Shape shifters don’t ‘poof’ into dust meaning someone was messing with them and seeing as the sirens below were getting more and more frequent it was apparent there was other things happening in the city. Sam projected his boosted powers outward as snow started to fall around the building they were on his eye grew brighter as he was able to focus on the nearest building below. His body went still as he was able to ‘see’ the persons in the next building over that was when it went wrong there was a fire as well causing his brain to go ‘haywire’ he tried to focus on his powers but failed as the immediate surrounding got colder as more ice condensed around him causing himself from the legs up to be stuck in ice.

‘Think’ Sam thought as he brain was trying to process everything below the snow continued to fall and the chill continued as well but his eye started to dim a little at a time he continued to breath as his sixth sense focused on the nearest person. Sveta. She was a beacon the heat from below faded as he focused more on where he was he could see clearly again and he moved his foot causing the ice to shatter on his left leg then his right. It was still cold, he felt cold. He breathed again focusing on what happened a few seconds ago. Sam wondered if it was what Eve went through when she rebooted. Evil Sam, evil Sveta. They were taunting him. They were both ‘dead’ but the words were said and thoughts went through his mind happened his family.

”Brain freeze.” Sam said clutching his head as the pain started again his powers were projecting out below again but he tried to focus once again ‘warmer’ he thought trying to protect Sveta from frostbite if she didn’t get it yet. She was pumped with adrenaline so maybe he could prevent it from happening. Three more images were slowly crawling up the nearest fire escape one talker than the other two. He ignored it again his legs giving out from under him. Sam collapsed on all fours mist still radiating from his body. ”Some kiss.”

Evil Sveta fell to her death, and Sveta stared after her for long moments until the sound of sirens in the distance started to reach her consciousness again. Turning around she searched to see how Sam was doing. The air around them dropped to a painfully cold temperature, and she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Sam was still boosted, and his powers made snow, mist, and ice appear all over the place. The effects should have been wearing off any minute now. Sveta took a shuddering breath as he sank to the ground.

>>”Brain freeze. Some kiss.”

"That'll be the last time you hit on me huh" she smirked, shaking from the cold "Sorry I did de boost. I don't usually do it, but I was scared. And I did't realize dey had powers. Whatever dey were." she added with a small frown "You okay?"

Just as suddenly as his powers were magnified the heat signatures below started to dim slowly then vanish and he could only feel as far as he normally could. He exhaled again trying to get full control and focus again. The ice on the roof started to melt when he severed his connection with it and the armor he had shattered and clumped up around him. When he heard her voice again he looked up and shook his head with a slight smirk trying to pretend what evil Sam had said wasn’t said. ”On the contrary. Think if you are able to boost my powers like that with just a kiss we should practice more. You know? To get more control.”

Dusting himself off he looked with his one eye to the blonde, ”Whatever they were.” Sam shrugged, ”Gone now, shape shifters don’t ‘poof’ they scream or bleed.” he said having enough experience with them. ”Never took you one for being scared.” he offered her a quick smirk again before shaking his head in response, ”Got a headache. Need a drink. You?” Sam asked as he took a few steps towards her, ”Got to say though, think I liked your kiss better. The other you used a bit too much tongue.” Sam was bout to say something else till he heard some movement near the fire escape where the other Sam had formed.

“I see my husband hasn’t changed since I last saw you.” The voice turned his stomach into a not again and everything the other Sam had said came flooding back to him overwhelming his thoughts again. A mirror copy of himself he could handle but this… this was just wrong. The woman hopped up over the ledge first then a boy then a young girl. ”This isn’t possible…” it was his family back from the dead, or rather the dreams and nightmares he had. They looked how he remembered them when they had a home in Colorado in the dream world at least. Sam’s family, Alexandra the wife, Sammy the son and Ayrin the little princess. All of whom didn’t exist but that didn’t stop Sam from being overwhelmed with sadness and grief.

>>”On the contrary. Think if you are able to boost my powers like that with just a kiss we should practice more. You know? To get more control.”

Sveta rolled her eyes. Yeeeeah, right. Because last time she had that training plan with a guy, they totally didn't end up sleeping together.
Oh wait, they totally did.

>>"Whatever they were. Gone now, shape shifters don’t ‘poof’ they scream or bleed.”

"But maybe dere was more of them?"

Would not be the first time. Not with their kind of vigilante luck, anyway.

>>”Never took you one for being scared. Got a headache. Need a drink. You? Got to say though, think I liked your kiss better. The other you used a bit too much tongue.”

"Oh, get over it Sam" she smirked "But I'll let you buy me a drink if you mean it."

>>“I see my husband hasn’t changed since I last saw you.”

Oh hell.

>>”This isn’t possible…”

"Wait you're married?!" Sveta gaped, staring at the woman that just appeared from the fire escape followed by... two kids?! "... wid kids?! SAM!"

