Ty sat under a statue in the park, the setting sun casting a beautiful if somewhat eerie light on his surroundings. He loved the park, but...today, he was here for entirely different matters. He'd contacted Chloe awhile back, via a booby-trapped quarter he reverse-pickpocketed, and today was the scheduled meeting.

It'd been over a year since he'd seen his sister, since he'd...abandoned her. In all reality, that's exactly what he'd done, even if he had been scared for his life. But now...he was more scared for hers. He had to warn her about Lori, but...without giving away the full details of everything that had happened.

But then he had a thought...what if he could use her somehow in his fight against--no. He'd never stoop that low. But...something had to be done about her, and...he did need help.

Great. Here he was, already plotting. He didn't even know if she'd even forgive him for leaving. Again.

He looked at the clock on his phone. Five more minutes til the scheduled time.

Chloe was walking down the street, almost to the park. She was so full of conflicting emotions. She was mad and upset and excited all at the same time. She would finally get to see her brother again. She was happy that he was alive and that he was back and that they could get to be around each other again, but she was still so upset about him leaving and being gone so long. He was her brother; she couldn't stay mad at him for long. Not if she saw him anyway. She was also scared. She didn't know how much her brother had changed. Was he the same as when he left? Had some violent act changed him mentally? Physically? Would she have to be afraid of him now?

She pondered over these things as she walked and didn't even realize that she was already in the park now and was not far from where Ty was under the statue. She walked up to where he was and hung her head low, scared to meet his face.

She stood for a few seconds and then slowly glanced up to look at him and said, "Hi, Ty. I...I missed you." with a meager half smile. She looked back down at her shoes and could feel herself on the verge of crying. She tried to keep the tears at bay, but there was no means of fighting them back. She began to feel the warmth of her tears, running down her cheeks. She clenched her eyes shut and just let all of her emotions come out as she cried. She sobbed loudly, wanting to spill out everything she was feeling, but words wouldn't come out of her mouth. Nothing, but sob and cry and groans. She began to shake from all that she was feeling and yet, the only thing that she wanted was for her brother to come and hold her as she cried. For him to be the same man that he was when he left. For him to still love her and be her brother. But she was scared that all that she wanted for him, for them...that it wouldn't be the way it was before.

He pulled his black hoodie over his head as the wind picked up. He probably looked different, but he at least gave her an exact location. He sighed, his thoughts racing as he saw her coming. What would he say to her? How would he explain his ridiculously long absence? He couldn't give her the truth...but maybe he should at least share some details. After all, this was the only living family he had--that he knew of.

"Hey there," he replied softly, and then...she started crying, so he stood up, pulling her into a hug. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here now. I'm sorry I left like I did, but...I kinda got caught up in some deep ****. Had to get away for awhile. But...don't worry, I'm back now. That is, if you'll have me."

His icy blue eyes locked on hers, also threatening to cry.

Chloe held him close as he hugged her. She sobbed into his chest as he comforted her and began to quiet down. She had just missed him so much and she thought he was dead. She had tried to hold on the hope that he was alive, but many days she wondered if she would have stumbled upon his dead body somewhere as she was out looking for him.

"I thought you were dead. I missed you so much and I didn't know what to do without you. I looked for you and tried to contact you. It tried to see if there was any way you could have contacted me. I slept at your place for days, hoping that you would come back soon. I got so frustrated I started smoking and I felt like giving up and just not giving a **** anymore." She hugged him harder and buried her face into his chest. A muffled "I love you." came from her mouth as she closed her eyes and kept telling her brain that he was really here. That he was alive and that she wasn't dreaming. She took a deep breath in and smelled Ty. She missed the way he smelled. The way he always comforted her and protected her. She wouldn't have to be tough anymore. She could just be the little sister again.

Well, at least for a while. Eventually she'd wanna feel like an adult again.

"I thought you might have. I'm alive, I just...like I said, I got into some trouble and had to lay low for awhile. Spent the past year or so in Kansas, in what I'd at first thought was a recovery house for mutants, but...well, that turned out to be a cover for more shady ****, so I came back here," he explained, trying not to give out too much information about his past. After all, no one deserved to know the different levels of hell he'd been through. But all things considered, Chloe at least earned a decent, and honest explanation.

He paused a moment, pulling away for a second. "Well, if it helps any, you started smoking and I'm now a recreational drinker," he joked, though he had to admit the humor was a little dark. "But...I'm glad you came. There's a lot to talk about." He chuckled lightly.

"You're probably wondering how I got that quarter into your pocket, and may have gathered by now that I discovered a new aspect to my powers since we'd last seen each other, but before I left." He took a deep breath.

"Well, I saw you with Lori the other day," his voice turned cold once he said her name, but returned to its normal tone after that one word. "I wanted to warn you...though I can't give you details...be careful around her." His icy blue eyes locked solemnly onto hers.

Chloe let go of Ty after their hug and pulled out her pack of smokes and lit one up. She puffed on it and laughed as Ty mentioned becoming a recreational drinker now. She stood there thinking and got kinda mad that Ty wouldn't share these things with her. He at least owed her that. Not some sugar coated BS that you tell someone to get them off your back or just brush them off. She was his sister. She deserved more than that.

