New York, Queens

Kew Gardens Hills Academy

12:30

After the classes for the day had ended, and the students were allowed to leave school earlier than most, Aaron was walking down a school hallway all alone as his friends had some errands to run, and he didn't really want to disturb Olivia because she was hanging out with her friends.

Hmm... What should I make for lunch??

He thought to himself as he took a right turn to the set of stairs that would allow him to descend. As he did though, through his peripheral vision he noticed a silhouette losing its footing and tumbling backwards and out of balance. Before he could think of doing anything, his body moved of its own accord, swooping in to catch the person who was falling just in time before they could hit the floor. Without realizing what just happened, he's suddenly gazing inside a pair of honey-colored eyes that are looking back at him with the same amount of surprise, if not more. "Uhm... you okay?" Aaron voices as he lifts up the girl he's holding with his arms.

"Uh yeah... yeah I'm good." She replies quite startled as she tugs a strand of her straight black neck length hair behind her ear and adjusts her bangs that are covering her forehead as her cheeks put on a rosy red color.

Hold up, what's up with this? She's super cute...! Nah come on Aaron you need to focus!!!

"Well then that's good. You need to more careful next time." He says with a small smile while recomposing himself.

"Well if I'm not, then let's just hope you're around next time too." The girl replies as she returns the smile. "Still though, I don't normally slip on steps like that... but you caught me so fast, how did you do that?" She continues looking genuinely curious.

Uh oh, here comes a trick question! Better play it cool...

"Well, what can I say? I guess catching girls mid-air is one of my many talents!" Aaron voices comically with a shrug, to which in response the girl giggles.

"Right. So what are your other talents?" She asks while playfully crossing her arms.

"Hmm, let me see... I make a great omelet with peppers if that counts." He replies in the same manner as she giggles once again.

"It sure does." She says with a smile as she looks into Aaron's eyes. But his gaze, quickly falls to one of the people walking right behind her, which is none other than Olivia.

"Well then milady if you'll excuse me..." He says while dribbling past her.

"Wait! I didn't quite catch your name..." The girl cries out while turning around.

"Aaron Beckett's the name. And you?" Aaron asks as he pauses mid-step.

"Sarah. Sarah Middleton." Sarah replies while offering a handshake. "I'm guessing you just transferred here, right?" She continues while Aaron takes her hand.

"Wait, how did you-" "I know up to 95% of the students here by face. And the rest I can recognize if I've ever seen them before. But you didn't fit the bill." She quickly explains while cutting his question off.

"So is that the norm? I mean I barely remember people from my last school..." Aaron shrugs while rubbing his jaw.

"The norm for the former student council president maybe, yeah." Sarah replies while Aaron widens his eyes in surprise.

"Woah, I really saved an important individual didn't I? Will I get a discount on the school's canteen as a special thank you?" Aaron replies making Sarah laugh once again.

"No, but I could treat you to coffee if you want. As special thank you, of course." She smiles confidently.

"Sure, but I'll have to take a rain check cause I seriously need to be somewhere right now." He replies returning the smile, as he runs down the hallway Olivia just walked through while voicing a "see ya!"

"Aaron Beckett, huh?' Sarah repeats with her arms across her chest, having been left standing all alone in the hallway.

With all that talk I completely forgot about Olivia... Now where is- Oh there she is!

Aaron practically voices inside his head as he spots her in her way out of the school building. "Hey!" He calls out to her once she's within hearing distance and she turns around.

"Hey." She replies casually. "I see you were making friends!" Olivia was quick to comment while teasing him.
"Oh, you mean Sarah? I just met her completely at random..." Aaron is quick to shrug.

"What? Did you help her get back her stolen bike?" Olivia replies sarcastically.

"What? Was the stolen bike hers?!" Aaron jumps back startled.

"No you idiot, it was a joke..." She replies while internally facepalming.

"Oh... Well she tripped over a step in the stairs and I happened to be there to catch her." Aaron explains while Olivia widens her eyes in response.

"You caught her? Like mid-air?"

"Yep. Why?" Aaron turns to her intrigued.

