“Sleek, please!” Intensity brushed her banes from her eyes, pinning her Gecko teammate with a stone glare. “My ears can only take so much of your singing.”

Grinning, Sleek turned to Floe. “What about you, my dear?”

“I’ll have to agree with Intensity, Sleek. Sorry but,” she smiled over at her feline friend, “your voice really is like fingernails on glass.”

“Ouch.” His smile slipping slightly, Sleek crossed his arms and turned to his last voter. “Come on, Max. I can’t be that bad.”

“Sorry buddy, but I’ll have to agree with the ladies.” Chuckling, Max stretched his wings and yawned. “Maybe now I’ll be able to get some sleep.”

Intensity smirked and Floe burst into giggles. Sleek, not so amused, sat down next to Team Trinity’s newest addition.

Intensity had crossed paths with the winged panther while setting up security points around the team’s most recent campsite. Maximal Pathiro had been sound asleep, wrapped in his wings when Intensity accidentally stepped on his tail while passing by. Shocked, and still feeling the numbing sting in his tail, Max had asked Intensity if he could stay with her, Sleek, and Floe. Upon further questioning, he admitted to watching them since they arrived in the forest clearing, wishing he could work up the courage to request joining them in their travels. Sleek was a little unsure whether to trust the young winged feline, but soon agreed with ease after Max helped, completely by accident, in Team Trinity’s most recent steal.

“Alright, fine. I’ll stop singing … for now.” Sleek’s grin slipped back into place. “I want to make sure we’re all well rested for tonight’s work.”

“Then shut up already,” Max teased, rolling over and closing his eyes. Sleek, still grinning, grabbed Max by the shoulder and pressed his fist against the panther’s head, giving him a brotherly noogie. “Hey, ouch! Sleek!”

“I said ‘well rested’. I didn’t give you permission to take a nap.”

“Excuse me,” Intensity’s voice rang clear through the air. The boys froze in mid-action. “The last time I checked, I am the team leader, Sleek. Thus I have that authority, not you.” Her eyes returned to her computer screen, a small smile playing at her lips. “Let Maximal get some sleep.”

“Fine.” Sleek released his hold and stood up, stretching. “You’re no fun.”

Max smiled. “Thanks, Kitty.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The group fell silent. Floe had curled her own wings around herself and fell into a deep sleep against a large oak tree. Assuming that Max had done the same, Sleek sat next to Intensity, watching her as she worked on fixing a minor coding error in her computer’s security system.

“So, what do you think of Max?”

“He’s nice.” Catching Sleeks eye, she sighed and closed the lid to her laptop, giving Sleek her full attention. “There’s more to him than we give him credit for. He’s extremely good at being in the right place at the right time, even if it’s by accident. He has far more knowledge in computers and other technology than I would have guessed … He’s smart, Sleek.”

“I know. I watched him fix one your cameras just outside of the clearing a couple nights ago.”
“He … what?”

“I didn’t want to tell you since I know how … edgy you get when someone else touches your toys.”

“When someone else touches my equipment,” she corrected.

“You touch your equipment?” Sleek narrowed his eyes with a smirk.

“Sleek!” Intensity punched him on the arm, her cheeks flushing. “That’s so not what I meant and you know it, you perv.”

“Uh-huh.” Sleek chuckled as he grabbed her advancing hand before she could land another punch. “I’m just having some fun, Kitty. Relax.”

Glaring, Intensity dropped her hands to her side. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as Intensity’s anger slowly died away.

“Maximal will be able to look after everything technology wise for the team when … the time comes.”

“When what time comes?”

Intensity lifted the lid to her laptop. “Don’t play dumb, Sleek. You know as well as I do what has been happening to my body.”

“But … you haven’t been using the Void since you met me four years ago, right?” Catching a higher pitch in his voice, Intensity glanced at Sleek’s face. His arms were wrapped around his legs and his eyes appeared glazed, as if he was holding back tears.

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied in a semi whisper, clearing her throat quietly. “Just because I haven’t used the power, it doesn’t mean that the Void has become dormant.”

“But—“

“No, Sleek!” Anger filling her voice, Intensity slammed the lid down on her laptop. “Just stop it! You know that the Void’s power has been slowly killing me for almost my entire life, and refusing to use that power doesn’t change that! I’m going to die and soon, and its time that you stop hanging on to this dream that I’ll be alright and accept the truth!”

“… What if … I don’t want to accept the truth?” Sleek’s face hardened in anger, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Since I was born, everything has been stolen from me; family, a home, friendship, a way of living. Then I met you and Floe and I finally felt like things had finally changed in my favour.” He locked eyes with her. “But now you except me to sit back and watch the one person I’ve ever truly loved die?!” Her mouth opened in shock and she dropped her gaze. “No, Intensity, I refuse to accept that path for you …”

“… I’m scared, Sleek.”

