Though the last squad was long gone, Ace could still feel the vibrations of another being nearby. They were too heavy to be an animal, so Ace automatically knew that they were that of a person. whether or not it was an enemy was still unknown. "shh...! we have to be quiet...! there is something still nearby..." Ace whispered as she lit a small fire in the palm of her hand. Thankfully the hole she created was heavily sealed, so opening it wouldn't be an easy task, so at least for the moment, they were safe.

Stallman had crawled through several vents before meeting up with a very... very large vine.

Well, that explains the blockage.

It was obviously a hex who had done it; wildlife didn't simply grow in vents designed to be as anti-biological growth as possible while permitting the flow of the proper materials. He had to change his course several times to avoid the quickly growing vines.

He finally dropped out in a section right in A hall - just a little ways from a guard. He was extremely thankful that said guard hadn't seen him drop down.

He walked past the guard casually and in the direction of the southeast forest.

---

Halthar was tired. Only 10 minutes later and several search teams hadn't seen anything, and the 'secret weapon' that had been mentioned by the head guard went rouge.

It was a crappy day, and with night coming, the search teams wouldn't have to be called off.

Slumping against a tree (rather close to where the excaped hexes were hiding, and possibly in earshot), he called the Head Guard.

"What's the status?" he asked wearily.

"The prison is now secure. We had to take down a few almost escaping A class hexes, but we got the A section generators running. Command is still on aux power and we think there was an inside job."

"Inside job?"

"A suspicious worker was at a terminal he wasn't supposed to be at. He gave us the slip before the officers could get him. he vanished into a closet... he might be a hex, because nobody was there when the officers checked."

"How does a hex get into Command? And why the hell was he allowed to get a terminal?"

He could almost see the head guard's shrug. "Negligence is what we have it pinned at. Any result on the search?"

Halthar gazed out into the trees, with the sounds of search teams coming from most directions. "Nope. Damn hexes escaped... this is going to be a lot of paperwork..."

"Don't remind me."

Kyle Kruger sat along one of the walls forming the cramped belly of the armored transport, amidst six of his men. Despite their airborne origins, they hadn't been inside of an aircraft for quite a while now. Wasteful of fuel and time, he was told, when operating within the borders of the US. Instead, today's vehicle was an M7 Schwarzkopf, a bit of a rust bucket by the standards of the day, but it suited them fine. Trailing behind them was another M7 Schwarzkopf with seven other men, and behind it, a similar vehicle. Kyle grinned to himself as he thought about it. Out here, he was the only one that knew its purpose, and he loved frustrating his men with its mystery. With no soldiers riding it, it wasn't an ordinary M7 Schwarzkopf, that much was clear. When he brought it up, he merely referred to it as "the special one." All they knew was that it wouldn't be going as close to the operation area as they would be, but would be called in during a later phase of the mission.

Intelligence wasn't able to squeeze out any further information about the enemy. Disposition, levels of Hexes involved... hell, they didn't even know if they were Hexes at all. It could be some unaffiliated terrorists, who have seized up the opportunity presented by the chaos made by the breakout in progress. Medburn, population 135 or so. Probably nowhere near that high anymore, he grimly noted during the briefing. "One less mutie means ten - maybe even hundreds - less of our own dead." he thought to himself. He shook his head, reflecting on the absurdity of the situation. How the fuck had the police bungled so hard that an entire town was able to be seized, hostages and all?

National Guard had been deployed, but their role was a delaying, diversionary one. They had established cordons choking all roads leading in and out of the town, and were attempting to contact the rebels under the pretense of negotiation. In reality, they were just buying time for Kyle and his men. Apparently it was working well, and the rebels and National Guard were presently staring each other down at the southern edge of the town, while bullhorns crackled and barked their exchange. If they were indeed concentrated down there, it would make things a hell of a lot easier for the Storm Hounds, who were closing in from the north through the woods.

The vehicle suddenly halted. The ramp to the rear of the vehicle fell, and the soldiers took it as their cue. Kyle's squad met up with their counterpart team from the other Schwarzkopf, and they began their methodical approach as they stalked through the thick woods enveloping the town of Medburn.

