The transformation was slow, and for that Plum should have been thankful. Ghost, or some part of him at least, knew he couldn't let himself turn in PM headquarters, and was fighting with all his failing strength to prevent that. He wouldn't last long, and Plum was in no condition to get him out of the building, so he hit a button beneath his desk that buzzed Kai's room.<br/>It took no longer than a few seconds for the shifter to burst into the room, gun drawn, and took even less time for him to realize what was happening. "Fuck."<br/>With that single word, the shifter began to change, quickly becoming a hulking beast of scales and teeth, rippling with muscle. "Get to Thyme. Tell him to get the Hunt Team ready. They need to guide him out of Market fast." Kai's voice had been replaced with an impossibly low growl. He picked up the now unresponsive Ghost, throwing him over a scaled shoulder even as the white fur began to spread and the wolf's body began to expand.<br/>They needed to get Ghost out.<br/><br/><br/>Silas sighed. "Just being a non-human now is pressing one's luck, and Paetra was not given a choice." he said, sounding tired and defeated. The last thing he'd wanted for his daughter was to go through all the things he and Kally had had to endure, both in and because of their extended lifetimes. That they now needed to rely on criminals to protect her and give her some semblance of normalcy weighed heavily upon the elf.<br/>"But it will have to come free. Since we came here, I have long since abandoned my ways of not killing those who do not attempt to kill me. I will end these people should they use our daughter to blackmail us."<br/>He turned from her for a moment, white hair swaying. "I am fast becoming more like them, but I know not what else I can do, sheill. I was a killer long ago, during the reign of the Four Kings, and I am becoming a killer again. I only wish I knew whether it was brought on by choice or circumstance."<br/><br/><br/>Mallow nodded once, taking Cherry's hand again and bolting down the street, though not before pulling the string attached to the small blade on his gear. The blade fired, embedding itself firmly in the eye of the only other attacker that didn't have his retina burned out by the Camera. He fell to the ground, clutching his face and screaming.<br/>After a few blocks of running, the thief pulled them into an alley, and made short work of changing his gear to the Hook that allowed him to rule the rooftops of Market. "Hold tight to me, and if you are scared of heights, do not look down."<br/>With that, they were lifted into the air at great speed and launched above the roof of a nearby building. The Hook retracted blindingly fast, and Mallow fired again, to bring them sailing to another roof where they touched down. He pulled her along to the edge of the roof and jumped, firing the Hook again. They traveled this way for a few minutes, heading toward the center of the city.<br/><br/><br/>It hadn't been that long since Cherry had stormed out, so it was strange to Raz to receive an urgent voicemail from her. "Hey. Maybe don't open tonight. Doggies are out."<br/>"Doggies?" He asked himself. Then he noticed four men standing outside the club, faces covered by hoods and masks. The elemental sighed. "For men who do not fear the light," he called as the largest man shattered the glass door with a kick. "The light is often their downfall."<br/>The man just laughed, foolishly approaching his smaller opponent. As soon as he got within a few feet, tendrils of colored light leaped from Raz's body to impale him in several places. The other three marauders stopped in their tracks.<br/>"Ohhhhhh...." Raz cooed. "Don't stop now. It is too late for you now, friends." His tendrils jerked from the large man's limp body, and began to whip around the elemental erratically. Two blades formed in his hands, glowing softly green and hissing with the promise of death.<br/><br/><br/>When they arrived at Mallow's safehouse, a small garage with more than enough locks on the door, the thief pointed Cherry to a plush chair in the corner. Though it was small, the space was rather well furnished. A deep red rug covered a large portion of the grey concrete floor, and there seemed to be a kitchen of sorts, though it was obviously makeshift.<br/>Mallow strode to a small cabinet he'd stolen from the mayor's house long ago, pulling a bottle of rather expensive bourbon from the bottom of it. "Whaddaya say to a victory drink, Cher? It'll probably be a day or two before they stop looking for you, so we might as well get comfortable." He suddenly scratched at his left eye. "This goddamn thing..." He complained, walking to a curtain in the back of the space and brushing it aside, revealing a sink, toilet, and a small showerhead protruding from the wall. There looked to be a drain beneath the shower.<br/>Mallow approached the sink, pulling a small case from his pocket and filling it with a clear liquid. He took a large contact from his eye, placing it in the case carefully, and turned back to look at the vampiress. His left eye was a mess. It looked as though the chocolate brown iris had collapsed and spread across the sclera, which was an unnerving shade of grey.<br/>Cherry looked alarmed, but the thief just shrugged. "My sister, Coco, she's a Gifted." He used the word for those who were human, but were treated as Nons for the abilities they possessed. "She can make these areas of pressure. They're small, but I've seen her devastate with them. Anyway, when we were little and she couldn't control it, I broke one of her toys. She started crying, and my eye started to hurt like hell. It's looked like this ever since. I can still see out of it, but it's colorblind. I have to order these expensive-ass contacts 'cuz I got tired of the looks." He grinned. "Speaking of tired, there's only one bed here, but I'll bunk on the chair. Seems like the gentlemanly thing to do right?" Mallow looked proud of himself, but laughed it off and walked back to the kitchen to resume pouring them drinks.