Shadowhunter in the Apocalypse

Eighteen years later.

The plane doors opened to the smell of New York air.

Reed stepped out, stretching his body, the private Jet he owned was not what one would call small, but it still felt cramped to him, he should have probably waited for more missions before buying a better one though but at the time he had been far too anxious never to deal with commercial flight again.

Usually Teterboro Airport had one or two celebrities coming in or going out, but the House of Black had locked the entire airport down for his return, he rolled his eyes at the petty unnecessary display of power intended for other factions to see.

He was sure this was mostly for the Apostles though, those self-righteous bastards were natural enemies to Shadowhunters even if they both were like FBI and Special forces of the supernatural world.

Three black Escalades waited in a neat line, trained Shadowhunters stood like soldiers welcoming him in a formal salute.

And in the middle of them, a woman stood out as the clear superior. Though Shadowhunters aged slower than humans, Reed had enough experience to know she was around her early thirties her face gave the impression of.

Long dark hair, lips painted a shade she had no right to pull off in daylight, and she stood in a posture that made Reed instantly classify her as a by-the-book person.

"Hunter Reed," She bowed politely "The New York House welcomes you back home."

Reed grinned, dropped the bag at his feet, and gave her a lazy salute. "It's good to be back. How's the old man holding up?"

That cracked her mask. Her brows shot up before she caught herself, then she let out a small laugh. "Old man…? You mean Commander Hale."

"Please," Reed said moving towards her. "Between me and you, he hates when people call him that."

She tilted her head, studying him. Usually this was already grounds for punishment, but this wasn't some outsider disrespecting the leader of the House of Black. This was his old protégé. She shook her head, still smiling as she gestured for him to follow.

"He's well," she said. "Though I imagine you'll see for yourself soon enough."

He lowered his voice so that nobody but her could here, "And do you by any chance know what this secret mission he was talking about is?"

"Ah yes as a matter of fact I do." She gave a signal for the hunters to go and get his luggage" Commander Hales daughter is about to go on her very first mission, and due to the recent kidnappings of hunters Commander Hale feels it necessary for her to go with some protection"

Reed's stride slowed a fraction. "Ah. That explains why I got dragged across the country, to babysit Mia."

Her mouth twitched. "Protecting her for her first mission is not babysitting, there's a difference."

"Sure there is," he said, not bothering to hide the dry edge in his tone. "That old man's lucky I respect him so much."

They reached the car, black glass and reinforced frame, the Shadowhunter crest clear against the door. A hunter opened it for them. Reed slid inside, stretching his long legs with the satisfied groan, he and the woman waited in silence as the other Shadowhunters loaded his bags.

It didn't take 2 minutes before the car pulled away.

Reed rested his elbow against the window, watching the blur of taxis and pedestrians as they merged into city traffic. "How bad's it gotten?"

She glanced at him. "You mean the Kidnappings?"

"What else would I mean."

She exhaled. "50 confirmed missing across the East Coast in the last three months. Thirty-five of those in New York. Four… in the past twenty-four hours."

Reed's jaw tightened. He didn't speak for a moment, eyes still on the city rushing past.

"What do you think about the Abductions?" he asked finally.

Her voice went flat. "It's clearly a coordinated strike, most likely warlock involvement, though the motive remains unclear. The House is pooling resources to track and recover our people before the loss of morale becomes permanent."

Reed snorted. "Yeah. That's the kind of answer they teach you to give at the academy. Doesn't mean you believe it."

Her lips curved faintly. She didn't confirm or deny.

Reed leaned his head back against the seat, watching the city roll by. New York. He'd grown up in these streets, learned to fight in these alleys, bled in these churches and rooftops. Then they'd shipped him west, to LA, to headquarters, to missions that nearly killed him more times than he could count. Coming back felt… strange. Like slipping into an old coat you'd outgrown but still remembered the smell of.

A polite cough snapped him back.

He turned. The woman…he realized he didn't even know her name yet..was fiddling with something in her hands. A small backpack strap. She looked a little embarrassed, which was strange for someone who walked around with four armed guards.

"Sorry," she said. "This is… awkward, but my son is seven and well, he looks up to you." She pulled out a worn training glove, child-sized. "Please would you sign this for him?"

Reed blinked. "Sign it? I'm not a movie star. I'm just a Shadowhunter like you."

She laughed outright at that, shaking her head. "Are you kidding me or is that rage bait? Do you have any idea the stories they tell about you in training halls?"

He raised a brow. "No, can't say I do."

Her eyes glinted. "Fastest training completion at 16, fastest trial mission accomplishment ever in the history of shadow hunting at that same age, your records in shadow manipulation are still undefeated in the training halls, and all of that was before you actually became a hunter! So please spare me the humility and sign this okay?"

"Alright, alright," Reed said laughing as he raised both hands in mock surrender. "You sure this is actually for your son? You kinda sound like the fan here."

She handed over a marker before he could change his mind. He uncapped it, scrawled his name across the little glove, and passed it back.

"There," he said, leaning back again. "Now let's just hope he won't be too disappointed at my bad handwriting."

She tucked the glove away with care. "He won't be disappointed."

Reed smiled faintly, turning back to the window.