John Mendolsson paced across the hospital waiting room floor, as worried as he could ever remember being. Earlier that day, two of his closest friends had been inside a car that had exploded, and only the quick reflexes and unusual powers of Brian Murphy, also known as Hauler, and Calvin Hobbes, also known as Black Tiger, had managed to save them from the burning wreck. Now, they both were in the emergency room, being evaluated by the doctors.

	A tall, slender man in a white lab coat, carrying a stethoscope, stepped up to John. “Mister Mendolsson?”

	“Yes, doctor. How are Anthony and Rachel?” he pleaded.

	“They’re both going to recover nicely. Whoever designed that car did a masterful job... the force and heat of the explosion were shunted away from them, sparing them from the worst of it,” he noted. “The young lady has only a few minor burns, scrapes, and bruises, and will be fine in just a week or two. The young man has them too, but appears to have broken his lower leg in two places. He’ll be in a cast for a few months, but won’t have any lasting effects.”

	Breathing a sigh of relief, John mentally reminded himself to give Darkenwulf free reign whenever he wanted to make any more of these ‘improvements’. “Thank you, doctor. When can we see them?” He gestured behind him, where it appeared nearly the entire population of the Hostel had gathered out of concern for their friends.

	“You can go back now... but only three at a time. And, umm, because thaat limit is due to the size of the room, Hauler would count as two.” The doctor indicated Brian, who nodded sagely at this.

	“Heh, I was about to ask how you knew his nickname, but I guess any large group with an albino, an eight foot giant, a humanoid black tiger, and a humanoid wolf would be rather recognizable, wouldn’t they?” chuckled John.

	“Yes indeed. Oh, Mr. Mendolsson, there’s a message for you at the nurse’s station, I almost forgot. While you go get it, i can let the first group go in to see the patients,” suggested the doctor.

	“Of course. Thanks once again,” he added. As Brian and Calvin jostled to make sure they were at the head of the line to see Anthony and Rachel, john walked over to the nurse’s station. “My name is John Mendolsson. I’m told you have a message for me?”

	“Oh, certinly, sir.” She reached behind the desk and fumbled for a few moments, then pulled out an envelope, with John’s name neatly typed on the outside. 

	He opened the envelope, and read its contents, then looked back at her. “I... I don’t suppose you remember who left this, do you?”

	“I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t get a good look at him. he was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and a trenchcoat, so i really couldn’t see much, anyway.” She sighed. “I wish I could say more, but he was just too covered up.”

	“Thank you,” he said, glancing down once more at the letter, which read:

	Mr John Mendolsson

		Consider this merely a notification. We are here. 
	And we are watching you. The car was not an accident,
	after all.

			C.A.D.R.E.

	He then shoved it back in his pocket, and stormed over to the waiting room area, to wait for his turn to see his injured friends.

*************************************

	Black Tiger sniffed the paper, then handed it to Darkenwulf. “It’s similar, but not the same. May not have been the same guy, but whoever delivered this is definitely somehow related or something... and I’m getting a lot of the same side-scents, i guess ya call ‘em.”

	John nodded, and looked at the other active members of Legion. As the security team for the Mendolsson Memorial Hostel for Displaced Metahumans, and now an unofficial superhero team for the entire Side Range around Mountainrock, they should know. Even Jarhead was there, in his cast and on crutches. “Anthony, you’re our best tactical mind. Who would gain anything from this?”

	Anthony thought for a minute. “Whoever it is, is either extremely confident, or extremely cocky. They obviously know who we are, not that it’s hard to do or anything. Which means they must know about BT’s sniffer, here. Therefore, they don’t care if we find out who or where they are.

	“Goin on that assumption,” he continued, “they are obviously more than human in some way, or are completely proffessional and effective humans. The wording is blunt, and both precise and obscure at the same time. We know we’re being watched, now, but we don’t know by who, or for how long. They know a great deal about us, though, and that makes me nervous.”

	Darkenwulf made a bizarre whuffing noise. When all eyes turned to him, he held up his hands. “I just noted something about this missive. Its letters were not typed with a terrestrial typewriter. If one looks close enough, one can see that each individual letter is comprised of numerous, extremely tiny dots, much as would the output of a computer as used by the Domain.”

	Brian groaned. “You mean the Domain did this? And are watching us?”

	The lupine alien shook his head. “No, it’s not their modus operandi.”

	“Their what?” asked a confused Black Tiger.

	“Their method of operation.” Standing, Darkenwulf continued. “The missive is consitant with alien technology, but not motives. The phrasing used is also distinctly that of a native English speaker, or an exceptionally skilled linguist. I believe this CADRE to be an organization of humans, who have gained Domain technology somehow.”

*************************************

	A tinny voice sounded in the ear of a tall man, in a trenchcoat and fedora. “Just like the Commander said,” squealed the voice through heavy static, “they’ve already figured out the alien connection.”

	The large man pondered, then whispered, knowing the internal communicator now built into his skull would still pick up the words. “Good. Report back to HQ, the Commander will want to know this.” Turning, he stalked away, a glint of steel shining off the back of his neck.