Ruby whimpered softly, her eyes clouding over in a short flash of pain. Although she had been ok up until then, she was beginning to feel all the pain now. Luckily though, her name-badge displayed a completely different identity and they couldn't find her, even if they were to. That also was a little irrelevant as well due to her being unregistered as a Meta.

Groaning out in pain, she felt able hands pulling at her to inspect her wounds and bit her lip slowly as she was looked over. She had made some nasty cuts along herself so they instantly began checking the severity of them. Ruby wasn't the type of person that did very well when she was in the centre of attention but right now she was in too much pain to care all that much. "Ow..."

They must have thought her injuries bad enough as they got a stretcher from their set-up command post and hoisted her onto it. Hiding a weak grin, she let out another groan of pain to make sure that they definitely thought she was in a bad way.

She was carried out of the rush of coming and going security officers who were preparing to mount an assault on someone who had already slipped past them. Then again, her drones were waiting to hold them up until they discovered the inevitable truth - there was no on in sector twenty right now.

Getting patched up didn't take long at all and in no time, she was covered in a number of bandages that made her look down-right stupid. Still though, there was an integral part of the plan that needed acting out if she wished for some counter-offers. See, Ruby was powerful enough that the corporations she worked for weren't a massive threat and she could test around to see if she could get any better offers. In this case, she intended to make an offer to Aperture to hand the information back for a sizeable reward, of course.

Just as the medics in question were about to leave her with the ambulance team, she turned on a little feminine charm and put on a sweet smile as her hand brushed along the arm of the closest one. He turned with furrowed eyebrows and she smiled a little shyly. Almost immediately, he smiled back as she placed a small piece of paper in his pocket. "Thank you."

With that, she was loaded up into the ambulance and was quickly drove away, a confident smirk stick to her features.

Silas woke up to find that he had neglected to get undressed before he'd fallen asleep. Not only were his clothes wrinkled as hell, but he also had a major crick in his neck. His day got even better when Silas saw the reason why his phone was blinking obnoxiously. A message from Anon? What did he think he was doing now? Silas just ignored the text and tossed his phone onto the couch as he made himself food and turned on the news. He was looking for anything on the fire the arsonist had caused, but the only thing on any of the news stations was the NTE leader trading information for his freedom. After about twenty minutes of not really paying attention to the news, Silas finally saw a blip about the fire being put out scroll across the bottom of the screen. As soon as he saw what he'd wanted Silas clicked off the TV.

After showering and dressing himself for the day, Silas sat out on his small balcony with his not-wine glass. "So, the dark underbelly of this city is squirming at the prospect of being brought to light is it?" He mused to himself as he watched people move about on the streets. Silas grabbed his phone and typed out:

he needs to walk free

After sending that to Anon, Silas left his apartment to go for a walk. This city was going to be the death of him. Hopefully those heroes would be up to the task of keeping a man the entire underworld wanted silenced alive. Not for the first time, the idea of moving to someplace a little less chaotic pushed its way into Silas' head. He'd thought it a thousand times, but he'd never actually leave this city for good. That would be the same as giving up on it.

Jason thought it a bit strange that there was someone else here with this intruder, not only did it seem no one knew she was there, but she didn't look like she belonged in this sector of the building. The Commander sent a squad of his men out to look for whoever had hurt the girl, telling Jason and Cypress to stay with him for the time being. Cypress had shifted her stance, looking like she was ready to go sprinting off in the direction of the intruder. He gave her a little grin, "from what I saw earlier I hope you don't expect me to be able to keep up with you." Jason couldn't help but think of that girl though, what was she doing there? He asked one of the security persons, "hey, where's the girl? I'd like to ask her a few questions."

"She's already on her way to the hospital in an ambulance," he said to Jason.

"What?! You just let her go? No questions? Not even the slightest clue as to why she was here?" Jason threw his arms in the air, "unbelievable." He took a deep breath to calm himself down, he didn't want his powers getting out of control and making everyone angry. They were efficient, he'd give them that. Even if he couldn't read just anyone's thoughts, he could still get a feeling of what was in their head. Unless they were very good liars he could tell what they were feeling and thinking. "So I guess we just hope to catch this guy then, not have her give a description or anything." Jason was annoyed, but there wasn't much he could do about it now.

