Double Life

"Matt, you need to get going, or you'll be late."

Matt swallows the mouthful of food, flashing the older woman a dimpled grin, "Aw, come on, Ma, you know I can't turn down your food."

"Well, you need to get going before Zacky or the others come pounding on the door for you and I'd hate for Richard to see the chaos you boys bring to the house," his mother, Marcy, responds, smiling softly at her son in return.

Matt lets out a bark of laughter, "You've been dating this man for how long and I have yet to meet him."

"Well, I wanted to make sure this wasn't a relationship that would die after the first few months," 'Few months, try a year' His mother ignores his mumbled snark, "before I introduced him to my son, and my four other sons I've seemed to adopt over the years."

Matt grins once more before finishing off his last few bites. Standing from the table with his plate in hand, the brown-haired teen washes off the dish and places it in the dry rack. Kissing his mother on the cheek, he mentions how beautiful she looks before he heads out of the front door of the house. He knows most teenage boys would be upset that their mother has yet to introduce their year-long significant other, but he knew it wasn't often a man caught his mother's eyes, not after his father left her for another (younger) woman. He honestly hoped he never saw his father again, and it seemed like this Richard makes his mother glow with happiness and smiles. If Richard can put that smile on his mother's face, he'd let the whole secret relationship go for now.

"Yo, M, finally!"

Matt slips a beanie over his hair and a pair of aviator sunglasses are placed on the bridge of his nose. Making sure to add his off-center lip ring, Matt quickly slips into his M. Shadows persona as he greets the others. The five of them start getting themselves pumped up (Rev literally jumping up and down in spot, a creepy, hyperactive grin forming on his lips) and the club owner announces their name before they race onto stage.

An hour later, M. Shadows moves through the crowd of teens and young adults, greeting them in a gruff version of his voice. His heart pounds in his chest as the adrenaline from the show continues rushing through his veins, a grin on his face as he hears praises come from some of the local fans. Feeling a vibration from his cell phone, he gives his band mates a hand gesture toward the door before he exits the club.

"Hey, Ma, is everything alright?" Matt asks as he nods to the bouncer.

"Richard proposed! He said he wants both of the families to move in and extend the engagement a full year, to make sure everyone can get along."

"Move? Ma, where the hell are we moving?"

"He said he purchased a beach house on the PCH and he was planning on moving closer to the area so you can get to know him," Matt feels himself blink at the idea that a man would willingly pick up and move for his mother, "Mattie?"

"When is this move supposed to take place?" he asks, thankful that he would only be moving about five minutes from his house.

"Middle of June. He said his daughter only has a few weeks of school left in her Junior year and he doesn't want to move her during class preps for finals," she replies.

So, Richard had a daughter around his age then, "Alright, Ma. Congrats."

His mother knowing he was usually this short worded when it came to other men in her life only laughed in response, "Thanks, Mattie. I'm going to let you go."

"Alright, Ma. Love you."

Hanging up his phone, he inwardly cursed. Not only does he have to hide his alter ego from this Richard, but his daughter too?

----

Silver eyes stare up at the screen in the darkened room, the only light coming from the few monitors in front of her. Nimble fingers press over keys with practiced ease, her ears catching the sound of her partner moving the dead bodies from the middle of the floor, searching through their clothes for any kind of identification. Finally cracking through the firewall protection, she snatches the drive from one of the several compartments hidden in her belt (Batman be jealous). Downloading the needed information, she removes the drive before replacing a second one into the port. Easily uploading the virus, she steps back from the console, tapping the communicator attached to her ear.

"Eagle, Solo and I are finished. Deuce, what's on your end?"

"Zero, I'm done on my end. Going dark in twenty."

"Zero, this is Eagle. I have two coming down the hall, one minute."

Zero nods to herself, her right hand immediately plucking her firearm from its holster against her thigh. Checking the magazine, she glances over at Solo, who silently heeds her lead and is checking his own gun. With an eerie, graceful silence, the two slip out of the room, following Eagle's directions as the move down the corridor.

"Zero, two coming up from right corridor. Impact in twenty."

Turning quickly around the corner, her trained eyes settles on the two men. Without giving them a chance to pull their own weapons, she fires two bullets, hitting them both between the eyes. Signaling to Solo, she breaks into a silent sprint, her partner hot on her heels. With Eagle guiding them both through the maze, she ducks down corners, taking out targets with ease as Solo takes out any threats coming from behind.

"Colliding with Deuce in fifteen. Take right turn. Four targets at end."

Catching the familiar sight of Deuce, Solo and Zero turn the final corner. Zero, replacing Solo as last, the three move down the corridor. Catching sounds of heavy footsteps coming from somewhere behind, Zero commands the two to get out and disappear, before she slams through a door leading to a staircase. With Eagle's voice guiding her, she finishes off the last bullet in her clip. A rough hand grabs her wrist, pulling the gun from her grasp. Moving with the jerking momentum, her left hand presses flat with the side of the man's neck, and with a flick of her pinky finger, she hears the familiar release of the blade hidden within her black gauntlets. Warm blood sprays onto her hand as the blade slices through the center hollow point of the man's throat. Pulling the blade free, she replaces it back in its chamber, not even flinching as secondary arterial spray hits her cheek as she continues her sprint down the hall. Ducking and weaving as bullets sound from behind, she watches the bullets as they miss and pierce the large glass window at the end of the corridor.

