The Joining of Four and Seven (I Am Number Four/NCIS Crossover)

Chapter Two

The elevator dinged, and Kate Todd barged out, looking flustered. "Damn, traffic was never worse," she panted.

Marina smirked. "Spend the night next time."

Kate snorted. "Yeah, right."

Marina made a motion with her hands that clearly says "there you go." Gibbs grinned from where he's sitting when his phone rings. Tony perked up from his seat, and he sat up straight. "Problem, boss?"

Gibbs held up a finger, and Tony backed down a little bit. After a few seconds, Gibbs hung up. "Gear up," he ordered, standing. "Dead officers at the naval base nearby."

"How many?" Kate asked.

Gibbs looked up as Marina swung her backpack over her shoulder. "I've been told it was three."

Marina's jaw dropped. "Three?" she sputtered.

"Yeah," Gibbs confirmed, heading towards the elevator. "Funnily enough, that was my own reaction."

***

"McGee!" Marina squealed in delight when she saw the novice agent overseeing some of the photographers on the scene.

Timothy McGee turned when he heard his name, grinning when he saw Marina. "Hey!" he responded enthusiastically, hugging her tight. "How have you been doing since the Hills?"

"Good, thanks," she replied, taking out her notepad and pencil. "What happened here?"

"It's really weird," he replied, leading her through the tunnels. "There were these huge piles of ashes and crumbled stone, and then there were the three naval officers."

"Ashes and crumbled stone?" Marina repeated, starting to grin. "C'mon, McGee, even Kate could do better than that."

McGee shook his head. "I'm dead serious, Ari. Look."

As they rounded the corner, Marina's jaw dropped. "Holy crap!" she managed to say.

Crumbled stones and ashes were indeed everywhere, scattered among the bodies of the navy officers. Tony was snapping pictures, looking utterly confused. "Kate's getting statements," he told them, an odd tone in his voice.

Gibbs walked in, and he stopped dead. "Were they working with masonry or something?" he asked.

"No," McGee replied, shaking his head. "They were just guards."

Kate came walking in next, tapping on her PDA. "I pulled security photos. They were completely kaput during the killings. This is all that we got right afterwards."

She flashed the video at them. All that it showed was a beagle with a flying tail prancing out happily.

***

 

Highway in the United States

He looked at his new ID, smirking. "John Smith?" he asked his Cêpan. "Very original."

Henri glared at him. "I wasn't going for original. I want to blend in."

John sighed. "I know how to blend in."

Henri tapped a few times on his laptop, then stood. "We've already gone through D.C. It's only a few hours left to Paradise."

John snorted. "Paradise?"

"It's in Ohio," Henri explained, snapping his laptop closed. "Let's get moving."

John watched Henri, then followed slowly. As he went, he fingered the Lorien pendant that marked him as Garde member Number Four.

***

Washington D.C.

"They're from a city called Paradise, Ohio," Kate wrapped up, turning away from the viewscreen. "Their sons actually play on the football team at Paradise Senior High School."

Marina nodded thoughtfully. "So what was up with those stones and ashes?"

"Maybe they were headed for a dump?" Tony suggested.

A light flashed on Marina's computer. She checked it, and her eyes widened when she saw Gibbs's message: "Mogadorians."

She swallowed, typing back. "So they know where I am?"

"They were after Ohio members. I doubt it."

She leaned back in her chair. So the Mogs were after someone in Paradise. There were three left to die before her. "I could go undercover," she suggested.

Tony nearly fell out of his chair. "What for?" he asked.

Marina shrugged. "Maybe there's something they want from the students. I'm old enough to pose as a freshman. I could enroll."

Kate looked at Gibbs, who was looking at Marina as if she was crazy. Marina raised an eyebrow at him, then used her telekinesis to type on his computer. "There are three left. I'll call every hour."

That did it. Gibbs sighed. "You're calling every hour," he told her, standing. "Pack your bags and be ready to leave tonight."

Marina nodded. "I'll be ready."

***

Paradise, Ohio

John watched as they pulled up to the house they would be staying in. He instantly saw the beagle sitting on the porch. "We get a dog with the house," he noted.

Henri rolled his eyes as he parked the truck. The beagle ran down the steps and up to John, wagging his tail happily. John smiled, patting his head. Henri looked down and smiled. "What're you going to name him?" he asked as they walked up to the house.

As John entered the house, the first thing that caught his attention was the huge Cleveland Browns poster on the wall and the player on it. He laughed. "How about Bernie Kosar?" he joked.

Henri laughed, too, and the beagle barked out happily. Welcome to Paradise, Ohio, John thought, grinning as he led Bernie Kosar upstairs to find the rooms.

***

Marina watched as Gibbs left, then folded her arms, looking around Paradise. He had said that her new name while she's undercover was Annalise Ramaya, and both of her parents were dead while her guardian - Gibbs - was on tour in Iraq. She tossed her bags onto the now-taken apartment's bed, then took out her phone, changing her name to Annalise Ramaya before collapsing onto a couch. She made note that she was heading towards the school tomorrow, and that Tony and Kate would occasionally text her, expecting some form of communication in reply to make sure that she was okay.

It's my first assignment alone, she realized as she started to drift off to sleep. Let's hope I don't get killed on it.