Unbe-***-lievable. Men.

”Not real…” Sam shook his head his brain trying to process what he was seeing. They were fake memories that created them his hopes and dreams turned real or at least real to him while he was under the influence of Amanda. She gave him what he wanted then took them away repeatedly leaving Sam with nightmares, a dark disposition and a drinking problem. He shook his head, they weren’t real but what if? “Sam, you haven’t told your friend about me? Or the kids?”

Sam’s jaw dropped and he took a step back still in disbelief all the power he had on the air around them faltered when he lost his focus any ice left over on the roof fell apart and crumbled or started to melt. ”Not real.” Sam repeated closing his eye and his fist clenching till his knuckles turned white. “Aww Sam.” Alexandra said as she walked towards him, “Can’t say that about your family.” She looked down at the kids with a sad look on her face a pout that stuck out her lip slightly whenever she tried to get Sam to feel worse. It worked.

The kids walked over towards Sam the boy had an angry look on his face while the little girl ran out with her arms stretched “Daddy!” she hugged him and smiled at him, “Where have you been Daddy? We missed you!” Sam started to tear up and his hands shook before he opened them and pulled Aryin into a hug. ”…..Missed you too princess.” it was painful for him to admit it but he did. He told himself everytime he woke up and went to bed, every time he opened a bottle, ‘they aren’t real. It wasn’t real.’ But here they were. The hug felt real and all the feelings he had been pushing down and burying erupted once again. The boy walked over and punched Sam in the side then hugged Sam as well.

More tears fell sliently down his face as he opened up his arm for his son who couldn’t exist but does. Amanda must have been behind this again she was the only one that could do something like this. “Don’t fight it Sam.” Alexandra said as she walked closer to the three of them. “You know how much you miss us and how much we need you. Don’t leave us again.” He looked from her to the kids and he shook his head. ”I didn’t leave… not real.”

>>“Sam, you haven’t told your friend about me? Or the kids?”

>>”Not real… Not real.”

Sam's reaction was even more off than the random appearance of his alleged family. Sveta's eyes narrowed. Why did he insist on them not being real? It didn't seem like he was trying to convince her either... it seemed like he was trying to convince himself. He definitely looks scared.

>>“Aww Sam. Can’t say that about your family. Don’t fight it Sam. You know how much you miss us and how much we need you. Don’t leave us again.”

She watched him hug the kids, and frowned. If someone was doing all of this - Evil Sveta, Evil Sam, the unreal family - they were really going for the weak spots.

>>”I didn’t leave… not real.”

It was pitiful to watch, really. Sveta swallowed. She wondered if they would poof if killed, but there was really no good way to test that theory. Because... well, what if they didn't?

And yet, something was off about the woman, the same way something had been off about Evil Sveta. She was... so purely malicious, she could not have been someone Sam had a family with. It just didn't add up.

"Excuse me." Sveta sighed finally, making a very hard decision. She would live with the consequences later. She was a vigilante, not a hero.

She marched past Sam and the kids right up to the other woman, and with all the pent up stress and frustration of the past hours, she backhanded her across the face.

The woman staggered back from the force of the impact, crying out as she lifted her hands to her face. Her eyes flashed with anger at Sveta, and for a split second she seemed to blur along the edges.

"Sam deserves better" Sveta concluded "He's a good guy. I'm not. Get the **** out of here, or I'll see if you're real or not."

Sam watched as Sveta walked towards Alexandra and then proceeded to slap her saying that they needed to leave. Sam didn’t want them to but at the same time he knew they weren’t real they couldn’t have been the only one that could have been real was Alexandra and if she was the real one then her powers would have kicked in eventually. Powers… Sam thought about all their mutations, Sammy had a tail and could fly, Ayrin manipulated ice like Sam and Alex had power over molecules. He thought for a few seconds but then his fake daughter distracted him again.

“Why is the mean lady hurting mommy!? Daddy! Do something….” Ayrin buried her face into his stomach just like she did when she was scared. ”S***…” Sam muttered to himself as he reluctantly pushed his kids away from him. ”Please… don’t fight…” was all he could muster before Alexandra started to laugh, “That’s all you got? You and this blonde here are pathetic! You abounded us even watched us die and did nothing! To think the kids and I loved and trusted you. You were supposed to protect us!” she turned and swung on Sveta as the kids backed away from Sam. “Worst father ever.” Sammy said as he pulled a knife from behind his back and lunged for Sam. Ayrin just started to cry out for her father who wasn’t there triggering false memories.

There was a fire then a sharp pain in his leg as he was brought back to the present. Sammy jr. managed to get the tip of the knife into Sam’s leg before Sam could react and move backwards. “Maybe this time you won’t run away again!” he lunged again with the knife.

