Cia had a rather angry look on her face, though it was turning into one of disgust now. "If you really want me to kill you I have no quarrels with it." Cia said as a few kitchen knives floated at John's face, another aiming at his heart. "But I will give you a choice, if you lead me and a few others to where Jessica was taken, I will let you live with just the bump on your head." Cia added her face showed no remorse. "And if you really wanna prove yourself to be on our side, then you will kill Pariah and anyone you see in the DMA." Cia said as her she continued float a few more knives at his face, a few of them behind his head and at his back too to prevent him from making any sudden movements.

While Cia was normally upbeat she was heartless in battle, many had given her the nick name of the Two Faced Killer due to this trait of hers. If anything she had taken out a few DMA agents herself, however due to her not being active for awhile most of the DMA had assumed that she was dead. Though most of the time in battle she would have plastic arms so she was harder to find when she was acting as a citizen.

John looked at the knives with wide eyes, then he turned to look at Cia. Shit...I can't even think straight...damn that really hurt...but knives will hurt more. John thought, staring at the knives that were aimed at his face. By now the pain he felt was transforming into a headache, and he moved his hands though his hair to try and soothe it. "W-Wait...I want t-to help...b-but...I can't use my gift now. The D.M.A. think I'm j-just a Type 4...a T-Tracker...but I'm not. I l-lied to them, I'm actually a t-telepath...and to use my gift at all, I need a c-clear head..." John explained, trying to remain still and not make any sudden movements. He was growing more nervous by the second, and his body even began to shake.

"B-But Pariah is a Warden...I'm not. I d-don't know what she wants with your friend...but the D.M.A. Blacksite we were both assigned to is locked up tight. They'll have c-cameras and guards, and more importantly g-guns...and all I'm equipped with are two t-telescoping shock batons...they only p-produce enough of a charge to stun." John confessed, then thought for a moment. "I figure I could m-modify the batons to increase their output...but even then, we'll be no match for P-Pariah...she has superior training..." He trailed off, but then looked up into Cia's eyes. "L-Look...I really want to help...I'm not like them...b-but it's suicide..."

John then winced as his entire skull throbbed, and he just laid there on the ground clutching his head. There's...gotta be another way to do this.

When the bus arrived, Eva chose a seat in the back and pulled down the shade on the window. At least she would have be able to recuperate during the ride!

After all the other passengers had settled in, her shoulders slumped; it should be safe to relax for a little while. It wasn't likely that a DMA agent had boarded the bus just to look for the Gifted. She breathed a sigh of relief and decided to use this time to figure out where she would go after the hotel.

That was when a bearded man near the front stood up and pulled a gun out of his pocket. The sunglasses he wore partially obscured his face.

"Okay, here's what's going to happen. Driver, you just keep driving. Each of you passengers is going to give me every cent you have, without trying anything funny, then I'll collect all the day's bus fares, we'll drive to a location I have in mind, and I'll leave you all unharmed. If anyone makes a single move you're all dead."

Eva froze, and the others around her seemed similarly stunned. The man approached the nearest passenger and demanded all of his money.

The truth was, Eva had a fairly lot of cash with her. She could replace it in a couple of days, but if she lost it all now, she wouldn't have anywhere to stay. That would leave her out on the streets at night with the DMA hunting for her kind. She couldn't let that happen.

Slowly, she pushed her backpack under the seat in front of her and crouched. In that small space, there was little light - it was dark enough for her to blend into the shadow.

"What the hell are you doing back there?" called the man.

Eva bit back a curse. She hadn't expected the hijacker to be paying as close attention as he had been! As he hurried back to her hiding place, she knew she had only one choice.

A hand of shadow darted out of her hiding place, slapping the gun free from the hijacker's hands as he drew near. The gun landed on Eva's seat as the hand dissipated due to the light streaming in through the other passenger's windows. Frantically, she grabbed for it. It felt heavy in her hands; she had never shot anyone before. That was about to change.

With a sudden bang, a bullet pierced the robber's chest and his body slumped over.

All eyes were upon her.

"Damn it," she muttered, retrieving her backpack and running to the front of the bus. Everyone here knew what she was now. The DMA would be after her within minutes. She needed to put some distance between herself and all of the witnesses.