"I knew it was you, but I was hoping my mind wasn't playing tricks on me or something. I know Lori Faust is up to something, but I don't know what just yet. She seemed kinda suspicious to me too and I've just been kinda tagging along and watching until I can figure her out. I know she has something planned for you or did considering she seemed interested in you and how I know you're my brother and that you were gone. Though I don't understand why you can't tell me anything to help me understand what Lori is up to. Or why you can't tell me what happened with you when you disappeared? You're right about us having a lot to talk about and it's gonna start with how you got your *** into that mess and you're gonna tell me things I wanna know and not try and hide stuff from me. I had to do a lot of growing up when you left and I'm not a kid anymore. I'm an adult. I can handle it. It's not like I haven't sorta delved into some shady stuff before either."

He sighed, taking a deep breath. "Look, it's not that I don't want you involved--well, I can't say that I do want you involved, because this is some dangerous ****. And think about who you're hearing talk about dangerous **** for a second," he replied, taking a breath as he gathered his thoughts. "It's not that I don't trust you, or that I want to give you some sugar-coated bull**** of a story..."

He looked away for a second as he was bombarded by memories, flashbacks, the night after night of nightmares that haunted him, even if they weren't as frequent, they were still just as real. "I've seen some **** that I don't want to share with anyone. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I lie awake at night, remembering this ****, having nightmares about this ****. It's not what I'd call a good time. But, I can give you a piece of it. A piece." His words stood firm.

"Over a year ago, I was given this job. It was supposed to be a quick, in and out job. I bust into this place, Faust Pharmaceuticals, gather some intel. Get in, get out, get paid. Easy. Well...it wasn't so easy. I saw some ****, man....like, graphic, X-Files grade ****. It freaked me the hell out. And then...I saw her. Lori. I hauled ass before you can say lobotomy. And...once gathering what few things I needed from my apartment...I just kept going."

Chloe calmed down as Ty told her about how the shady kinda stuff he encountered and how he had nightmares about it. She shifted her eyes to the ground. She didn't mean to bring such horrible memories back for him and to hurt him. She just wanted to know why he ran away and why he left her and didn't tell her anything.

Chloe looks into his eyes and says, "I"m sorry, Ty. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted...needed...to know what happened. I was scared and I wanna understand. Sometimes people treat me like a kid. I'm glad you shared some of it with me. And now it makes me understand now why I need to be careful with Lori. I didn't realize that she was that horrible of a person. I'm glad you're safe and that you're with me now."

She hugged her brother tightly and kissed his cheek. "I'm never gonna leave you. I'll stay with you and comfort you when you have those nightmares and we'll find a way to get back at Lori for what she's done and for wanting to hurt you. I won't let that happen. I'll kill her before I let her get even remotely close to you. So what can we do to expose Lori or get back at her? What else do you know about her?"

"I know you didn't. You had every right to pry though. I mean..." His voice trailed off for a second, and the next words he spoke were bitter, but towards himself, not to her. "I mean...everytime something bad happens...I run. That's what I always did. Tucked my tail between my legs and ran, not giving a damn about those who cared about me." He sighed, deeply, pausing.

"No...did. I'm not doing that anymore. Whatever happens, I'm not alone. I don't have to fight alone. As for Lori...I do have an idea, but it's dangerous. And risky." He smiled a mischievous grin.

"I'm going to need you to get close to her. Turn on me. Well, make her think so, anyway. That's how we find out how to get her. We'll come up with more details later, right now, we're just scouting. Okay?"

Chloe smiled as she saw that Ty had a plan. Chloe got so excited. Lori was so gonna be f***ed. She was gonna learn that you don't **** with her brother and that you don't try to manipulate her without your *** being handed to you. It was time for Chloe to show her brother how much she loved him and that they could stick together, even through some rough, shady ****. And whatever Lori was doing in her experiments that made Ty cringe and be changed so differently, well Chloe would expose it and bring it to the light of day. All of the public would know of the kind of monster she was.

Chloe smirked at her thoughts and then continued to smirk as she looked to Ty and said, "So what kinda plan are we talking and that won't be hard. I practically have her eating out of my hand. She's trying so hard to have me like her and be won over. I think I could tell her anything and she'd believe it. And I don't care how risky and dangerous it is. We gotta stick together and I'll be one evil ***** to protect you if I have to. Hell, I may even like it."

"Right now, just get close to her. Find out what makes her tick. All the while, make her think you're on her side. Do whatever you have to do. But if anything ever gets out of hand, I want you to call me," he explained, his gears still turning in his ginger head.

He was starting to see a darker side coming out of his half-sister. The last time he saw her, she was merely a mischievous punk kid who liked a little trouble here and there, and lived via less than legal means. He had to wonder if he'd brought that side out of her; if it was his fault that she was this way. To an extent, it kind of scared him, but at the same time, for this to work, he needed someone else with a dark side to them.

Then, he had to look at his own life. He knew he hadn't always been this way. He too was once a charming kid with a knack for the less-than-legal. But he knew he too had evolved to house a dark, sinister side under his still-charming exterior. Maybe that was just how life worked. Everybody had a shadow, after all.

Chloe nods her head and tells Ty, "That's what I've been working on, but I kinda need to know more about her background. I'm trying to gauge her a little more and push her for what I can. Do you know anything else about Lori? Or the stuff she might be into? I mean she took me to like the oldest toy store in New York and wanted to go together so she wouldn't be considered creepy. But I wanna know more about how she went from running a Pharm company to then experimenting on people and getting away with it."

She could see that he was worried about what his sister was becoming. "Hey, don't worry. I'm not a monster. I'm still your sister. I still love you very much. I just got a little more bada** while you were gone.", she says with a smile.

Chloe's eyes lit up. "Ya know what we haven't done in a while? It's been ages since we went shopping together. We could just window shop and hang out and get lost in the mall for a while. What ya think?"