"Oh it's nothing...I just thought I should hang around staircases more often..." Olivia says in a low voice.

"Sorry, what?" Aaron inquires startled.

"Nothing nothing!" Olivia says with a chuckle. "But still it's quite unbelievable that THE Sarah Middleton tripped over some steps. She's been doing martial arts for years you know!" Olivia masterfully shifts the subject.

"For real? Damn." Is all Aaron said while they both walked side by side.

"Anyway, wanna walk home together?" Olivia proposes while trying to play it cool. Only she knows how much courage it took for her to sound so aloof while saying that.

"What about your friends?" Aaron inquires swiftly.

"Well they had some things to do, so I decided to go home." Olivia explains. "...That reminds me... You don't have to avoid me just because I'm with my friends, you dum-dum!" She lightly punches his arm while he chuckles.

"Okay, okay! As you wish, milady!" Aaron replies playfully. "...Also it would be a pleasure to walk home with you, miss Marshall." He continues walking while Olivia giggles, her cheeks turning slightly red.

New York, Queens

A Back Alley

20:01

After eating lunch and doing some of his homework for the day after, Aaron quickly wore his suit and headed out for his last patrol of the day. While he was out looking around though, something unusual caught his eye in a back alley. Three men wearing black suits and sunglasses, in the dead of the night nonetheless, were standing outside what looked like some sort of warehouse. Aaron, AKA Wraith, was in a nearby rooftop checking them out for what seemed like an hour, but in truth was just 5 minutes.

Are they gonna just stand there or what?

He thought to himself as he watched the three men show no signs of movement. Soon enough though, a black limo drove through the dark alley and parked right in front of the three men. "...Come on that's what I'm talking about...!" Aaron commented while edging closer to the scene. Not a few seconds later, he felt a buzzing sound from his pocket that startled him for a mere second. By pushing a button on the back of his neck, he answered the phone call swiftly. That was one of the few upgrades Dr.Steinn had made to Wraith's suit: connecting Aaron's phone with a speaker and microphone from inside his half-face mask.

"It's me. Where are you?" Steinn's voice was heard a few seconds after Aaron answered the call.

"I'm at a rooftop overlooking a warehouse. 72nd Avenue." Aaron replied in a whisper while still looking at the scene.

"Great. That's exactly what I wanted to tell you. There's something fishy going on there. Check it out." The grown man explained while Aaron nodded to himself.

"Oh wait!" Aaron cried out as low as possible as he saw a man walk out the parked limousine. He was wearing a white suit and was smoking a cigar.

"What happened?" Steinn asked and Aaron was quick to convey the situation.

"Someone walked out this limo, and I think I know him... He looks... familiar."

"That must be him then!" Steinn voiced, his tone changing to one of surprise.

"Who's him?" Aaron asked as he watched the man converse with the three of them.

"That's Logan Crane! That warehouse belongs to him! You need to listen in to what they're saying. We'll talk later." And with that the scientist disconnects the call.

"Crane? The guy that controls the mob around Queens?" Aaron asks himself while enabling the sensitive speaker on his mask, enabling him to hear conversations inside a 200-meter radius. Another of Steinn's upgrades.

"Where is he?" Crane spoke in a deep and commanding voice.

"He's inside boss, he's dealing with THEM." One of the three suited men replied.

They must be his goons then...

"He still can't extract the essence? What the hell is he even good for?"

"I'll tell him to hurry up, boss."

"Yeah you do that, Poncho." "Did you get the money from these idiots, Miguel?" Crane shifts his attention to another guard while smoking his cigar.

"Yes boss, but one of them failed to pay. They asked for more time so we confiscated some of their things in return."

"Lemme guess, the Wilsons?"

"Yes, boss." The goon replies while Crane clicks his tongue. Just then, another individual walks out the limo. An even more familiar face than the last one. "Sweetie, I told you to stay in the car." Crane voiced while turning back to address what appeared to be his daughter. Straight neck length hair with bangs and short and slim but sporty silhouette.

WAIT!! SARAH?!!!

Aaron screams internally as he immediately recognizes just who that girl standing there is.

SARAH IS CRANE'S DAUGHTER!!!??