"Stop the bus, now," she yelled, and the driver complied, a panicked expression on his face. Before the bus had even come to a full halt, even jumped out of it, gun stashed in her pockets, and darted into the first alleyway she could find as quickly as she could while the sun was on her. She needed a hiding place, somewhere dark. Hopefully, no one on the bus had noticed her blend into the shadows. If they had, and they told the DMA about her ability, she didn't want to think about how screwed she would be.

An alert went off on Agent Noore's computer, the sudden noise of the notification caused her to jump slightly as she brought up the report on the main screen. "We got reports of a meta, the corner of 8th Avenue and West 35th Street", Noore looked back to see Pariah groan in frustration before getting up from her seat. "I'll be back, watch her and don't say anything to her if she wakes up", Pariah entered the elevator with her usual gear: her Volt Rifle, sidearm, and combat knife. Once again getting into the SUV but this time without the capture kit. There was no taking prisoners on this hunt, Pariah swapped out the stun rounds with for its lethal counterpart and drove off.

After a bit of a drive she arrived at the scene where a bus was being held. The passengers were being interviewed by the police as Pariah parked the car, most looked as though they were shaken by the ordeal while others seemed to have a look of surprise on their faces. Pariah approached one of the officers on the scene, a young man maybe his late twenties, a look of concern on his face as he took a witness' statement. "What happened here?", Pariah had asked with an impatient tone in her voice. The officer was probably just going through the motions as his immediate response was, "I'll get to you in a moment ma'am right now I'm very busi-" the officer cut himsekf off after realizing that Pariah was with the DMA "Oh uh sorry about that. From what the witnesses tell us it was a female adolescence. I've pieced together what happened and it looks like the suspect was riding the bus when the hi-jacker-that guy in the bag over there- pulled out his gun. Witnesses claim there was a sudden movement as the hi-jacker had his weapon knocked from his hand, immediately after the suspect grabbed the gun and opened fire on the hi-jacker. She then exited the bus and ran down West 35th". Pariah looked over to where the body of the hi-jacker was laid. He was inside a body bag and upon opening it Pariah saw that the body was in relatively good shape aside from a single bullethole in his torso. "Close range, bullet went right through the heart and out the back. What's more it hit the heart dead center, this girl's either trained or lucky but I'll go with the latter", Pariah stood up from kneeling by the body to face the officer again. "You said the gun was knocked out of this guy's hand but no one saw who did it, is that right?"

"Witnesses claim they only saw the girl shoot him, one guy said he saw a hand knock the gun out of his hand but only a hand"

"Probably a Type 2, a Type 1 or 3 would have used a less visible power to take the guy down"

"Agent?", the officer asked as Pariah went quiet for a moment.

"We're dealing with a Type 2, that hand was her power but what it is exactly I can't be sure. Did anyone describe what it looked like"

"Everyone who saw the hand said it looked like a black silhouette"

"An Umbrakinetic"

"A what?"

"She controls shadows. Send these people home, have the other officers keep their flashlights on handy. Check every alleyway on W35th and contact me if you see anything suspicious"

"How do I contact you?"

Pariah went over to the SUV and pulled out a pair of two way radios, "Here, remember she controls shadows so stay out of thr dark that's her element". Pariah got back in her car but before she could drive off the young officer came up to the window, "Hey where are you going?"

"Hunting, with that Pariah sped off down W35th to the cloest alleyway she found along W35th. Parking the car in front of the alleyway entrance she turned on the flashlight on the Volt Rifle and slowly moved further into the alley.

It had been almost a complete day since the massacre at the park, Ace could still see the bloody faces of dozens of dead and mutalated Gifted and hear the screams of dying people ringing in her head. She could still feel the rush of adrenaline and fear pumping through her veins with each trembling step she took. Ace was on her way to a "safe haven" for Gifted that she had heard about only a few hours prior. She was afraid and she could practically feel every single pair of cold, scornful eyes pierce her very being like the cold kiss of a blades steel pressed against her throat.

Ace made her way down the street and eventually arrived at the bar. She quietly cracked open the old, weathered wooden door and peered inside. She saw many small figures huddled around what appeared to a young man in his mid to late teens on one side of the room and on the other was a group of young adults around the same age as the other man she had noticed moments before. Upon further examination she had noticed one similarity between them - they were all Gifted. Ace sighed relieved, she made it and was safe for now at least.