The black comero pulled up to a business building that could've existed anywhere else on the face of the world. It was tall, gray, drab, and not the sort of place you'd find children on their way in with smiles on their faces, unless of course it was to see a parent(s) that they never got to see; they'd be smiling then, but it would still be a sad sight. The only difference would be their, the children's, inability to tell just how out of place their smiles were.
"Here we are." Dirk said, smiling as he stepped out of his car, and slammed the door closed oh so lovingly. "A home away from home, and a heaven away from all those dreary, holier than though angels, and dull as plain toast god, with a lowercase g." He gave a small shudder at the thought of people with bird wings super glued to their backs, forced to try and play harps for all eternity, while tapped up to a sky so they could watch over all the little acts of nothing that God's most recent failure of a race bumbled about. God, he was happy to be a man instead of an angel, if only for the ability not to have to see the world from the outside. What a dreary affair that must be.
"Well enough morning for the state of affairs. There's money to be made, and a work today. If I'm fortunate, there'll be some fun too, but." He looked at his watch and frowned. Someday, tomorrow maybe, or whenever some down time came to him, without having to chase it around and leash it to a fire hydrant, he'd make sure to get a permanent residence closer to one of the his employer's places of business. "Oh! At this rate all the fun's going to be long gone, and everyone will be putting out the fires by the time I get there." He shook his head, hefted the briefcase, and hurried inside.
Holmes made it past the door before a group of men surrounded him with guns, and aimed them at his head, which he loved almost as dearly as he did the case in which he kept his brain. "Your late." A dour voice commented form somewhere behind the faceless figures(they were all wearing helmets) said.
"I resent that remark, good sir. I am not late, nor am I ever late. My time is simply different than yours."
"Is it so hard to come here, and do business without comments?"
"Its no more difficult than to let in a guess without aiming a dozen guns at his staff and crystal balls. "
"Move aside, damn it." The voice roared and everyone at the forefront nearly jumped to make sure they weren't the last one to follow orders. "One can't be too careful with company now a days." The voice of authority didn't look like the voice of authority. He looked like a scarecrow with an expensive suit and sun bleached skin. "What with metas going half cocked all through the news like there's going to be some big show down."
"Or anydays." Penderghast mumbled.
"I'm sorry?"
"I said would you like to do business here or would you rather we take this to your office? " The figure held up a hand. "Let's just do this here." He hefted the suitcase and put it down. "We've done business enough so I trust your knowledge about the dangers of betraying me. Here's what you wanted. Your son is dead, and it wasn't an easy end."
The scarecrow looked more nervous than relieved. He took a step back and eyed the case like it was a bomb. "What's the deal? Are you going to kill us?"
"No, not today, or any time in the foreseeable future. I enjoy our business too much to do that. Just make sure I get my payment and we'll be good for the next time." He didn't wait for a reply, but hurried off to get his blood money.
It would've been impossible to drive to where he decided the best place to start would be so instead he booked himself the nearest flight, and left the car, a gift from his beloved mother, in the hands of someone who knew better than to care for it less than what he would his wife and children. Which was good, because the lives of his wife and children depended on it. The flight was pleasant enough, except for an air marshal who confused him with someone else. Luckily the mistake was rectified before any inconvenience could be had on the flight, well aside from having to waste a lot of time in the restroom because it takes forever to flush all that ash. All and all, he'd be flying with the same airline in the future.
Lacking a vehicle of his own, Dirk decided to rent a cab. He could've walked, but he also could have crawled. You didn't just do things cuz you could. He learned that lesson, awhile back, after setting something on fire and freezing his frozen lunch(it made more sense if you were there.) Luckily, for the cab driver, the location was close and the man knew the quickest route, so he was there in a matter of minutes. Without a word, which was strange for pendergast, he gave the man the money he earned, and hurried inside. Flashing an idea at anyone who tried to stop him, or try to stop and talk with the ones he knew, which got them going faster than an ID ever could.
"There's something going on." He muttered to himself. At first he wasn't sure, but the way people were acting made it certain there was. Then, he saw a woman being rushed by, obviously hurt., by a couple of soldiers. The urge came to stop him, but it left when he realized he needed to take a leak so he decided to focus on that. Once that was taken care of, he kept going the direction he'd previously followed, certain something would come up and it did, or at least that's what he thought when he saw a couple, who stood out with a sore thumb with an arrow through the nail, a few soldiers, and Bennett (at least that's what he thought the commander's(he got lost on ranks occasionally(mostly)name was.))
"Lady and "gentlemen, am I in the right place, or is there somewhere else I should be. It's been a rather trying day, so I'd be ever so grateful if you, any one or all of you, told me I was needed in a bath, whichever bath. I'm not a difficult person. So long as it was hot, and there was soap and fresh towels I'm happy.."" He gave everyone a bow.

"Epic! Chase"

Cypress was eager to do something instead of waiting around for something to happen. This meant that her Intuition suddenly flared due to a series of interlocking events. Evander and his complaints about the completes release of the injured Intern, the way the girl acted wasn't quite right and something about her eyes were familiar though Cypress couldn't quite explain. But last was how random the new comer's appearance was, not that Cypress thought he was directly involved but so to was the Injured woman's appearance.

