He'd been watching.

He'd been paying attention.

The girl had proven herself worthy of a second chance.

Some might find it odd, or even slightly creepy; a full grown man spying on a little girl. Hell, he wasn't even sure if it wasn't, but if he was going to have someone fighting along side him, he had to be damn sure they were the right kind of person. Aside from her clumsy, but well meaning attempt at fighting crime, she'd spent most of her time on community service; helping the needy and the like. Not things he tended to do himself, but it was admirable.

Between bouts of fighting crime, hunting particularly vile individuals, and openly calling out a mob boss's two week notice on the news, he had been rather busy, but that didn't mean he didn't have time to take a peek at the explosive girl's activity every once in a while. Their particular activity today had just a little bit to do with the calling out of Don Vermici... Today, assuming everything went right, they would be setting the stage for his demise.

His teeth chattered under his mask for a moment before he steeled his jaw; his whole arm buzzed with energy, but he'd had much, much worse before. He didn't disperse the gathered force, though; he had to put on a show, after all.

He was waiting for the girl to leave the building she was in; he was currently atop the roof of the place across the street, standing tall and silent. A rough mental calculation told him he had enough energy to do what he had planned, all he needed now was for her to exit the building, so they could get the ball rolling.

"Hey, Kaitlyn?" Letitia sat next to a window, peeking through the blinds.

Kaitlyn's hand lingered on the door handle. "Yeah?"

"You know that guy who's been following you around? My rats say he's standing on top of the building across from us. I think I can see him from here." Letitia seemed a little worried. The whole idea of a pre-teen girl wandering around a big city unaccompanied was difficult enough for most people to stomach, but letting a girl do that while being spied on by a mysterious masked man was even sketchier.

"I'll be fine." Kaitlyn assured her. The masked man hadn't tried anything on her for the last few weeks; why should today be any different? Secretly, she even hoped that this person would finally try something, so she would have an excuse to give him a very bad day. She didn't know who this guy was, but she didn't like the idea of being spied on, and Alister was supplying her with plenty of pent-up aggression that she would be more than happy to vent on this stranger. All she needed was an excuse.

Letitia was unconvinced. "You say that all the time. But what if he has something that makes him immune to you? What if he's just more powerful than you are? I don't care how much power you say you have, it's still dangerous for you to go out alone."

"She can take care of herself," Alister chimed in, with a knowing smirk. Kaitlyn nodded, grinning. This was one of those rare moments where his omniscience didn't make her want to punch his face in. Perhaps she should have started worrying when she heard him call out "Have fun!" as she shut the door to the building behind her. She didn't even give it a second thought; she just went on her way down the street.

Good... She was leaving the building alone. He was rather sure she knew she was being watched... Mostly because he often saw people peeking from the windows of the building every once in a while. It didn't matter, really. In the end if she chose to serve the city with him, she wouldn't tell a soul, and if she didn't it would be an interesting story for her to tell, that few would ever believe.

He lifted a hand from the heavy cloak he wore to mask his identity, revealing a digital watch. 2:59pm... Perfect. They would be on time to their end destination if he approached her within the minute. All he had to do was wait until no one who knew her was looking.

He lowered his hand once more, and waited for her to pass out of view of the exit, and in front of a nearby alleyway. That was when he chose to pounce. With a burst of energy that cracked the roof under him, he launched himself across the street, and stuck out his right foot so that he would land at her side without the sound that such an impact should summon up. He would then grab her securely, and launch the pair of them all the way down the alley way. A third jump would put them on the roof of the building across the street on the other side, where his equipment was waiting.

The idea was that he would do all of this too fast for her to even know what was going on; it would be interesting to see if that was how it worked.

It would be difficult for Kaitlyn to piece together exactly what was happening at this point until much later. All that she knew was that, until recently, she was walking around with her feet planted firmly on the ground. Gravity works because apples periodically fall on physicists' heads. She had learned about this theory in school, she had seen it in action in her everyday life, and she incorporated it into her worldview. Even if she pushed against the ground while she was walking, she felt very comfortable, and safe, knowing that gravity would pull her down again and she could keep on walking.

This time, she found herself hurtling through the air in somebody else's embrace, and this made her feel a little bit completely terrified, not to mention dissatisfied with the prospects of her dying horrifically in the next few minutes.