Apollo was now wondering around the woods, he was trying to find the hex but he was distracted because he never was let out of the box long so a lot of what he saw was new to him. He was staring at the trees in wonder and listening to the sounds of the forest, which he could never hear in the metal box.

Ace could feel the new comers footsteps getting closer but suddenly change direction and pass by them. "How strange... I can only feel the footsteps of one person... I don't think guardsmen wander by themselves..." Ace whispered.

Luciel listened to David explain what he was doing that would get him up in a tree only to fall out. It was understandable that there was little reason for any of them to trust anyone. A slight hint of confusion teased at Luciel's mind, since they were all in the same boat and he'd figured trying to save them would earn him some points.
He was about to respond to the question about first aid before they were urged to be quiet. He closed his eyes, the darkness being filled with the dull glow of those around him. Ash's hue was slightly brighter, although most of his attention was drawn to the warm amber glow of David. Everyone was different in their own little ways, especially hex who actually had a color, although ambers weren't very common.
Luciel opened his eyes, figuring it was rude to stare...even though he wasn't, technically. Still, there were more important things to do than sit around with his eyes closed.

Apollo suddenly dropped to his knees. He began glowing with light, "oh no I've absorbed too much sunlight." Apollo screamed as multiple beams of light shoot out in all directions, slicing branches and cutting trees in half, setting them on fire. Once the light was gone he then fell down onto the ground exhausted.

"You see, they have the power of gods..." Kyle said, bringing the tip of his boot to what remained of what was scarcely recognizable as the head of a downed Hex, spilling its splattered brain matter onto the sidewalk. "But the minds of humans." He concluded, glancing back up to his men and giving them a brisk nod. Gunfire snapped and bullets whizzed around him, but he remained upright and unphased. He rasped as he took another lung full of the chemicals from his rebreather, then spun around and reciprocated the fire with some of his own.

Kyle snorted and giggled, lowering his weapon and pointing a gloved finger off to a window of the building at the other end of the street. Hanging out from its frame was the bloodied remains of another Hex. "See how easy that was? They can't even shoot straight! We can!" Kyle burst into outright laughter as he advanced up the street in a near skip. His men followed, their battle cry consisting of only giddy laughter. "Storm Hyenas" was the nickname they received from those who have witnessed the surreal spectacle of Storm Hound in action.

Storm Hound had only encountered a few sentries as they infiltrated Medburn, all of which taken down without any particular incident. As it turned out, these Hexes were not only rather low grade, but poorly trained and equipped with weapons that posed extremely little threat to an M62A2 Petraeus suit. The hostages, as they had found, were already executed long before they showed up. So now they had full reign to do what they do best, and relished doing at that.

As Kyle's squad bounded up the street, they were briefly halted by a Hex with four arms, who had sprung out from an alleyway. The upper two were raised, the bottom two clutched the pole of a broom with a bed sheet tied to the end of it; a white flag. Kyle thrust the barrel of his gun into his open mouth and blasted his head away before a declaration of surrender could even be uttered. "Human rights are for humans" he jeered as he ran by the corpse.

Ace felt the ground shake from the explosion which startled her. She felt rocks and dirt fall on her head; the rock ceiling was starting to collapse and she knew that it wouldn't hold for much longer. She knew that the explosion didn't happen from a human weapon and that it must have been a Hex's doing. "Time to go!" Ace replied as she opened the top of the hole and shifted the ground underneath themselves upward to the surface. She saw a body laying nearby and rush over to see if the stranger was still alive. "H-hey! Are you ok? Hey!" She gently touched his shoulder for just a second when she felt a sudden jolt powerful energy from the man in front of her. Overwhelming her, Ace collapsed onto her hands and knees breathing heavily and her eyes filled with terror, she glanced back at the others and murmured,"run.." before she lost consciousness, her eyes glazed over.

Apollo was lying on the ground and he could barely move, but then a random girl ran up to him. He was confused as to why she came to help him. She then collapsed next to him. He tried to get up to help her but he had very little energy, he didn't know she was the run away.

Luciel jumped from the blast, unexpectedly being lifted out of the hole from Ace's powers which he regrettably could not stop her from using, though he speculated she could feel herself lose a year or two of her life expectancy from the overcasting. He followed a step as she approached the immobile figure before simply collapsing. Rubbing his temples, he approached the new mess.