Ace slowly opened the door and walked inside the old building and closed the door behind her. She paused and looked around at the concerned look of dozens of Gifted children, before quietly walking over to a corner and curled up into a trembling ball.

Cia continued to point her knives at him still with a look of disgust on her face. “You keep saying you want to help yet you haven’t done anything to prove that point.” Cia said as one of the knives started to dig into the ground in front him. If She hadn’t done this she would have started to dig the knives into John instead. It was no different than one would be clenching their fist to keep from showing their anger. “Prove to me that you want to help and tell me where they took Jessica!” Cia asked again as some of the knives got a little closer.

"Okay, okay! I can give you the address to the D.M.A Blacksite she's most likely being held at...but I can't be one hundred percent sure where they're keeping her inside, or even if she hasn't been moved off-site. It would be suicide to rush in there! They have guns!" John told her, his clothes starting to get dampened by sweat as he stared at the knives. Every so often he'd throw a nervous glance up at Cia, but he wanted to keep an eye on the knives that threatened to cut and stab him.

Cia dropped a few of the knives as she received and answer. “Now that wasn’t so hard was it?” Cia asked as her mood did a complete 180 into her happier demeanor. Then turned to freezer as she opened it using a towel connected to it’s handle, she floated out an ice bag and had it land in his lap. “I don’t plan on rushing in there anyways.” Cia added with as a grin came to her face. “As long as they don’t know you have betrayed them yet then you can still walk in and find out.” Cia said with a smile as she got down to his eye level. “I want you to go in and tell me and a few others where they are keeping her, along with a blueprint of the building too.” Cia said with a sweet smile on her face as she grabbed the knife dug into the ground with her foot before floating it over to the sink like the other knives.

John flinched as Cia dropped the knives, and continued to stare at her with wide eyes as a bag of ice floated over into his lap. "...Uh...thanks...?" He said as he put the bag to his head. He didn't pay much attention to the relief he felt from the ice as Cia's behavior was now frightening him. "B-But...w-wait...if I go in and ask for a blueprint they'll get suspicious...and I don't know where they keep those." He stated, scooting away from Cia before continuing. "B-But...if I can just rest a little...I could use my gift to search the building for her...and I already know enough of the building...perhaps I could map it out?"

Cia thought for a moment she liked this idea better it was less risky. “I think that could work, after you make the map and say where she is we can start formulating a plan.” Cia said with a smile as she walked closer to him. “Oh and sorry for treating you like that, when someone threatens people I care about I tend to lose some control over myself.” Cia added with a smile. “Now then.” Cia added as she turned opening the door the cellar so the orphans can come out again. “Hanson! Could you please call Lucie’s bar and let the conclave members there know that I’m going with a new friend! My phone is on the counter over there.” Cia added as Hanson, a young gifted with the power read closed books, took Cia’s phone and sent a text letting them know that Cia had a new friend. The current bartender know that Cia would be there later, also to let them know that Jessica was captured by the DMA.
@TheDarkTemplar@Smarty0114@ArkmageddonCat[@PheobeCarlisle]@Liocalset

Finn Lockhart
@Inertia@TheDarkTemplar@PhoebeCarlisle@Liocalset@Ace of flames01
Finn was listening intently to the conversation at hand, chewing on his lip as he contemplated what was being said. Kill Mallory. That would be a big move. It would really hurt Callahan considering she's the one who invented the Wardens. Anyway, yes I could find her or rather I have been trying to find her. But so far I have been only able to get an approximate location in upstate New York." Car-tali said. Finn glanced up. "Could you find someone else though? Someone who could find Mallory? Her secretary or a colleague? There must be someone else you remember from your time as a Warden. Someone else," Finn inquired, his eyes lighting up as the gears in his brain spun round and round. He knew that Mallory was just the first rung of a very tall ladder but taking her out would throw a huge wrench in Callahan's plans. And if that was the case, he wanted in. Little did he know that soon he'd have another reason for killing Mallory. Finn noticed a girl walk in, looking somewhat frightened. She made her way over to a corner where she proceeded to curl up into a ball. Without warning, Finn made his way to the girl, kneeling beside her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey, hey. You know a lot of people cry in a bar but they tend to be hammered beyond repair. You don't seem to fit that criteria," he said in a comforting tone.