Cypress was never a fan of Law or Mysteries but she did enjoy observing things and had a wonderful memory of what she saw along with observe things in her minds eye over and over till she could Actually make very good drawings of her view points of interest.

That's when several things came to her attention, the Girl's Eyes, she had seen them before. Her blouse while spotted with blood from her wounds it all appeared to have soaked through which would mean she'd put the top on after she was injured?

"Seems as if we need to offer the poor girl our protection and be there to take one of those statements while evidence is still fresh in her mind. Says Cypress aloud but directed at none.

Struck by the urgency of her self assigned task Cypress goes into a blur of motion reaching about 100 yards away in less than a second and in a 3 seconds she was already at nearly 80 mph and accelerating while contacting the security Head Quarters.

"Control request location of the ambulance that just left sector 20 follow up intercept control; urgent" she says she heads after the ambulance

Any that see the platinum haired Meta are astounded as she flies past at over 160 mph appearing to ice skate on asphalt. She does so by alternating between creating an ultra slick surface under her feet then a cutting edge of friction at the edge of her feet and making her air friction coefficient drag absolute zero.

"Call sign Friction alter course north east heading Baker street closing distance 6 miles.". Says the control officer.

The fact that he hasn't asked her any questions about what she's doing off her assigned position speaks volumes. Bennett must have approved her present actions or she'd have been recalled.

Using her enhanced vision Cypress spots Baker street and turns the corner tighter than any vehicle ever could. Her vision is as good as a pair of the finest 45x75 telescopic binoculars which is necessary when you can reach speeds in excess of 500 mph on the ground.

Soon she was able to see the ambulance ahead of her and rapidly she closes the distance.

She zips around the ambulance slowing as she gets in front of it and looks the driver in the eyes mouthing "Don't Panic". She puts both hands on the hood her feet sliding smoothly over the pavement, the driver is already applying the breaks so she decides to help by crushing the 4 ton machine's forward inertia. With precision control Cypress brings the ambulance to a complete stop along with it's occupants with zero gravitic effect due to it's sudden deceleration.

Once her target is no longer mobile Cypress hurries to the rear while applying massive amounts of friction to the entire vehicle so that it cannot move nor any of it's doors open.

Everything was going fine; until everything stopped going fine and suddenly decided to take a nice dip into a pool of molten iron and very quickly incinerate itself. Oh yes, shit was particularly bad at that very moment in the universe. One thing that stumped her was how someone caught up to them before she remembered that hoe-bag blonde who stripped herself for Aperture. Thank goodness she watched the news for once.

Ruby was a smart girl, and it didn't take her very long to work out this girl's power if she stopped their ambulance in less than a second or two. This was really, really not good. The ambulance personnel were almost as confused as the passers-by who, unbeknownst, were about to witness what happens when an unstoppable force meets a crazy-ass electric bitch who was now like a cornered rat. It's not typically advised you corner a rat, or the former.

Looking quite worried, she heard her -- Cypress, was it? Bitch probably didn't even know where Cypress was-- and quickly pulled away the injured teenager guise. Sending a sour look to the guy in the back, she hissed a little. "Get in the front and run as soon as you can. This may get messy." She commanded before turning and ducking down behind the door.

Seriously? She had to be caught without any form of weaponry and by a really God-damn powerful Meta? Just her luck, really. Curling her knees up to her chest, she pressed her fingers to her temples and began to think heavily, her mind searching out for ways to get out of this. Think, Ruby, you have one of the quickest minds on Earth, use it.

And then suddenly, it was there - a fine pulse, almost mirrored by her own thumping one. It matched her for every beat, tenfold and she couldn't help but grin as she tasted a little of it's power. Oh this was going to be fun. It, of course, was a rather big cable that originated directly from the city's power plants. It felt amazing and untapped and she could have hugged it all day.

However, she had some more pressing matters to deal with. Rising a little, she noticed Cypress coming around the side of the ambulance and groaned a little. "Go away! I don't want to fight and neither do you!" She insisted as she suddenly realised something - Cypress wasn't a merc, she was a hero. She served the people just as much as she served Aperture.

She had to get out of here, she had no choice in the matter - none whatsoever. Groaning a little, she ignored the rising sense of morals inside of her as she reached into the power and traced it. She was really stretching herself pushing this far but if she could even get one then she could get the entire system. Growling in pressure, she finally found what she was looking for and gripped it in her mind's eye

It only took a short re-programming and everything was ready. Almost as if it had been foretold, every traffic light for the next five blocks suddenly flashed green... and stayed that way. "You need to go. Otherwise I'll do worse!" She shouted out the door, even doubting herself as she heard crashes and honks... and more crashes.

