by GoozX
Having ensured that his new charge was fully settled in, Danny Hearn walked down the hallway, heading for his room and finally some sleep that night. It was pretty funny how one day could feel like weeks, and never seemed to end, yet weeks could pass in the blink of an eye, and nothing happened.
Danny reached his door, which was, strangely enough, open. "Hal, did I leave the door open again?"
"No, I distinctly remember reminding you to close it before."
"Hello?" Danny asked as he entered his apartment.
In the shadows, only a few feet from the door, was Sam Dawson sitting on the old, worn-out couch. Sam stood, looking straight into Danny's eyes. There was silence.
"Hey, Dan," Sam finally said tonelessly.
"Hey, Sam."
Both men were uneasy, neither one wanting to say what was on their minds.
"Dan..."
"Yeah?"
"...about before..." Sam paused before speaking and looked down toward the ground. "I was out of line."
"Sam..."
"I'm sorry."
Danny nodded his head. Sam didn't say another word and walked out of Danny's apartment, shutting the door behind him.
That morning, at 7:30 a.m., Sam stood at the doors of the fourteenth floor, his eyes locked on the number fourteen, which hung on the locked doors.
He had been in the same position for the last twenty minutes, not sure of what his next move would be. His hand moved forward, taking hold of the doorknob. He began to turn it open, when he abruptly stopped.
"I can't."
His words echoed in the empty stairwell, resounding with the sadness of his voice, the low hush of whispers matching it. Sam turned back toward the stairs and descended down.
The apartment complex was silent, everyone sleeping peacefully after the long night before. Sam walked through the main room with a folder under one arm and a small suitcase in his right hand. He smiled, remembering a few good times, but never looked back as he made his way toward Shirley Francis, who was up early getting things ready for a possible new high-profile client.
"Hey, Shirley." Sam's voice was soft, unlike the angry tone he had taken since the team's return from the Castle of Crossed Destinies.
"Oh, hey, Sam, I didn't expect anyone to be up so early," Shirley said as she lifted stacks of paper from boxes, filing them.
"Yeah, well, I have an early flight I have to catch."
"Flight?" Shirley asked, surprised.
"Yeah."
"Where are you going? Vacation, or...?"
"Not exactly." Sam paused, looking for the right words. "I'm gonna resume my studies at a small university in Italy."
Shirley's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Why so abrupt? Aren't you gonna tell anyone, say goodb--?"
"I'm not big on goodbyes." Sam cracked a smile. "And this whole hero-for-hire thing just wasn't for me."
"Yeah, sometimes I wonder myself."
"Anyhow, I wanted to give these to you, well, to the team." Sam handed Shirley the file. She opened it and looked back up to him.
"The deed to the building?"
"Yeah. The place now officially belongs to the team. Tell them to try not to blow it up."
"Out of curiosity, why are you giving the building to the team?"
"Too many bad memories. Now I don't have any excuses to come back."
"No?"
For a second, Sam thought of Michelle Campbell. "Nope, none. I hope you and Mick are able to visit me sometime. Italy would be a great place for a honeymoon."
"We'll keep it in mind."
"Well, I should be going."
"Bye, Sam." Shirley pulled Sam in for a hug. After a few moments they parted, and Sam headed for the door.
"I'll see ya around."
As Sam exited, Shirley stepped into the doorway and yelled out to him, "What should I tell the others?"
Sam paused for a second and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Make up something cool and tell 'em I said it."
With a wink, Sam "Shift" Dawson was gone, into a taxicab heading for the airport. Shirley covered her arms as the wind picked up. She hastily returned inside.
"I hope a storm isn't coming..."
A few more hours passed. Almost everyone was now awake, and Kit Piper took a moment to introduce MBL Consulting's new security adviser, Grissom Montag. The introduction was met with little fanfare, and Grissom was politely greeted by a few before setting off to work, beginning with a trip to a few electronics supply stores to assist in his much-needed overhaul of the security system. He neglected to mention that his personal mechanic and assistant, Charley, would also be by in a day or two and might also need a room.