In the grips of her own terror, she tried to get this man to release his grip by grabbing his right forearm and shattering every bone he had there. This entirely failed to work, because this was not a normal human's forearm. Realizing this only amplified Kaitlyn's terror. Fortunately, the combination of her power usage and hurtling through the air at high speeds left her too dizzy and disoriented to do anything about it.

She really should have been thankful that the masked man was still holding on to her. If he were to let go, she would have found herself even less satisfied with the prospects of her getting horribly injured in the next few seconds.

Things went mostly as he had planned. He'd landed perfectly; the Russian judges would have been impressed. Snatching her up was an easy task as well, and it went without off a hitch. There was that little part where she tried to blow him up, but it was an understandable reaction.

It was an understandable reaction; he had just kidnapped her after all, but part of him had hoped she would be conscious enough to take note of the fact that they were flying through the air, and blowing him up might lead to the demise of both of them. He would have to teach her to defeat her reflexive actions, and do her best to make every move well thought out and deliberate... He would also have to start taking his own advice; this whole action had been dangerous and only moderately thought out, but timing was crucial.

The landing on the roof wasn't as neat as he'd hoped; the burst of energy her attack had thrown him off balance, so they landed in a roll. He came to his feet a couple yards away from her, and used some of the energy from her attack to blow off his cloak, revealing his armor.

"You weren't expecting me, then." He looked about for a moment, and then to his watch. 3pm.

"Right next to you is a bag. You'll find clothing in there. There is a bathroom just on the other side of the roof access door. You have fifteen minutes to get changed. If you aren't out in fifteen, I will assume you have fled. Go."

He didn't check on her to see if the somewhat rough landing had affected her. If that was enough to break her spirit, then she was useless to him. He needed her to know right here and now, this was not a field trip, and if she was going to hesitate at all, now was the time to do it.

It took a second for Kaitlyn to register exactly what was happening.

The man who was spying on her, who had just snatched her off the street and whisked her away, was the Judge. The young Orderling didn't know whether to feel relieved, or irritated. She certainly felt the former – knowing that her abductor wasn't going to brutally murder her was generally a good thing – but the latter definitely had a place in this conversation.

"Yeah. Thanks for giving me a heads-up before snatching me up like that, Judge. Real safe." She picked up the bag, and started walking towards the aforementioned bathroom.

At no point did she seriously consider 'fleeing,' as the self-styled superhero put it. Kaitlyn did not 'flee' from things like this. Or, at least, not anymore. She'd made great pains to convince the twins that she was tough, and she wasn't going to prove them or herself wrong by chickening out on this. 'This' being whatever it was the Judge had in store.

Kaitlyn came out twelve minutes later, with her own clothes in the bag, wearing the outfit the Judge had brought her. Much of the upper half of her face was covered by a strip of dark red cloth with two holes for her eyes. Most of the rest of her body was covered in a form-fitting, dark grey layer of spandex, with the addition of with a small skirt and a canvas jacket that nearly matched the red of her facemask. She sported a pair of black combat boots, one of which she now took the opportunity to finish lacing up properly, and a matching black leather belt around her waist, which came with attatched pouches that could be used to hold all kinds of useful stuff, to supplement the similarly useful pockets on her jacket.

"You know, one of my friends caught you spying on me a lot. She probably thinks you're the creepiest guy on the planet." This needed saying, she felt.

"Yeah. Thanks for giving me a heads-up before snatching me up like that, Judge. Real safe."

"It was too risky; I couldn't be seen with you in public." He reached down to the rest of his equipment and took a quick stalk. "You should have know it was me anyway." Unless she had other people who might have an interest in her... He didn't think she'd been getting into any more trouble, but perhaps that assassin had taken her attempt to defend that man personally. He made a note to ask her about it later, for now they had places to be.


She changed quickly; that was good. It gave him a little more time to brief her. "I have something for you." He reached into his bag, and retrieved what appeared to be a small panel with a hand grip. He held it out toward her, held down a button on the grip, gave it a solid flick, and it fanned out into what was clearly a moderately sized steel shield. "It will stand up to small arms fire, but if you see a rifle, dive for cover. Even with this, avoid getting shot. You aren't me. You'll mind it a bit more."

He pointed to the bag he'd pulled the shield from. "Put your clothes and personal affects in this bag."

"You know, one of my friends caught you spying on me a lot. She probably thinks you're the creepiest guy on the planet." He nodded. He'd always been aware of the possibility that he would be noticed. He didn't care much. "I care very little what your friend thinks of me. If anyone asks, tell them that you were attacked, but you took care of it. From here on I will contact you through less conspicuous methods."