The cop was the kind of guy Jack would have probably taken home if she’d met him in the bar, hardly fitting with the stereotype of American cops the world over. It was a pity, such a waste of a good body, but she needed to start things off somehow. He’d walked off to join his partner, they were inspecting the front of a store, the windows crazed with cracks and smoke still leaking from an empty storefront window frame. She smiled ruefully as she clamped the small bundle under the rear wheel-arch. It was flat, and dark enough that it would not be noticed, not without someone else sticking their fingers in beside the wheel.

Knowing it was secure, she stood and strolled away, her movements had taken only a few moments, and no-one had seen it happen. She was good at that sort of thing, she had to be after all. Everything else was ready, and she picked up the bag from the alley she’d left it in. It was big, an 80l hiking rucksack, but it had everything she’d need in it. Of course she’d have preferred to have a little more firepower, but this was the city’s central Police Station, no doubt there would be some kind of armoury there. She might have to pay it a visit on the way out.

She flipped open her phone, a cheap, anonymous burn phone was worth more to her than any smart phone might be, and scrolled through the messages. She opened the group message from Anonymous, she’d only received it a few hours ago, but that was enough time to make all the preparations she had needed to.

I’m already on it, if you want in you’d better be there in an hour.

[[We'll just ignore this post, considering it was sort of intrusive of an arc I wasnt a huge part in, so I'm just gonna wait for it so slow down for Lupus to make his big intro to eveyone else.]]

"God, I swear she forgets that not all of us are as fast as her," Jason grumbled as he got the location of the ambulance from someone nearby and ran to his car to try and catch up with her. They weren't sure exactly what this Meta could do, she could be an S class for all they knew. Cypress shouldn't be going in without backup, and while Jason may not be the best fighter he certainly could make it look like he was a good fighter. He drove as fast as he could, and upon getting close to his destination he left his car in the nearest parking lot and started running. The traffic was backed up quite a bit, Jason assumed the worst. Coming up to the rear of the ambulance he spotted Cypress and she seemed to have things under control, to a degree anyways. The girl was trapped but every traffic light was green at the same time. "It seems we're in a bit of a predicament," Jason said to Cypress, "we have her trapped, but she seems to be controlling the traffic lights. If we open the door she could probably do much worse, but it's two versus one." Jason pondered a moment, he wasn't sure which course of action to take. His powers were weaker on Metas, but he could still affect her, but he needed to see her to really do work. "It's your call really, I'm just an outside Meta to Aperture, you work there so you have seniority in a sense."

"Hostile Negotiations"

Cypress heard the girl's threat about doing worse than she already was and sighed. Why do they always go this route in fiction, TV and Movies; Let me escape or I'll blow up the city.

Cypress stands at the back of the Ambulance and smiles as she says "Let me see if I read your intentions correctly, If you're not allowed to escape immediately you commit mayhem on a greater scale?

She laughs for about three seconds and in her sweetest southern bell accent Cypress says "Now if I were to allow you to escape this time then as they say I'd be responsible for every crime you commit from this day till you're caught, die or are killed.
I chose the other option; you know the one? It's the one where I contain you right where you are sweety. Then the police arrive and I wait while they decide whether to arrest you or if you're naughty and become a public danger ruin this pretty new ambulance.
If I were you sugar I'd turn myself over to the nice lady outside here because then you'd be safe.
So what we have here is a need to communicate because even now I hear those sirens calling as they get closer an closer.
Why I heard that LA has their own special type of bullet they use on Metas, must hurt powerful bad.

Cypress walks close to the ambulance and zeros out ther door windows friction seal then slaps it causing it to fall out of the hole..

"There, that should assure that we can hear each other.
Darling it would be so much better for you if you just gave up to little ole me.
See your present situation is kind of like being a coon stuck in a tree. The dogs got you surrounded an her come the hunters with the shotguns. says Cypress as she looks over at Jason making the wait hand sign.

Then she spots the new Meta signaling for him to lay off and give this situation a chance to solve it's self without violence.

Anon read over this new text from Jack and put his phone away. In about forty minutes he'd leave, but he was tired. He turned off the TV and put away his banana. He walked upstairs, took off his jacket/mask, hopped on his bed, and fell asleep. Sleeping was good for his power because it replenished his energy, and he knew he'd need to have full0energy for whatever was about to happen. He drifted off to sleep and dreamt about absolutely nothing.

He woke up forty minutes later when his alarm when off, and he yawned, stretched, put his jacket/mask back on, put his knife in his knife slot, and put his phone in his jean's pocket. He teleported up to the roof and ran across them, going in the direction of the police station where Caro was being held. He got there after about ten minutes and stood on the roof of the police station and took his phone out, sending a text to Jack: "You there? I'm on the roof, ready for everything." He slips the phone back into his pocket and teleports to the ground and leans against the side of the police station.