”Please… don’t fight…”

“That’s all you got? You and this blonde here are pathetic! You abounded us even watched us die and did nothing! To think the kids and I loved and trusted you. You were supposed to protect us!”

Ding-dong.
Dead people were fair game, at least in Sveta's book.

She was aware that Sam was struggling with the kids, but if she had to choose between fighting someone's not-real dead wife or his kids in front of him, she was definitely going to go for the wife. At least she was an adult. And kind of a b*tch too.

"You are not real, and you are annoying." Sveta snarled, lunging at the woman again. She ducked surprisingly fast, but didn't manifest any powers. Just like the others before. That was a relief.

Sveta threw some punches and kicks at Alexandra while Sam... did whatever he was doing.

>>“Worst father ever. Maybe this time you won’t run away again!”

"Don't listen to them Sam!" she yelled between hits "Dey are not r..."

The blow came from behind her. She was ducking a punch from the woman so it didn't land quite on the back of her head as intended, but it crashed down on her shoulder instead. Sveta cried out as her knees buckled and she fell down.

The man that just appeared from behind one of the small buildings on the roof grinned down at her. He was middle-aged and balding, wearing an unbuttoned shirt and pants that needed a thorough washing.

"Hello there Svetlana darling" he said in Russian "Didn't you miss Dad?"

His leg hurt now with the knife sticking into it he let out a wince and a low grunt. “See daddy?” his daughter said as Sam managed to sidestep then push Sammy Jr. in one motion to send him flying a few feet away from him. ”My kids would never hurt me.” he said sounding a little more sure of himself. No, they weren’t real. He needed to remember that and focus on anything else. A throbbing in his leg ceased when his leg coated in ice. He could still do that much right. There was still the pain but the bleeding stopped and he could still move it. Meaning no muscles were severed. “Daaddy!” the girl called out as she too lunged for Sam.

Sam sidestepped then brought his hands up, ”You may look and sound like my kids. Even have their memories… but they aren’t real. You aren’t real!” it hurt him to voice this, even think it but that was his reality. Sam turned towards Sveta and Alex only to realize there was someone else was there now and he was balding and shirtless. ”Button up!” Sam said pushing some cold their way as he ran towards them and away from his kids. They might not have been how he remembered them but it was still too difficult to hurt them. This middle age man on the other hand? Fair-game.

Ice started to form on the roof-top again when Sam charged each step hurt as ice was sent out around him until he got to the balding man. Sam threw a punch to his gut then his face. ”Sveta, Daddy issues? Really?” his confidence faltered as Alexandra jumped onto his back and kissed his cheek. “Sam, don’t forget about us!”

A blast of cold air and ice swept over the rooftop as Sam came to Sveta's aid. The woman was kicking her as she went down, but she stopped once Sam started punching the balding man. Sveta tried to scramble back to her feet, but the ice and the pain in her ribs was making it hard.

>>”Sveta, Daddy issues? Really?”

"He is NOT my father!" she yelled, and the anger gave her strength to stand back up. She sneered at the man that tried to hit Sam "He's my stepfather. One of dem anyway. He hurt Bo, and I threw him off a roof."

The woman went to lunge at Sam.

>>“Sam, don’t forget about us!”

"How about I get her and you get him?"

She had no patience for fighting her vile stepfather all over again. Instead she circled around and unceremoniously grabbed Alexandra by the hair, pulling her off Sam's back "I told you to leave him alone. B*tch."

>>>"He is NOT my father!" "He's my stepfather. One of dem anyway. He hurt Bo, and I threw him off a roof."

More questions for later, ones he probably wouldn’t get the answer to unless he asked nicely and bought a round or three. However he knew enough to know that Sveta didn’t care much for him meaning he probably wasn’t the greatest guy in the world.

The kiss on his cheek brought him back to the monkey on his back and the way his wife said it, it was enough to continue to bring back painful memories of times that never were. Playful wrestling followed by whispers of love and eventually marriage, things that never really happened things he had always wanted to happen apparently. ”Hard to forget…” Sam said in Romanian, Alexandra’s first language one he could speak a little better than Russian then again he had more practice.

Sam rolled his shoulders and leaned forward turning and shaking until Alexandra was pulled off his back. Sam turned to Sevta already charging the stepfather who seemed like any evil stepfather. His beer gut really showed off what he did in his spare time.
”Sounds like a plan, just…” he cut himself short because he was about to say don’t hurt her but that wasn’t what was supposed to happen. They were supposed to vanish and the only way to do that was make them poof.

Ice covered his fist as he sidestepped his son and charged the stepfather, ”I said button up!” Sam knocked the guy in his beer gut then stepped forward behind him then brought him into a sweep.

>>”Sounds like a plan, just…”

"Yeah."