He looked to his watch again. They had to leave soon.

"What do you know of the Vermici family?" Mainly, he wondered if she watched the news regularly, or knew anyone who was aware of the rather famous mob families criminal organisation. They were known for their apparent inability to be touched by the law. He had also very recently broken the spine of the eldest son of the don very publicly, and called out the don himself.

Having fulfilled her quota of mouthing-off, Kaitlyn decided to start taking this seriously.

"Um... thanks," she said, accepting the shield. The girl immediately began fiddling with it, quickly learning that she could flick it open or shut while holding that button down. She did this repeatedly as their conversation continued, with the irritating noise of metal sliding against metal accompanying it each time.

The name 'Vermici' was very familiar to the little Orderling. "Yeah. I've heard about them. They're some of those mob idiots who tried to get involved in -" She stopped herself. Stuttered. Scrambled to rephrase what she was about to say. "Er... they tried to get involved in the M trade down in Brooklyn, and they got their butts kicked by some other guys. I heard about them when I lived in the Sanctuary. And... I think there was something about you messing with them on the news, too, right?"

Yeah. She needed to be really careful when she talked about that kind of stuff. Kaitlyn continued playing with her shield, hiding most of her body behind it while advancing on imaginary armed goons, then blocking a few imaginary attacks for good measure. The shield was a bit unwieldy for her, due to its weight and her lack of strength, but she'd rather keep it around if it meant not catching a bullet.

He watched her fiddle with the shield, opening and closing it a few times; good, she would need to learn how to use it quickly, and he would give her a little time while they talked to get flicking it about out of her system. Was it irritating? A little, but he was a damned grown-up. He could bear it.

Her reaction to the mentioning of the Vermici family made his eyes snap to her... Hmm... That was an odd reaction. He was fairly sure the Vermici's trying to get into the M-trade wasn't public knowledge by any means... She said something about overhearing such talk at the Sanctuary... Maybe he would have to take a closer look... Perhaps he wouldn't break down any doors this time. For now, though, he wouldn't question his companion... He would save that for later.

"I placed the Don's son in the hospital... His spine is broken... Before too long, I plan to make his life even worse. He's the kind of person who deserves more than just a quick judgement. Those types are rare, though... When you kill, kill quickly and mercifully. Only kill when you know your target is guilty, or if they aim to kill you... Otherwise, lethal force is not necessary." He watched her experiment with the shield, and while he approved, he took another look at his watch, and barked. "Enough playing around, we have to go."

He reached out a hand for the young one to grab, and prepared himself for another series of jumps.

Woah. Hold up. Killing people?

Kaitlyn stopped and looked at the Judge. She wasn't sure that she was ready for that.

She'd gotten people killed before, sure. But those were accidents, and it always left her feeling awful for days. The little Orderling knew, of course, that murder could be extremely useful... but killing people just felt bad. She didn't like doing it. She didn't want to do it. She could leave it to somebody else.

Her sense of pride dictated that she could not allow such weakness to show, especially not in front of the Judge. She was a tough mutant kid from the Sanctuary who'd lived on the streets, she told herself. This meant that she had what it took to do this.

Hesitation vanished. The girl nodded grimly, then took the masked man's hand.

...He wasn't about to do the jumping thing again, was he? Because she really didn't want him to take her along for the jumping thing again.

So, after a lot, and I mean a LOT more jumping, they were where they needed to be.

He set her down a little more gently than their spill on the roof before, but not much; once again, be tough, harumph, and whatnot. Along the way he'd been thinking about her hesitation when it came to killing... The human side of him made him wonder what the hell he was thinking; He was seriously asking a child to kill people. He was about to put her in real danger. The force of nature that was the Judge, however, swept those thoughts aside; he was not Saphirus right now, he was no one. It was the same case for her.

The second she agreed to go with him, she had decided not to be a human being; she was an instrument for justice, nothing more, nothing less.

His eyes scanned location that looked like a small deli... The thing was, the way the building was shaped, this deli must have had a really large back room; it was large enough to talk business, at least.

"From here on, you will answer to Jury, and nothing else."