Dirk watched the woman go, and then the man, wondering what the commotion was about. "I suppose." He sighed, tapping the bottom of his heel on the floor. "You would like me to go with them, and offer back up, in the case that circumstances require." It wasn't a question. "OH from one place to another. I know how an electron must feel, or close to it. At least they get to bond every once in a while, you know." The meta brought out his hand and showed it to Bernett, palm up. "So now then, would you be so kind as to lend me a tracker, the kind everyone but myself seems to have, so I won't go wondering around, poking my nose into all sorts of wonderfully wrong corners. I'm sure a random trip through the town would prove interesting, but I'm highly doubtful it would be of much use to me, or you, if things turn south for our adventuring pair."
Bernett answered by raising an eyebrow, and places a grey box with a glowing screen on it. He informed Penderghast that the dot at the center was where the others had gone. "Thank you kindly, leader of men, and not so men. I shall return, and when I do, a little downtime and thorough explanation about the next course of action would be much appreciated. A bath too, and a nice meal, but I like breathing, it's been a pleasure so far, and I don't want to deprive myself of the convenience, holding my breath for more than you and your people are likely to give me." Without waiting for a reply, he swirled on his heel, and headed at a moderate pace in the direction the others were lost.
Reaching the others this time was relatively easy, at least when compared to getting to the HQ. It didn't take long for Dirk to find himself a car, and there wouldn't even be a mess for him to clean up afterwards. Someone, from the corporation, or at least someone who used their parking space, had been considerate enough to leave their keys in the vehicle, and to make things even better there were fags in the passenger seat. Normally, Dirk wouldn't allow for himself to take any poison till after a job was done, but he hadn't been able to do it earlier, after completing his first errand of the day so he indulged.
"Ah here we are." He said, pulling up take park the car a block away from where the green dot was. Had it been his car, there wouldn't be a question about taking it all the way up to the action, but this as a loner, all be it one that wasn't made so with consent, but still. He had full intention of leaving it just as he found it, a full tank of gas as his way of thanks. Quickly, he grabbed the locating device off the dashboard, and hurried towards the dot. His strides made all the more efficient thanks to the energy he added to his kicks off the ground. A few people he passed by hugged themselves and wondered if there was something wrong with the pale figure that passed them by, attributing the drop in air temperature to the sensing of wickedness.
"I say." Dirk said, putting his hands into his pockets, and taking one last drag from his cigarette before letting it fall from his mouth. The embers quickly lost heat, because the energy was spread to the air around it and was fully extinguished by the time it hit the cement floor. "You two are quite the go-getters." He stepped up to the ambulance where the others were waiting. A window had been blown open, which he assumed was the female agent since the male had a calmer look about him. "Running off half cocked as if not a single shred of danger would be waiting to trip you like a couple of rabbits with their feet in one of those little rope traps that are so ungodly difficult to set up." He stopped a few yards from the open window and tried to peer in without.
"Okay, I'll bite, but only due to famishment. Now, that I take some time to reflect, I don't think I've had anything to eat all day. Is she, or a well dressed he, still alive, and if so, has there been any success in finding out just what the dim blazes are going on? "

She had a very limited supply of options and that supply was dwindling by the second. Biting her lip hard, she not only drew blood but another finely-tuned curse towards Cypress. This was really not good for her; considering the fact that this place was not only going to be crawling with police soon but that she had a number of Metas on her tail. There was only one way through it all - she would either show this bitch just how powerful she could be or she would have to give up.

She, or course, was not going to give up but she did have something very invaluable to them. "Let me make this simple so I don't confuse your dumb, country-girl, hoe-bag mind. I have high doubts that you know what I can do but I'll explain. If you may or may not have noticed, I gained access to the Aperture systems. Every thing that Aperture knows, everything they've planned for and paid for; I can wipe it in two seconds flat. And trust me you plastic-filled douche, I can do it before your little lap-dogs get here." She hissed out at her before crossing her arms in front of her chest.

She felt the pressure against her back suddenly rise and almost as if in instinct, she darted away form the door before it blew outwards. Cursing loudly, she ducked into the front seat; not intending to drive away, or course. She didn't know whether to cry or to laugh - she could hear three voices outside now; had they sent three Metas to hunt her down? Aperture weren't cutting any corners and it was really pissing her off.

Trying to run would be downright idiotic, considering the fact that she had some bitch who could control friction, on her tail. Sighing softly, she sent a kick into the steering wheel and instantly made up her mind. "What would you rather? To trudge back to Aperture and explain to them why there systems have shut down or... or actually bring the perpetrator back to Aperture." She breathed out; even thinking herself insane.