"Ace, I cannot carry you everywhere..." Luciel groaned as he hoisted her up, looking over the boy and tilting his head with a perplexed expression at what he apparently saw within him. "If you can stand, I'd suggest you do, since I can't carry you, myself" he said, uncaring if the boy could actually manage himself. The group was getting too big for comfort and he was suspicious of the figure; the trees burned with the same light which Luciel was struck with not too long ago.

He had enough to think about with trying to imagine a way they could survive the next hours before compounding the task by the steadily growing numbers. Ace had been helpful, but she need to rest and stop using her powers. He had no interest in seeking serious medical attention for her, should something rupture.

David got out of the hole together with Luciel. But when he saw Ace and the new boy, he thought of something else than to sit there and see what would happen. Ace was Luciel's problem for that moment, he thought. Instead he began to blink upwards. He was next to Luciel one second, then he was gone. Eventually he reached the highest branch that he deemed safe. Though it was a little thin. He could just peer out of the canopy. The prison far away was still quite active. And in the distance he could hear trucks riding across the roads. He even saw a helicopter flying overhead. Probably trying to locate Hexes who managed to get in the forest.

Right then, the branch began to crack. Though David could react in time. He blinked towards a lower, sturdier branch. Then down and down and down again until he stood next to Luciel again. Right then the branch collapsed not too far from Ace. "First off, sorry for that." he said pointing at the fallen branch. "Second, we need to get out of here. And with here I mean this bloody forest. I saw a helicopter and if my 6 years of watching FBI: Most Wanted has learned me anything then it's that they got dogs coming for us. So I suggest we both carry Ace and leave kiddo here to get the hounds off our tracks." David said, obviously showing he cared more for Ace than the collapsed boy.

Apollo was confused, he was lying there with his eyes open watching the whole conversation between these people who all think he is unconscious. He just sighed and slowly got up and said "you know that the hounds can't pick up a scent with all this smoke right?"

In the distance where the prison stood while David watched, the thin emerald coils of a vine exploded from one of the roof vents accented by wisps of black smoke from the fan motors eating themselves. Whatever Luciel had left behind, it had certainly done its job. A tiny plume of flames belched from the vent, quickly destroying the vines...although now the prison would have to deal with a potential fire.
Luciel sidestepped the branch with a small spin and falling to a knee while still holding Ace. The hounds were a valid point, although leaving seemed like an idea, since fires in forests tend to spread. Getting away from the source of attention...

Zeh mission vahs seemink to go farzher south by ze minute, as far as projections told. I vould haf been lyink to say zhat seh talk about all ze vays sehy'd find us didn't instill a bit of paranoia. Gawd vee needed an out...

"Good, you can stand" Luciel said, rolling his eyes to excuse the attitude. "Someone will come to put the fires out, and we certainly cannot breathe all of zeis smoke" He continued, his accent popping as he took a few steps away. It would be best to change their route to go through the bits that still had a few minutes before they burned down. It'd be impossible to follow a cold trail through burnt earth. It was his suggestion, implied by his movement and narrowing eyes towards the opening. "They know where we are, now. I cannot imagine a FIRE is too hard to miss!" Luciel reminded, looking over his shoulder at Apollo with a slight glare before simply taking off in the intended direction with Ace in his arms.

David began to walk beside Luciel. But not before he told Apollo: "Kid, if you can stand you can walk. Come with us if you want to." Then he faced Luciel who was walking next to him. "I'm going to do a little recon." and with that he blinked upwards again. A few seconds later he blinked next to Luciel again, this time without any branches falling. Though he did look a little out of breath. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think I saw a village east of us. I suggest we go where the roofs and the food is." he told Luciel. After that he quickly looked at Ace. For some reason, he was a little worried about her. Of course, he could let Luciel know that, so he quickly said: "Man, I hope the chick can walk on her own two legs soon."

Luciel stopped for a moment as David blinked off as to better adjust Ace in his arms. There wasn't anything worth saying, since he figured it would only be a moment. His attire wasn't the most ideal for so much physical labor, though he was managing for the moment. Still, a shred of envy teased his senses, wishing someone would carry him around for a change...