She had no more stomach for this than he did, and it was obviously not easy for either of them. On the plus side, they knew for sure their enemies were not real people. Not that it would stop the nightmares that were probably already queued up.

The woman yelled nasty things at her in Romanian - or at least they sounded like nasty things - as Sveta dragged her towards the roof's edge. She was aware that at the same time Sam had tackled the copy of the stepfather. She was not sure what the kids were doing.
Would it be too much to ask for the kids to poof when their mother poofs?...

"I hate dis." Sveta muttered as she yanked the woman upwards at the roof's edge. She tried not to overbalance as some punches landed on her face (one split the skin on her cheek). She was at a disadvantage as long as she was holding on to the woman.
So she let go.
Poof.

When Sam dropped the stepfather he heard a yell, not a high-pitched scream but a woman yelling as she fell. He didn’t have to look, he knew immediately it was Alexandra, he heard her thousands of times and her voice haunted his dreams and nightmares. A sharp pain in his heart was felt when he heard her fall and when he heard nothing else from her he knew she was gone. Now all that left was the guy who needed to cover his beer gut and his kids. Sam swallowed and pushed down the pain hearing Alexandra plummet to her poof. ‘Shape shifters and people don’t poof.’ He told himself again as he lifted the Sveta’s stepfather and threw him off the roof. He was heavy but by manipulating his ice armor he found it easier to move heavy loads.

The man let out a curse and as he fell let out a poof as well. Now all that were left was the two kids. Two people he never wanted to run into again. Guilt overcame him as well as loss and he became angry and sad all in one. He hated this feeling. The feeling like he failed everyone and everything. ”Done…” Sam said to Sveta as the father ‘poofed’ on the way down disappearing into a quick burst of smoke. He looked to the blonde and noticed his son ran towards Sveta in an attempt to tackle her off the roof as well.

Sam hated to do this to his son but this thing clearly wasn’t his son and Sveta wouldn’t be aby good flying off a roof. Sam needed her. He frowned slightly and willed some ice to form under the kids feet and he slipped and fell forward. His real son would have been flying and his real daughter would have fought his ice with her own. And the real Alexandra would have killed him with her powers the second she saw Sam talking to another woman, let alone kissing her.

“Daddy!” Ayrin called out as she came at Sam with a knife again. An ice spike would have ended it but he still couldn’t bring himself to do it. She looked so much like his daughter that never really was. He side stepped and knocked the knife from her hand and she let out a small cry of pain when Sam struck her wrist. Sam kicked the blade to the other side of the roof and he looked back to Sveta. ”Might need some help…”

>>”Might need some help…”

Yeah, it always came down to the children. Sveta knew where the entire thing was headed, and she was less than happy about it. Still, it needed to be done, and even her was not cold-hearted enough to let Sam deal with getting rid of his own kids, even if they were not real.

"Don't look." Sveta said curtly, and waited until Sam looked away before she got to work. It didn't take long; whatever these creatures really were, they made a mistake by taking on such small forms.
Two poofs later Sveta sighed, feeling like he was drawing a breath for the first time in hours, and looked around from the rooftop. The city was chaos as usual, with sirens sounding everywhere, but there seemed to be a subtle shift in the air as dawn approached - maybe the creatures were nocturnal, or maybe whatever brought them in went away. Either way, the sounds of the city were those of the aftermath, instead of open battle.

Sveta turned to look back at Sam. He looked exhausted, and she knew she was probably not better either.

"You. Me. Hard liquor. Now."

Sam didn’t say anything but reluctantly turned away when Sveta told him to look away. Every fiber in his being cried out but nothing left his body other than an obviously tense shake. Tears welled up in his one eye as he thought about the children he knew the ones that never existed. That was still the worst part. He had spent years with them a dozen lifetimes by the end of it all to find out they weren’t real. Dreams and nightmares created for the sole purpose of controlling him. So Amanda could use him to whatever she deemed worthy. He thought he was getting over it but tonight, it just showed he was still as damaged as he was when the rest of his team came to rescue him.

Even though he looked away he could still see them. Shadows of his children going up against Sveta, it was thankfully over quickly and Sveta from what he could feel didn’t take any pleasure in it. There were no skips in her steps or a jump of excitement when she dispatched the shadows of his kids. He didn’t tell her he felt it all but he still had his back turned when he heard her voice.

Sam sniffed, cleared his throat and brought his arm up to wipe away a few tears that streaked down his face. His eye was still red but ice quickly coated the area around his eye to mask any obvious signs of him showing much emotion. He was the boss after all. ”Where?” Sam said nodding his head slightly. Drinking was his coping mechanism one that did help him forget about all the s*** he had felt and seen. He was about to ask where as well but she had just answered that. ”I’ll buy.” Sam said his voice cracking at the start of his sentence.