and were completely unaware of their surroundings. If they had been they'd have notice the guy collapsing behind Artair, who sent out a silent thank you to his hidden partner. They'd also have notice a bottle of vodka behind them suddenly start to float towards their money. A wicked smile touched the Scotsman's' lips as he realise what her plan was. "Well, this mutie, as ye put it, isn't a fan of yer type much either. Oh and I know I'm no better than the filth ye hire to keep yer brains tucked nicely in yer head." It probably sounded very convincing to the thugs, since Artair very much believed it right now.

"I'm here not because what yer doin' is wrong, or because I care, much. I'm here for one reason." They were entralled, not paying attention to the small fire starting right behind their backs. Just a little longer and they would start to freak out. "I'm here because you hurt a child. I am many things lads, a murderer being just one of them. But there's one very simple rule to me, protect the clan." Time to wrap up the theatrics, he was starting to sound like a villain in Macbeth. "So, I thought you laddies needed a lesson. You burn one of us, we burn you all."

The fire was burning well now and the thugs had finally noticed it, to a man starting to freak out at this crazy man entering their base and starting fires with his mind. Some bolted and ran, others just stared dumbly, but some were experience enough to go for the threat, end it now. Bullets rang out in the room, slamming into the shield, stopped dead or clipping off its curved surface and burying themselves into the floor and walls. The shield held, it was strong, but the power to maintain it was draining quicker than he would have liked. Should be enough though, at least for tonight.

When the bullets trailed off he stood their completely unharmed. "That all you lot got?" he shouted derisively, trying to throw them off more, confuse them. Staring the boss down he continued with "Because if it is, this is going to be quicker than I thought." Dramatically pausing before delivering his final words, "My turn lads!" he surprised and darted to the left, towards one wall, keeping his shield between them and him. He was going to pick them off, one by one. He just hoped Kendra would do the same.

The blazing money was screaming behind her. The heat of the flames licked at the skin on the back of her neck. It was exciting. Dangerous. Still, she was terrified. She wasn't trained in fighting. She had held her own in few different situations but that didn't make her a fighter. She watched as Artair begain picking people off. The room was absolute chaos. There were people running every which way. A few guys came over to try and put out the fire. Daydream dispatched them with her police baton. Sending them off to the land of the unconscious.

Daydream ducked behind a table. Just because she was invisible didn't mean she couldn't get hit by a stray bullet. And there were plenty of them flying around the room now as the thugs tried to take out the mutant. This turned from a moral dilemma to a civil rights thing. Daydream didn't feel guilty about pounding these guys.  They deserved it.  It made it a little sweeter that they were a bunch of mutant hating a-holes.

Daydream teleported away from her cover and behind a guy with a mac 10 sub automatic machine gun.  He had a sub machine pistol that was spitting out bullets like crazy.  He was the only one she could tell that had anything more than a pistol.  She teleported beside him and grabbed his arm and to his surprise aimed it down at his foot.  He sprayed his own foot with lead and went down screaming.  He shot two of his own in accidental friendly fire as he fell.  Daydream felt bad at first, but quickly realized one was shot in the arm the other was hit in the shoulder.  They would live.

She saw the boss making a break for it.  She had evened the odds a bit for Artair.  She teleported over to another guy as she made the choice to chase the boss.  She smacked the guy twice hard in the ribs with her baton.  He dropped to his knees clutching his ribs and she brought the baton over the back of his neck before teleportin out of the room after big boss himself.  She couldn't risk being in there with bullets flyin and richochets flying off Artair's shield.  Plus she couldn't let the head a-hole in charge get away.

Daydream reappeared in the hallway.  She saw the bossman running.  She teleported over to the rug in front of him.  She grabbed it and shook it hard causing the rug to ripple and clump up.  He tripped over the material that suddenly started bunching on it's own and when stumbling face first into the sofa.  He flipped over the sofa and crashed through a glass coffee table.  Daydream hoped that Artair could handle the few remaining goons.  She chased after her target and jumped over the couch.  Landing on the otherside she put her invisible boot to his throat.  He pulled a gun to fire blindly in a panick into whatever was holding him down.  Daydream smacked his knuckles hard with her baton and his gun went skittering away.