"Zero, don't even think about it. You are at least four stories."

"How logical of you. See, this is why I'm lead and you're guide. You're not spontaneous enough to think on your feet," she retorts with extra cheek as she urges herself to push past her easy sprint.

Running full force at the window, she doesn't even pause as she breaks into a series of handsprings. The heavy soles of her thick combat boots connects with the weakened glass and she is then falling. Seeing the ground approaching closer, she moves with the momentum of her land, rolling forward a few times to remove most of the solid impact from one part of her body. Moving from a roll to her feet in a fluent movement, she breaks back into a dead sprint to the surrounding woods. Hopping in the back of a vehicle, she finally allows herself to sigh as the motor comes to life and she is again moving.

"Damn, Ray, you're fucking insane, you know that right?" Lloyd remarks as they exit the doors of the jet hanger, the warm California air a definite welcome to the two natives.

With silver eyes replaced by her natural light blue one's, the petite girl runs a hand through her damp black hair, "I'd be fucked in the head if I was any type of sane after all these years."

Lloyd's deep chocolate eyes sparkle with amusement as they both pause at a pair of parked vehicles, "Well, you do play a great distraction, you know that, right?" Rayne only laughs as she removes the all-black helmet from the compartment of her equally all-black Ducati. "Well, I guess this is where we part ways."

Knocking her knuckles against Lloyd's, Rayne slips the helmet over her head before giving her companion a two fingered salute. Gunning the engine to her bike, she releases the kickstand and speeds out of the parking lot. Weaving in and out of San Diego traffic, Rayne pulls into a lavished, but homely three-floored mansion, the iron-cast gate sliding closed behind her as she slowly drives up the driveway.

"Dad, I'm home!" Rayne calls out as she steps inside from the parking garage, hanging her keys up on the hook by the door.

Sliding off her riding jacket, she managed to hang it up before catching the sound of her father's heavy footsteps, "Hey baby-girl," she greets her father with a soft smile before he pulls her into a hug, kissing the top of her head, "Go get changed and then come down to the den. I need to speak with you about something important."

Nodding to her father, Rayne climbs the staircase to the third floor. When the house was constructed, her father had transformed each floor into its own living space. The entire third floor was quite literally a small apartment set up; her own kitchenette, a lavished bathroom, a common space and four rooms (her bedroom, her art studio, her game room and her indoor gym). Despite all of the freedom, she and her father spent whatever time they had together on the first floor, either in the kitchen eating a quick meal, or watching a movie in the den.

Changing into a pair of comfortable black yoga pants and a hunter green camisole, Rayne slips on a pair of well-worn, house-broken slippers and makes her way down to the den area.

"So, what's up, Dad?" she asks as she takes a seat in one of the over-stuffed arm-chairs next to the fireplace, inwardly groaning as she feels herself sink into the cushions.

"You know how I'm dating Marcy," she nods curtly, unsure of how she should feel about the woman, "Well, I decided to propose earlier tonight." Rayne feels her eyes widen and her father catches on quick, waving his hands at her, "Calm down. We were taking a walk after dinner and it just sort of popped out of my mouth." How typical of her father, she muses inwardly, "We both love each other dearly and we decided to stay engaged for a year. After you finish your Junior year, we're going to be moving to Huntington Beach and for the whole year, we will be living with Marcy and her son, Matthew."

As Richard falls silent, Rayne sits upright, "A whole year? Seriously? How the hell am I supposed to do what I do if we're living with them?"

"I've decided to keep this house up and running for you and your team if it's ever needed," Rayne's eyebrows quirk in surprise, "You guys can use it as a safe house, or whenever you do your monthly meetings with them. You can use the entire space as you see fit."

"You really love this woman, don't you?" Rayne questions, seeing her father nod and smile broadly, "Alright."

"Thank you, baby-girl. Just do me a favor," Rayne quirks an eyebrow in question, "I want you to attempt to be civilized with Marcy and her son. I know how you are with those kids at your school, so I ask that you try to place nice."

Rayne smirks at the thought, but it fades as a serious look forms on her face, "Alright, Dad. I'll play nice, but I won't be a push over either."

Richard grins at his daughter, pulling her from her seat and embracing her again, ruffling her short, choppy hair playfully, "No daughter of mine is going to be a push over."

Rayne cracks a smirk before bidding her father a good night. Moving back upstairs, she slips into her bedroom, the poster-clad walls greeting her before she drops onto her bed. Staring up at the ceiling, she muses over the new information her father gave her. At least at her school, most students view her as a social outcast, so they leave her alone. Being stuck in a house with two other people and God only knows how many of Matthew's friends come over. Rayne groans, closing her eyes, hoping that for once her brain shuts up so she can sleep.