Jessica Thompson
@TheDarkTemplar
"Come on Jess! Come and get me!" a small boy shouted, shrieking with excitement as a little girl, no older than eight began chasing after him. The girl, who's blonde hair flew behind her in a mess of curls, was smiling, a big broad smile that told the world she couldn't be happier. Suddenly the scene changed. The boy was much older now, about twelve. The girl was closer to fourteen, a somber look clouding her face. They stood in front of a large, mahogany door. The girl had a backpack on and tears were streaming down her face. "You don't have to go Jess. We can keep you safe. The girl stayed silent, and instead hugged the boy, who began to sob. The scene changed one last time. This time the girl, about two years older now, was shaking hands with a boy of barely fourteen. "Nice to meet you Finn, I'm Jessica," she said, smiling. "Mind if I call you Jess?" he asked. Her face turned cold and she fixed him with a steely gaze. "Don't call me Jess. Ever." Jessica awoke with a start. She couldn't see anything due to the bag over her head. "Hey! Hey! Would you mind removing this bag from my head. Your covering my best features," she shouted in annoyance.

Agent Noore was peacefully watching a movie on her moniters when she suddenly heard a voice call out. Forgetting that Jessica had been tied up and left with her Noore jumped in her seat before spinning her chair around to see the meta still in her binds. "Oh thank god, I thought she was out", she thought to herself as she relaxed back in her chair only to tense up again. Noore had a new problem now, what was she to do with the meta now that she was awake? Noore nervously looked around for some sort if solution to her predicament then she checked the security cameras hoping to see Pariah entering the building but she had no such luck. Nervously Noore began to look around the room for something, anything that could help. Maybe a bat or something to knock her back out but she couldn't find anything. "Shit shit shit! I can't talk to her, Pariah told me not to. I can't just sit here next thing you know she figures a way out I need to keep her busy! I never should have mentioned that alert!", left with no other option Noore slowly approached the bagged Jessica, internally screaming the entire way over. Finally when she stood in front of Jessica's chair she ever so slowly reached forward to the bag. Her hands trembled before she finally touched the bag, Noore let out a short yelp before attempting again this time ripping the bag off in one swift motion.

To her surprise the girl under the bag didn't look dangerous, sure she looked like she could kick Noore's ass but she didn't look like the kind of metas she'd read files on. Those individuals had a look of madness in their eye, an animalistic glare to them which made Noore always want to close their file and stow it away. But this girl was different, true she looked angry and annoyed but she didn't come off a monster. Noore stared at Jessica with curious eyes as she tilted her head to examine the metahuman specimen. "Interesting, what Type are you? You haven't tried to manipulate my mind or anything so not a 1. Maybe a 3 but the same scenario applies. You could have killed me with whatever power you have not a 2. Ah you must be a 4! Tell me how does it feel to be an inferior subspecies of your race? Uh no offense I just wanted to get your point of view on that", Noore went from terrified to excited. She never got the chance to examine a meta like this, being relatively new the only gifted she'd seen besides Pariah were the ones in the autopsy videos back in training.

Tag:@smarty0114

Ace looked up to see a young man about her age kneeling next to her. She noticed how his eyes were blue and red, like hers which automatically eased the tension between them. Ace looked at the young man with an awe struck look in her eyes but that eventually turned into a look of terror and sadness as she finally broke down crying.

"I-I saw so many people like me...*hic* T-They told us that they were going to take us to a safe place...*hic* But they lied to us... They lied...! Somebody screamed and then they started shooting their guns...!*hic*" Ace sobbed.

Ace stopped for a moment remembering the horror she witnessed before crying even harder. She tried to get a hold of herself but the tears wouldn't stop falling.

"Now they're all dead!! They killed every last Gifted child that was there!! I'm the only one who escaped!! But I can still hear their screams and I can still see their faces!!!" Ace yelled. She looked down at her hands that were still stained with blood. She trembled furiously as the memories of watching so many innocent Gifted die engulf her. Ace clutched one of her hands with the other and held them close to her chest.

"I couldn't save a single life... Now they're all dead because of me...." Ace murmured as the adrenaline finally wore off.