'Speaking of which' Luciel thought, almost saying it aloud when David returned. Although, the almost-slip helped him think of a reason to agree with moving towards potentially more people. "Yeah..." he mused, picking the pace back up, "...with the fire, local departments may be evacuating people" the suggestion came. It would certainly be easier, in some respects, to find a way to hide there after everyone moved out. Their pursuers may get caught up in combing the forest for them, with any luck. "We move in and take it easy for a day...if you're not above looting, that is?" he asked, turning to David with a mildly concerned expression at the realization of what he was proposing. To be honest, he cared enough about what David thought of him to try to avoid insulting him with the suggestion of petty crime. Frankly, they were past needing to worry about a few misdemeanors, a thought which lightened Luciel's mood in a dark way.

'We were treated like monsters...why not act like such?'

Apollo followed the two other guys since he had nowhere else to go. While following the two guys he just realized he had no idea what the Hexes that ran from the prison looked like, so he pretty much was out of luck of getting his revenge. He then thought that maybe these other hex can bring him to the ones that ran away.

The scientist in the white coat came running to the head guard. "this is terrible he got away, we need to find him, if we don't the rebels may be able to turn him to their side." The head guard said "don't worry about him, he will return to us eventually, he was a loyal dog"

"Petty crime is what I'm in for." he told Luciel as if it was nothing. Which is was to David. He didn't really care that he robbed a few chips or some drinks. But eventually the cops got involved and before he knew it he was on route towards the world’s hardest prison. Not for stealing. Just for being something he couldn't help to be. Granted, getting caught was his fault and he knew that but still. Would mutants lock up humans? Well right now, probably.

Eventually the group reached a small village, who indeed seemed pretty abandoned. David could still see the smoke rise from the distance. Luciel and kiddo, I don't know what both of you did but I'm quite grateful for it." he told Apollo and Luciel. "Anyway, how about we break into that house?" he asked, pointing at a small house just on the edges of the small town. David didn't wait for a yes or a no. Instead he just blinked towards the nearby window. Once he got an idea of how the living looked, he focused for a second and blinked himself inside. A few seconds later and he opened the door. "Ladies first." he motioned towards Luciel with a cheeky grin.

"Re-?" Luciel was able to manage before being taken by a slight laughing fit at the irony. "W-well, then. Let's see what we can find" he finished, managing to recompose himself. The idea of having something more than a tree to sleep under was a needed boost to morale. The thought never occurred that sometimes people end up in prison for reasons other than simply who they are.

The village was eerily quiet with signs of left behind possessions in people's miscalculated panic to leave. A notion to toss off the cliché "Don't thank me until we're out of this" came to Luciel for a moment, although it seemed inappropriate of a response to David's thanks. A house to squat in would only really be a short term solution, but it was more than enough to sate their desperation. Luciel was just about to ask how they intended on getting into a locked house before David swiftly answered with a few quick blinks, opening the door by the time Luciel had made it to the door.
"That would have been more clever if you hadn't gone in first, toots" Luciel teased back with a wink as he stepped inside with Ace and the rest of the entourage.

As quick as he could manage, the albino made his way into the livingroom and laid the girl down on one section of a long L-shaped couch setup before collapsing into the other unoccupied section. He slipped out of his fragrant coat, getting comfortable while crossing one leg over the other and taking off his comically small hat to jokingly fan himself with while offering David a content sigh and appreciative nod. "We should probably draw the shades..." he mused, making no motion to do so while he rested.

“Right…”

Stallman signed. He didn’t take the car, because he knew that ultimately, he would be looked for and the time had come to vanish once again. At the same time, he didn’t have much of an idea what to do.

I suppose I’ll go off to the village down south…

With that in mind, he started walking along the main road.

---

“Agents, pull out. My section’s off this, it’s been too long and we don’t have a lead right now.”

Halthar sent another message, this time to the State Police Force Headquarters.

“Agent Halthar here. We need to block off an approximately 3 mile radius around the Prison, you folks already know what happened. Get it in soon, and cover around the forest edges too before they get into the really large one…”

((Sorry for being short, I just had to get something up and I haven't been feeling very inspired. Just want to keep things moving along))