Almost all of them remained milling about in the kitchen after the introduction, except for Chance, Dr. Henry Quantos, and Dirk Bell. Kristofer Schanz left to begin his morning workouts, Henry was relaxing with a book in his guest apartment, and Dirk, still in his apartment since last night, was still sleeping.
Mick Harrison and Danny were at the kitchen table. Edulcore Cicciotto and Grimm were arguing over the stove, both disagreeing on how to cook the eggs.
"I was a cook for years," Ed argued.
"Sorry, mate. First come, first serve."
"I still can't believe you guys went to Paris last night," Danny said, shaking his head.
Mick tilted his head to the side as a glass flew by and was met in mid-air by the carton of orange juice, which filled the glass. The glass landed on the table next to a newly filled bowl of cereal. Mick just shrugged his shoulders.
Danny laughed as Phil Smith walked into the kitchen. "I'm starving, guys. I could really use some O.J. and cereal," he said. Danny pointed to the orange juice and cereal with no one sitting by it. "I must say, I'm impressed."
Ed turned toward Phil and said to the newcomer, "Cool. I've never had that power."
Mick extended his hand to Phil. "Hey, I'm Mick, and M-X-Y, but you can just call me Mick."
"Uh, nice to meet ya."
"You can call me Ed," the Italian-born hero said as he approached the young man, also extending his hand. "How did you do that?"
"I really have no idea, sir."
"Then I think you'll fit in well here."
They all laughed, sat, and continued talking, relaxing on this peaceful morning.
"Anyone seen Sam?" Mick said. "I gotta ask him something."
"I saw him late yesterday," Danny replied. "He seems to be doing better, even apologized for last night."
"That's good," Grimm added, sitting down at the table with the finished eggs. "He seemed really broken up about that Michelle chick."
"You guys will never believe last night!" Danny said, jumping back into the conversation.
"Yeah?"
"What happened?" Ed asked.
"I had--"
Before Danny could finish, a loud rumbling filled the air, and a huge figure slammed through the brick wall. The figure stood; he had the build of a dark-skinned man who matched Grimm's size. His head was shaved, and he had a well-defined beard, graying on its sides. He pulled out a large, homemade weapon, almost futuristic in nature, and pointed it directly toward Danny's head. His voice was stern and sure. "Daniel Hearn, you must die!"
Danny stood fast. "Hal!"
As the unknown man pulled the trigger, Ed's quick reflexes slammed the gun's side. An energy pulse blasted through the air, ripping apart a solid wall. The man turned toward Ed and was met with a barrage of blows, each ripping through the air at an uncanny speed.
"My fight is not with you!" the man added while he matched Ed's speed and slammed Ed's leaner body into the wall, before throwing him over the counter top as if it were nothing.
"Try that against me," Grimm said as he charged toward the unknown attacker. The man matched Grimm's power as the two titans slammed each other's bodies into the walls. After each time Grimm hit the man, the man's punches were more powerful.
"You're absorbing my force..." Grimm muttered before he was met with a thunderous blow to the face. The stranger held Grimm by his shirt collar.
"My fight is only with Hearn, but I will take out whoever gets in my way."
"You fight with him, then you fight with all of us!" Chance's voice attracted the attention of the stranger.
Edulcore regrouped with Danny and Mick, who were ready for a fight. Phil was under the table, not sure if he was ready for this type of situation yet. Dr. Quantos had also just arrived; he held a shotgun tightly in his hands. Kit Piper and Shirley were next to enter the room.
The fight could be heard for blocks around the complex.
The stranger let go of Grimm and put his weapon to his side. He paused, thinking for a moment, Maybe there is another way.
The team waited outside of Kit's office. Grimm rubbed his bone jaw, which was sore from the blow. They were all anxious.
"I can't believe that Kit is meeting with a psycho that just tried to kill me." Danny was frustrated, to say the least. The others kept talking.
"I'm sure there is a good reason he attacked you."
"The fucker was strong."
"He wrecked the kitchen."
"You see that weapon?"
"Future-like..."
"You were under the table?"
"Ahhh, I don't remember."
"He'll get his."
Silence then erupted as the door to Kit's office opened. Kit exited as the large man followed.
"Gents," began Kit, "I'd like you to meet the newest member of MBL Consulting. He goes by the name... Priest."