Tagged; @TheDarkTemplar - Cole, @smarty0114 - Finn, @PhoebeCarlisle - Theo, @Liocalset - Car-tali, @Ace of flames01 - Ace

The tension in the air was getting ever stronger- Seth was on the fence about Car-tali, while he did notice the kindred souls of how he struggled as a gifted but Seth also sensed something was amist, Everyone keeps secrets, huh he thought dismissively. Theo was done with her meal and said a quick thanks but then asked what the discussion was about, "Cole, can we fill her in or is she too young?" he asked, looking at Cole then glancing at Theo who seemed to enjoy her meal.

The door creaked open and another person came through, "We really need to lock that door." he said jokingly. It appeared to be a gifted that came through, whose demeanor was really sad. Finn came and went next to her and attempted to comfort her, Seth also stood up and went in the back to grab a blanket and a drink- water. He walked up to her, placed the water next to her on the floor and placed the blanket on her, "It's alright, none of it is your fault." he said, "The Damned DMA are at fault." his face warping with anger before relaxing his features and looking down at her.

Eva darted through alleyways, avoiding light as much as possible, until even she forgot the way back to the bus.

The DMA would be coming for her - there was no question of that. What mattered was where she would hide. Her first instinct was the sewers, but she quickly realized how bad a choice of hiding place that would be. Aside from being disgusting, she would have to reveal herself lifting one of those heavy lids in the sun in order to even enter in the first place. No, she needed to find somewhere else to hide.

She had to assume the worst case scenario - that the DMA had not only been told about her, but had learned all about her abilities. That meant they would come equipped with flashlights. They would scour through the darkness methodically, leaving nowhere for her to blend in with the shadows.

Her best bet would be to betray those expectations without placing herself in a situation where she would be at risk if they didn't know about her powers. She needed to find a shadow in the sunny place.

Biting her lip, she walked out of the alleyway, her pace casual. She waited until no one was nearby, then approached the a vehicle parked along the side of the road.

Kneeling as if to tie her shoe, Eva used the car as a shield to protect herself from the sun. As her fingers toys with her shoelaces, a thin, feeble strand of shadow rose from her feet, crawling along the side of the vehicle until it reached the keyhole. The faint click announced its completion of its mission.

Eva pulled open the back door of the car and laid down on the seat. A few pedestrians passed, but before long, no one was standing directly adjacent to the car. Eva rolled onto the floor, blending into the shadows. Despite her invisibility, the heat threatened to overwhelm her; she might die of it even if the DMA didn't catch up to her.

Cole was trying to formulate a plan in his head. Killing Mallory really was no small feat and if he wanted this to succeed they'd need a lot of resources and planning. Of course his train of thought was interrupted by a multitude of things, one being the need to inform Theo of what happened while she was out and the other was addressing the issue of the Park survivor who just barged into the bar. Cole gave Car-tali a look that told him to wait before he went to go deal with what was going on around them. Seth had asked if it was okay to tell Theo to which Cole responded, "You can tell her but I don't think it'll be much use. I don't intend on bringing kids to kill Mallory". While an extra Gifted wouldn't hurt, Cole didn't want to endanger their lives. That plus the face that they could prove a detriment to the mission.

Cole walked over to where the survivor had been talking with Finn and Seth. Cole didn't kneel down to get to her level, he stayed standing but not because he was indifferent to her pain. In truth he was sympathetic, he knew what she was going through but to go through those emotions again wasn't something Cole really wanted to do. Still he had to help which was why he spoke, "I know how you feel, believe me I do. That feeling you get when you think that if you did something different the outcome would have changed. I know that feeling, it haunts me to this day. But in truth there really was nothing you could have done. I was at Haven, for a long time after I thought I failed all those people but I realized something. If you let the past control you then your future is gone. You can't do anything for the dead, but you can do something for the living and that is make sure all this ends". Cole's veins blackened once more but faded away once he calmed himself.

Unfortunately, there was more bad news to come as Lacie came forward with tears in her eyes. She was clutching her cellphone and Cole already had a feeling of what had transpired. "G-guys...the DMA got Jessica", Cole barely knew the girl but still she was one of us and it angered him greatly that the DMA had gotten so close. "Lacie calm down, how do you know? Who told you?"

"Cia, she had one of the orphans call me. He said that two Hunters came by the orphanage and took Jessica"

"GOD DAMNIT!", Cole slammed his fist into the wall of the bar, blood began to trickle down the wall from his knuckles. "Lacie did she say anything else? Does she know anything else?"