Glancing out into the forest trees, Sleek sighed heavily as his anger faded. “I know, Kitty.” Taking Intensity’s hands in one of his own, he wrapped his other arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. Shaking lightly, Intensity buried her face in his vest as she cried.

Max rolled over, his back facing the two, his mouth open in shock and sadness.

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“Rise and shine, Maxy-boy!”

Max jumped, his eyes flying open as he sat up, mumbling and still half asleep. “Wat? I’m hup, I’m hup.” Blinking, he saw Floe and Sleek standing next to him, both in a fit of giggles. Glancing around them, he saw Intensity standing a little further back, wearing a backpack.

“Good evening,” Intensity walked to Floe’s side, a smile playing at her own lips. “I hope you are rested, Maximal. Its time to head out.”

“Already? I don’t even feel like I slept!”

“Get used it to, Max,” Floe offered her hand and helped the winged panther to his feet. “Slept is something that doesn’t happen too often when you are part of our team.”

Mumbling under his breath, Max stretched, his wings unfolding to their full length. A faint “hey” came from Sleek as the tip of Max’s right wing tickled his nose. Chuckling, Max took hold of Intensity and waited for Floe to grab Sleek before speeding off into the night clouds.

-------------------------------------------------

“Sleek, seriously, stop drawing glasses on the guards faces.”

“What? They’re knocked out so it’s not like they’ll know I’m doing it.”

“I don’t think that’s the point, Sleek,” Max replied with a grin.

“Fine, alright.” Placing the cap on permanent marker, Sleek slipped it into his vest and continued down the dark corridor. “Ruin my fun or something.”

Intensity, sitting at the edge of the forest with Max, monitors and computer screens surrounding them, smirked lightly. “If there is time later, you can finish the mustaches. Just get that gem first.”

“Promise?”

“Sleek,” Floe groaned over the headset.

Chuckling, he rounded a corner and continued through the dark halls. “See anything, Kitty?”

“Of course; my cameras have a night vision mode for a reason.” She eyed the monitors, looking for any sign of more security when suddenly the screens blacked out. “What the?!”

“What happened?” Max asked anxiously.

“I … I don’t know.”

“Is something wrong, Kitty?”

“The cameras blacked out.”

“What!?” Floe shouted in reply.

“Sleek, get out of there. I think they’re on to us!”

“Aw, come on, Kitty. I’m so close to the room. What could possibly hap—guh!”

As Sleek rounded another corner, bright lights flashed to life, blinding him as the feeling of cold metal pressed against his chest.

“Don’t move.” Intensity, shocked, gazed at Max as the unfamiliar voice flowed over the headset. “Put your hands behind your head, slowly and get on the ground!”

“They aren’t building security,” Sleek whispered softly over the headset. “They—”

A loud crackle filled the earphones and then silence followed.

“Shit!” Intensity slammed her fist down on one of the monitors, leaving a very large dent.

“Intensity?”

“… Yes, Floe?”

“I’m on the roof. They’re taking Sleek out and putting him in some sort of truck.”

“Can you follow it?”

“Yes.”

“Do so. Once they’ve made an official stop, inform me immediately.”

“Will do.”

Sighing softly, Intensity took off her headset and rubbed her forehead.

“I take it you’re not used to being caught while on a mission?” She nodded. “Relax, Intensity.” Max sat down next to her, smiling lightly. “Sleek will be fine. I may not have known him for very long, but I know him well enough to know that he’s got some tricks up his … well, vest.”

“Yeah, your right.” She smiled in spite of herself. “Looks like this is going to be a longer mission than expected.”

“Who doesn’t love a good adventure?” Max grinned.

Nodding lightly, Intensity started to shut down and pack the equipment into the backpack.

“Intensity?”

“Hm?”

“Floe says they’ve stopped. Not too far from here either.” Picking up her headset, he tossed it at her. “Here, listen to this.”

Curious, she pressed the right earphone to her ear in time to hear a loud crash, mixed voices yelling, and Sleek’s unmistakable laughter.

“I’ll let Sleek handle this one alone,” Floe chuckled. “I think he’s got this all under control. You and Max go on and get the gem. These guys don’t look smart enough to leave someone behind for the rest of us.”

“Alright, thanks Floe.”

“No problem, besides,” gun shots sounded and Floe giggled, “free entertainment.”

“Just make sure he leaves them breathing, kay?” Swinging the backpack over her shoulder, Intensity smiled and tossed Max her headset as they stepped from the forest and slipped into the building.

As they neared the room, they found the still unconscious building security with permanent marker glasses. Grinning, Intensity handed Max another marker.

“Make Sleek proud.”

Max looked at the marker for a moment as what she said sunk in. A devious grin spread across his face as he bent down and uncapped the marker.