A glance to his watch told him they were just on time; a limo pulled up to the pizza joint, and the owner, a large older man wobbled out, flipping the open sign to closed as the doors opened. "We are at the Vermici family's western headquarters... from here they organize all of their movement in this part of the city... They also use it to hire hit men, and guards... As we speak, the don's cousin, Arty, is looking to hire a new group of gunmen to defend the don's compound... I told him he would be dead within the week, and that has motivated him to surround himself with dangerous people... We are going to throw a wrench in their plans..."

He paused, and looked to the girl.

"Tell me... do you think someone who does what I do is brave?"

It was an odd question, but he felt the need to ask it.

So, after a lot, and we mean a LOT more time spent with her eyes firmly shut, thinking she was likely to fall to her death at any moment, Kaitlyn found her feet on solid ground again. Or at least solid rooftop. That worked too, even if falling-to-her-death remained a serious possibility up there.

Not that she was afraid, or anything.

Kaitlyn nodded her head periodically as the Judge layed the info on her. She would answer to 'Jury,' this was mobster idiot HQ, and they were about to pick a fight with a ton of idiots who all wanted to get paid to keep the Judge away from the biggest mob idiot. She ran that last part over in her head again: there was a job position for people who wanted to fight off Judge. The Judge was bringing her along to help fight against a bunch of people who wanted to fight off bulletproof, super-strong vigilantes for a living.

She took a deep breath. Scanned the rooftop. Was there a bathroom anywhere? Because 'Jury' could really use one, after all that jumping and

"Tell me... do you think someone who does what I do is brave?"

The girl looked him in the eyes, reading no emotion from his mask. "...Is that a trick question?" Her voice quivered a little. She hoped her own mask would hide how she felt about being caught up in this.

"...Is that a trick question?"

His contact-covered eyes stared deep into her soul for a moment... She was afraid; there were a thousand signs pointing it out; the nervous answer to his question, the shaky voice that delivered it... And that look in her eyes... He'd seen it many times before.

"No." He stared silently for a moment, sent a sideways glance to his watch, and then crouched down so that she was at eye level. His blank eyes held an unwavering stare.

"To be brave... you must be afraid. To be afraid, you have to be human. To do what I do, you have to be able to look into the horror filled eyes of a man, evil may he be, and watch as the light leaves them. In order to do that... over, and over again.... You can't be human. You can't be afraid.... You can't be brave. Any fear you have in your heart... dismiss it right now, or you are useless to me. Do you understand, Jury?"

He stared intently for a few moments, and then stood, stepping to the edge of the roof. Intense eyes spied the street below, counting the cars gathered about. His early estimations told him that there were about 10 armed men in the building, with ten more on their way from different locations... If he could get in and take care of the first half, he could set a trap for the others.... After that was done, Judgement could be passed on cousin Arty...

The whole way, he would have to be sure to keep Jury safe; he was painfully aware of her lack of training thus far. He figured throwing her right into the deep end would be a great way to teach her how to swim.... that, or she would sink.

Kaitlyn took a deep breath. She looked the Judge in the eyes. She couldn't speak without betraying her terror. But on some level, the thought that she even should be afraid was offensive to her. Back in the Sanctuary, there were fully-grown, armed, dangerous mutants who ran M for a living, yet were still afraid of her. That had to mean something, didn't it? And those people were part of the baddest criminal organization in New York City! These idiots were just thugs and Vermicis.

Jury nodded. She could do this.

Chaos was the word of the day;.

Breaching the first door had been just as easy as he planned, but as any battle wizened person knew, even the best plans fell apart a minute into conflict. He'd jumped down with Kait in tow once more, and smacked into the front door like a freight train, leaving almost nothing of the man standing just inside of it, and deposited his precious cargo behind him. That, and heading toward the back had been the easy part; it all went according to the plan... finding a two inch thick magnetically sealed steel door in between them and the back room was definitely not in the plan

Where the hell does someone buy something like that? Maybe there was an evil D#$%%bag store somewhere... "Take care of it, Jury... and then get behind me when you're done... they'll start firing as soon as you blow the door."

He turned to see a man with an uzi coming out of one of the wide doors; the man didn't get a shot off before the Judge pulled what looked like a sharpened 'J' from an arm belt, and lodged it into the man's forehead with an energy assisted throw. He was lucky he'd felt the man running up... He reminded himself that above all he had to keep his inexperienced partner in an alive state if he wanted her to live long enough to train properly... Also, he didn't want her death on his hands... God new they were soaked in enough blood as is.