There was method to her madness, though - Aperture labs was practically bonded by electricity and she would have a good supply of it there. Not only that but it's leader always intrigued her - she wished to talk to him but unfortunately, a guise that she created wouldn't begin to explain how she had such a vast knowledge on technology. "You take me to your boss, and I will hand over everything I have taken." She just needed to learn something; that's all. That and the price on his head was beyond belief. He had competitors coming out of his ears and she would have been happy to oblige on the desires of such companies.

She even went so far as to pop back into the back of the ambulance and make her way to the entrance, hands raised up in surrender. "You know the deal. As soon as those cops get here, I destroy it all.

"A Choice of Words"

Cypress listened to the trapped girl insult an boast all the while her smile remaining passive. She heard her intelligence called into question along with her honor, then there was the threat of crashing Aperture's entire system and erasing everything.

"What would you rather? To trudge back to Aperture and explain to them why there systems have shut down or... or actually bring the perpetrator back to Aperture?" Said the criminal as she grasped at straws in an attempt to maintain some form of control.

Cypress made a hand motion that she hoped the others would heed as she asked them to wait.

"You take me to your boss, and I will hand over everything I have taken." She said and added
"You know the deal. As soon as those cops get here, I destroy it all.

Cypress looked up at the girl with the sweetest cat ate the canary smile then said
"Why I do so appreciate ya'll dumbin down all that fer lill ole me, landsakes I sure don't know anything about them there computer thingies.
Well except that as a facility that is deep into defense contracts it backs up all data on a secure and shielded internal network.
Also you've said enough about what you can do that even a little country girl like me can figure out that you're a technopath, a super hacker.
Well I suppose that as there are much smarter people than me listening to all this on my comms unit that they've by now powered down and contained your access to our computer thingies.

Friction's power flares as she makes every surface that Ruby touches frictionless making standing all but impossible and every little movement as trying to walk up a hill of ice on oiled wheels.

"Please be gentle with her gentlemen, she is a Lady after all. says Cypress to the others wait outside the ambulance

Elijah hung up the phone with a slick grin. He had just been informed of the newest available contract. He was informed that;

The afternoon of August 2nd, 2015 is captured with exciting news for LA: Valentine Caro, leader of the NTE has agreed to consider the plea bargain arranged for him. He has been until his trial in several days to consider accepting his handing over of information. This is obviously troubling, as his contacts include all of the prominent underworld capes in LA.

He was never sure if he was considered prominent or not and it didn't really matter. He had made enough money that he could return to a normal life and live very well for the remainder of his life. He had money and a lot of it, it'd be easy for him for to dissapare and live a quite life on some tropical island where a dollar goes further than in America. 

His only thought on the matter was to kill the guy. The pay was plentiful to be sure, but it was it worth all the trouble of breaking him out of jail? It wasn't by his minds working, by his mind there was little worth more than his own life. Breaking him out was going a lot harder than just putting a bullet in his chest. What would be the benefits of busting him out? What would he gain? Money, maybe a few favors? Would any of those be worth his life. No, not to his thinking. To his thinking one bullet would get him paid and leave him with the smallest head ache possible. 

Sure he would have a couple of attempts on his by those loyal to the guy. None of those would be all that hard to handle. No, the hard part was going to be from the cops and feds. Make them go away and it was going to be an easy pay day. The only question was did he have the pull to get that done. With the local government and power players around there was an outside chance, not a great one but in the immortal words of Jim Carrey, there is a chance. 

He finished the last bit of his third beer and lit the last of his cigarettes. He stood up and walked around for a moment, pacing in a circle, trying to get his head around the plotting. He was going to need some help, five or six metahumans, ten or twenty trained humans. Truth be told he could get by with much less. Better to have too much than not enough.

As he sat back in his chair pondering this next few moves. His phone lit up yet again, he was a little too popular today, at least to his liking. This next text was from a women, girl, or whatever you want to her call. Her name was Ruby, a smart kid but a kid none the less. 

He had used her on a number of occasions. She was a technoguru, by far out classing himself. So when he needed someone to due the stuff he couldn't such as stealing data or sabotaging electronics so it looked hardware failure, or his personal favorite wiping away any information that people found on him. It was a waste of her talents but she was damned good at it. 

Answering the phone he didn't speak at first, there was no way was going to be heard over the noise. Screams, metal banging and all kinds of other mayhem. He doubted that she even knew he was on the other or she had called. He hung up quickly, he needed to think. L.A. was way to big to be able to figure out where she was with any decent speed. Tabbing the phone against his chin he thought for a moment or two. Quickly he started to do searches on the local media, with all the screams and shit banging around, there had to be some news outlet that had something on it. In another moment  or two it turned out as luck would have it he was right. 