"All she said was she was bringing a new friend, I don't know what that means but-"

"She caught one of the Hunters...good, then we aren't helpless", Cole knew exactly what to do. The entire plan was falling into place, for now they'd wait for the hunter to arrive.

---

@Airalin
Pariah cleared the alleyway but there was no sign of the metahuman. "Think, this is the first alleyway. A unskilled runner would have been to the first safe haven. She's been doing this for a while so I doubt she'll just be in the next few alleys. She's hiding in plain sight". Pariah ran back to her car and looked out onto the street. "Subtle shadows subtle shadows", she repeated those words over and over in her head to remind her to think of a less obvious place to hide. It was in this moment that Pariah had a realization. Her target had an understanding of DMA search tactics, this was more than just a lone meta, her target had training. Training by either the MRF, Conclave, or her own life experiences. If either of the first two choices were the case then she'd be a valuable asset for finding more of her kind.

"If John was here it'd be much easier", she thought as she further examined the street. That's when it hit her, the cars. So many, way more than alleyways, if Pariah searched one it would be enough time for her quarry to escape. She pulled out her radio and contacted the officer from the crime scene. "Have your men search the cars along W35th. The suspect is in one of them". Without delay every officer that was involved in the investigation moved to W35th and began shining their flashlights into the cars. Pariah did the same, the first few cars she searched were empty but there was one that she came across that caught her by surprise. Pariah barely noticed the face as she waved the flashlight through the car. She froze as she was about to walk away as she knew any sudden movements would alert the girl inside. Pariah carefully pulled her sidearm out from its holster before in one swift motion aiming it at the car window.

"Get out of the car! NOW!", Pariah took a step back for the car door to open. She radioed the officer to bring his men over to her position but most of the officers nearby heard her yell and were already moving in. Pariah's previous objective went from kill to capture, this meta could prove useful if she played her cards right.

Finn Lockhart
@Inertia@TheDarkTemplar@PhoebeCarlisle@Liocalset@Ace of flames01
Finn was still comforting the new girl, along with Seth and Cole when Lacie came out with the news. "G-guys...the DMA got Jessica," she said. And just like that, Finn's world froze. He could hear movement but it all seemed so slow. His ears were ringing. He was starting to sweat. They got her. They got Jessica. She thought she was safe. That she wasn't a target Finn thought. He was staring into space, having completely forgotten about his surroundings. Suddenly he was back, and extremely pissed off. "If Mallory had anything to do with taking Jessica then I'm coming with you guys. I don't care what you say about it I'm coming with. If we're lucky they'll be at the same site," Finn said, his voice cold and emotionless. He was holding it in. All the rage. He was suppressing it for when he could use it to his advantage. If they hurt her I'll kill them

Jessica Thompson
@TheDarkTemplar
Jessica cocked her head at the woman who had seemed to take such an interest in her. Her eyes were wide with surprise. "I'm sorry, did you just suggest that I am inferior? Because I swear to god you better hope that's not what you said because eventually I will get out of here and you won't think I'm very inferior then!" Jessica shouted, rocking her chair. "Now go be useful or something and find that chick who knocked me around! At least she did something right," Jessica yelled. By now, Cia has probably gotten word to Finn. Hopefully Finn has gotten word to Cole or Seth or someone who can get backup. I'll be out of here in no time. "Hey! Lady Who Called Me Inferior! Would you mind grabbing me a drink? Lemonade? Oh oh and maybe some crackers? Do you guys have Goldfish?" Jessica said, smirking. It was all a big front though. She could intimidate a normal. That was easy. But once her captor came back, she didn't know if she could keep up this charade.

Tag: @smarty0114@TheDarkTemplar@Inertia

Ace finally got ahold of herself only to be surrounded by chaos over the a girl named Jessica. "This Jessica girl must be very important to these people...." She thought to herself. Ace took the lighter in her pocket and flicked the lighter switch a few times then a few sparks flickered before the light eventually lit. Ace stared at the small flickering flame for a moment, using her gift she made the flame grow taller and shorter before finally smothering the flame completely. Ace sighed then stood up and looked at group of teens surrounding her.