"You're done dealing in this town you hear me?"  She tried to make her voice sound threatening and not at all scared like it honestly was.  "You thank rival dealers are bad?  You want to have a thousand pissed off mutants at'cha doorstep?" She bluffed.  Daydream pressed her boot down harder crushing his windpipe.  "OKAY! OKAY! YOU WON'T SEE US AGAIN!"  He spat out.

Daydream being the trusting sort let him up.  She grabbed the edges of her leather jacket and gave it a few short tugs to make it sit more suitably along her slender shoulders.  The drug lord stood up and smiled.  He lied.  He aimed his gun in the direction of Daydream.  He had heard the jingling of the buckles on her leather jacket and he pulled the trigger shooting her in the shoulder.  Then he ran out of the house. 

Daydream fell to the carpet and began to cry out.  A searing ripping pain in her shoulder.  It wasn't but so bad.  She felt pain less intensly in her dream state.  She could definatly feel it though.  She knew she had been shot.  Daydream couldn't lift her arm holding the baton.  She lifted her tranquilizer gun aiming it at the scum tht shot her, but she leveled it right as he disappeared out the front door. 

 She weakly allowed her arm to drop and stumbled over into the entertainment center.  The pain was growing a little worse now.  It seemed to pulse in her shoulder.  She was loosing blood.  Getting lightheaded.  Daydream was invisible, but her blood was leaving a nice little blood trail in the beige carpet.  She made a blood trail leading to the front door.  Then she collapsed in the doorway.  A small pool of blood forming beneath her.

Chaos erupted when he moved, bullets flying, people screaming. He could even see some people getting smacked out by Kendra, before he had to refocus on keeping himself alive. Artair was already getting close to his limits, pulling out another weapon would be hard, but he didn't have a choice. Lowering the strength of the shield a bit to draw out a mace, he set to work, closing on thugs one at a time and putting them down hard. There was no time for concerns or attempts to keep them alive, this was a fight and they were aiming to kill. Crushing hands and breaking knees, he didn't stop moving, didn't let them rally or give them an immobile target.

Steadily the number of targets firing at him was reducing, less and less guns barking bullets across the room at him. The rate had slowed at on e point, but he just assumed that was his invisible companion darting off after someone, probably the boss man. Hopefully she didn't do anything stupid, that guy was a killer, through and through.

Casually slamming the mace into the side of the last remaining mans temple, giving him a quick kick while he was on the ground to be sure, Artair finally looked around the room. It was carnage, moaning bodies and discarded guns were scatter about, the fire in the corner burning itself out without any fuel in the concrete room. Scattering the weapon and shrinking the shield down to save energy, he spent a moment catching his breath. That had been intense, scary as well if he wasn't keeping a tight hold on his emotions right now. It wasn't easy, with his pulse slowing and adrenaline not flowing anymore. Any long and his freak out would start and now was not a good time for that. Luckily a gun shot ringing out sorted out that particular issue for the time being.

His stomach dropped when the screaming started. The lass was hurt. The cold lurking anger went berserk. Right now, she was clan, and she was hurt. Sprinting towards the noise, a knife he couldn't remember making in his hands, he found the blood. If it was hers, he could see it. If it was hers though, it was a bad wound. She was going to bleed out with help. Thankfully, there was a trail, leading back the way he'd come.

Following it to the source, he nearly stumbled over Kendra in the front door way. Shaking her and trying to get a response he had to make a choice. "Sorry lass, can't see where you're wounded, so this might get awkward." Stripping of his jacket and t-shirt, he set to finding the shot. Wiping away some of the blood and finding the spot it was pumping from, he used the cloth as a makeshift bandage to put pressure on the wound. Whatever gods were watching had at least stopped there being an exit wound. If there had been she'd lose to much blood to quickly.

"Enough's enough Kendra, you're going to get yourself killed. I have to tell them." Pulling out his phone, there was only one way to get her the treatment she needed. "This is Artair Hawke, I have an emergency situation." At this point, he didn't care if she hated him for outing her secret, this was life or death. "One of your students, Kendra is hurt. Get to her room and wake her up. She needs to get to Doc now!"