After reaching for his wallet, he left a couple of twenties on the table, far more than than the bill was worth but it was worth it as he liked the bar staff. Over all it would come out in the wash. Still without any inclination of a hurry or that anything wrong he got on his bike drove off towards whatever hubbub was kicks off by Ruby. He did make a stop to pick up a ski mask. No reason to ruin a good, nameless cover. In the past he had burned through a lot of covers. He really liked this one, and it was starting to gain a little traction around town. More and more people with bikes were using the helmets. While they were a somewhat common helmet, his was more or less a custom helmet with more than few personal touches and he really, really liked it.

From a few minutes away he took his beloved helmet and slipped on his ski mask. At least he would be able to keep that one around for, hopefully a good while longer. After swapping out helmet for mask. Elijah frowned for moment as the helmet melted in the palm off his hand.

It was time to up the ante a little.With a few revs of the engine, he was off, off to grab Ruby dearest from whatever it is she was caught up in. Speeding through traffic he took a deep breath and gathered his courage as he moved both is feet from the pegs to the seat and rear ended a vehicle not far from the ambulance. As he hoped it sent him flying straight into the ambulance, the moment he left the bike he erupted in a full body form. Just before he it the ambulance he went full on Nova. His skill and over all instinct allowed him breach the walls of ambulance without flying through the other side. It was a very painful but quickly to do things. Away that rocked the entire ambulance to a point you swear it was going flip over.

He let a moan as he got to his feet in. He powered down from his full body mode and started slipping and sliding like he was a member of the Three Stooges. With in a few a minute or two he started to figure out that it was work of a meta human and not just his own stupidity.

“Ah shit, this hurts. That was not a good idea, that.... That could have been done better. There had to be an easier way to get in here. I got the mask, I protected the red mask, why didn't I think of a better entrance?” He rubbed his face, pushing the pain from his mind. 

“Ruby, please for the love of all that is holy tell me you are in here. Tell me, that I didn't trash an ambulance for no good reason.”


Ruby afforded herself a roll of her eyes as she hopped down from the ambulance and stood face-to-face with the buxom blonde. She could mock her all she wanted, but they both knew who had ninety percent of the brains in their immediate area. Smirking a little, she lowered her hands and placed them on her hips; indicating that blondie was about to be educated on how she was so damn wrong. "Well you see, you southern wench, I may have been telling a little bit of a lie when I said I could destroy everything but I think you and your little corporate buddies need to learn the definition of a technopath. I don't just hack, I speak to machines. This isn't just a case of me going in and stealing a few things. I saw everything."

Rolling her eyes pretty blatantly, she turned on her heels and was about to stride into the ambulance before she turned her head back around to her. "I know about the human trials and I know that whatever the hell you are doing, I could destroy the ground your company stands on; just with this." With that, she slowly pulled the hard drive from her pocket and flashed a smile at them.

Her guise of appearing like she had the upper hand disappeared altogether as the friction between her and the ground ceased to exist. Groaning, she scrabbled feebly for the edge of the ambulance and missed completely as her feet slid forward and her back, backwards. "Wahchuu..." She mumbled out as she fell back completely. Groaning once more, she tried to climb back to her feet but it wasn't happening at all. "Oh you dirty-" What followed was a series of fiendish name-calling.

She thought that this was definitely the point where she would be arrested and dragged into a maximum-security prison where she wouldn't be able to escape, at all. Groaning, she suddenly saw a bright flash and the ambulance, for lack of a better definition, got macerated. Sighing, she thought that yet another Meta had shown up to seal her in the deepest, darkest prison they could find. What it really turned out to be however, brought a smile to her face. "Eli! How the Hell did you find me you big burning bastard?" She grinned brightly and pulled herself to her feet using the edge of the ambulance.

"TMZ mostly." Elijah slowly crawled his way towards Ruby. "Come on Ruby, I'm gonna need your help with something kid. I gotta shoot a man about a dog and the like." He slowly stood up caution about even the smallest movements that could send him down back down on an already ailing back.

Once he had the ability to move around, he was shocked and saddened as to what he saw. "There was a G-D DAMN OPEN DOOR." With a snap of his fingers he erupted in flames. He started floating his way out of the now destroyed ambulance. The moment he touched ground he cooled off, in his head he knew he had been active for under thirty seconds. Time was always on his mind, at least where his powers were concerned.

He rubbed his covered temples and was still in shock that he didn't need throw himself through a fucking ambulance. It had have looked but there were a lot of other idea, better ideas were coming to mind.

He looked around for a moment and his eyes caught the look of a top heavy bleach bond girl around the age of Ruby. She was pretty to be sure and could use a look that didn't scream dominatrix or "You've not made your mistress happy." He gave a thought to hitting on her and making a few snarky comments about her boobs being out in the open but now wasn't the time.

"Well Ruby, say you're sorry so we can leave. Come on hurry up."

No Need For Apology

Cypress hears the bike an catches it's impact out of the corner of her eye an gives a short propulsive kick away from the ambulance.
An insane man hits the Ambulance and a moment later is barely stand on his feet.

Ruby asks the newcomer a question which he answers saying
"TMZ mostly." As he crawled towards Ruby. "Come on Ruby, I'm gonna need your help with something kid. I gotta shoot a man about a dog and the like."

She looked at the two twits who thought themselves able to abuse their abilities an there by make mundanes suspect her of being little better than them. The thought made her so angry that Cypress was driven to thwart their plans in any way that she could.

"So your names are Eli and Ruby
Well now at least I have names to attach to a Thief and a Thug Growls Cypress as her Friction flares with so much power it is visible as a mirage like aura surrounding her.

"Don't worry Eli, Ruby will have all the time she needs to apologize" says Friction as she suddenly goes zero drag and launches herself like a speed skater out of the blocks.

She is at nearly 40 mph when she reaches Ruby and rams her in the belly with a shoulder tackle. So hard do they impact each other that even Friction is sent tumbling with the wind knocked out of her till she exerts her inertia control and comes to an instant stop.

Turning to face her foes Cypress presses up into a classic sprinter's pose even though she's struggling for breath.

"I hope that hurt you stuck up trailer trash welfare baby's momma can't get a job at Mcnasties toothless 3 dollar love you long time skank with the BO of a wet landfill dog three days dead Bitch" says Cypress with a predatory grin

Ruby is her target and has been since she committed theft at Aperture and she has no intention of allowing the low life bimbo to escape without a few bruises or maybe broken bones.

Ruby rolled her eyes quickly at him, her hand moving to her pocket to pull out the hard drive that she had stored there. She didn't need it anyways - she had everything backed up in her head and if Eli needed her then he was probably going for a big job. Flashing him a quick grin, she lifted out the hard drive and turned to Cypress once more with an apology on the end of her tongue.

What she was greeted with, was a sight that would have even woke Eli up from his sleep, and that guy was a hard-ass. Trying to dodge was simply impossible and considering the speed she was going at with such a small distance between them, Ruby only had a few milliseconds. She used them wisely and tensed herself; knowing better than others what would happen if your muscles didn't absorb that.

She was thankful of the small crumple zone between her and the ambulance because if she had no where to fall back against, chances would be firmly stacked against her. She didn't even make a sound as she was hit - she couldn't; all the oxygen in her body was dispelled outwards and she almost forgot to breath for a few seconds.

After that, things became hazy. Cypress was breathing heavily, yes, but Ruby felt like her throat had closed over and decided to go on strike for a week. Her senses came back with the pain; along with the long line of curses that spawned from Cypress. Strangely enough, she didn't even focus on anything but the bimbo. Ruby could outsmart this walking piece of plastic in her sleep.

And then bam, her throat decided to return to work. Inhaling a sharp breath that was hitched with spasms, she rolled onto her back and tried to focus on the situation at hand. Medical attention was needed more than likely. For that, she found it ironic that they had already fucked up the ambulance. "Eli..." She gasped out, terror flashing in her eyes. Unfortunately for them, Ruby's power got a mind of their own when she was injured.

The lights went first, sparking out in a bright flash as sparks spread along the power-cables feeding the city. "Eli..." She groaned out again, trying to bring her powers under control as car alarms began playing all around them like a shrill melody that birds play in the morning just to wake you up. Get yourself under control, girl, and get the Hell outta there! Her mind shouted at her and she had no choice but to listen as she tried pulling deeper breaths in.

The impact of the bleach blonde into his techno master shock him for a second. The blonde was back posturing from her starting position. She was ready for a fight and a big one at that. Elijah on the other hand was not, he could careless about whatever had happened. It wasn't his problem, it was in fact unless there was going to be a rather large check involved this wasn't even worth the time he had spent here.

"Aye, Blondie, was that shit even necessary?" Elijah shot her a glare, and really thought about blasting her the face just for pure bitchiness. He even went as far to erupt his left hand and forearm. He had around twenty nine minutes, that should be more than enough time to end this or get away. He reached down and grabbed Ruby's by the collar and pulled her up. "Get your shit together Ruby. Come on you got this." He shot his eyes back towards the blonde girl. "We are done here. She gave you your hard drive and now we are leaving, or once this all shakes out. I am going down to Mississippi, and I am going set the whole fucking delta on fire."