"Ok..... Where is this Jessica person being held? I wanna help but first i'm gonna need a new lighter or a source of fire, otherwise I won't last long." Ace replied. She paused before continuing.

"Look, my gift is fire manipulation. I may not be the best at staying in control and you have no reason to trust me but I am willing to help you guys out in any way I can. I mean... This Jessica is really important to you guys right? And if you plan on getting her out; you're gonna need all the help you can get. This will be my way of expressing my gratitude for receiving sanctuary here." Determination shown in Ace's eyes; it was clear that she had made up her mind and nobody could make her think otherwise.

Before Car-Tali could respond to Finn he walked over to the girl to comfort her. Overhearing the girl he also felt the same, the feeling of helplessness and resentment. Car-tali recalled the gifted that he saw throat get slit and the massacre that was before him just yesterday. Then he heard Seth say “It’s alright, none of it is your fault. The Damned DMA are at fault."

Car-tali felt sadness creep up within him as he understood that humanity and gifted have been at odds with each other for a long time. The DMA are shortsighted but they also are blinded by fear of what they don’t understand and the gifted have no one to trust but themselves. Hopefully the gifted can change the world’s mind or incidents like the rally are going to happen everywhere.

Car-tali was compelled to try and comfort the sobbing girl but Cole gave him a stare as if to say don’t even think about it. Truth be told Car-tali had little experience calming people down. The only time he had to was when Car-tali witnessed an 12 year old who was crying over her brothers body. The kid had been killed because he was a gifted and the DMA didn’t need to bother with the paper work involved with bringing in a child who was not a gifted. So they just left her there. When the clean-up crew arrived she had struggled with them to not take her brother away. When Car-tali arrived he choked out the crew with smoke and questioned the little girl. She told him what happened and he could tell that she desperately wanted her brother back. Car-Tali told her that he will find who did this but she is going to have to come with him. the girl wanted to stay with her brother so Car-tali stole the DMA cleaning crew truck and took the body with them. On the way he questioned her. "What is your name". "Samantha". "Where are your parents Samantha." "Gone" Car-tali looked at the girl and felt pity. this should never happen to anyone,he thought. Car-tali arrived at a nearby conclave base. Car-tali explained the Samantha's plight and they accepted her with open arms and took her brothers body. Samantha asked Car-tali where was he going. he told her he was going to find the people who did this and that he would be back. Car-tali could never found the soldier, but he did return. Each week he would visit her and learn more about her life.
A few months ago her eyes turned red and green. She was still safe with the conclave but Car-Tali felt as though she will be hunted for the rest of her life if he didn't do something.

Car-tali was brought back to reality when Cole mentioned haven.

Car-Tali spoke out loud.” Your friend is in danger and this is the way I can prove myself. Besides you seem under equipped right now and we get to see each other in action before getting to Mallory. You don't have to trust me but trust in my ability to do what is right. Also I have been meaning to ask who are the rest of you. I know Cole but it be nice to know who is watching my back."

John had moved to lay on a sofa, holding the bag of ice to his head. He let out a sigh as he stared up at the ceiling and cursed Pariah within his mind. He wondered what might have happened if Pariah didn't show up...after all, it was because of her fight with Jessica that he was now placed in a difficult position. As much as he hated working for the D.M.A., they had lots of people with guns. Letting out another sigh, he figured that whether or not he lived through this...he was probably about to do the right thing.

But suddenly he noticed a young girl standing in the doorway to the kitchen, who was just staring at him as the other children went on with their day. "Uhh...hello there...do you want something?" John asked, sitting up somewhat.

"...You're one of the bad men..." Stated the young girl as she continued to stand and stare from the doorway.

"Yeah...I suppose I am, aren't I?" John said and chuckled somewhat sarcastically. "But, then...why are you talking to me? Does me being a hunter not scare you?"

"...Why do you work for them?..." The girl said and moved to stand closer, but the rather blank expression on her face didn't change. "...You don't have to be bad..."

John looked down at his free hand, eyeing the cloth that was wrapped around it. "I work for them because they threaten me...threaten to kill me if I don't work for them...before now, I had wanted to defy them...but I knew it would end with my death..." He spoke softly, clutching his free hand into a fist. "But now I don't think I have a choice..."

"...You want to help Miss Cia get her friend back?..."

"Yes...yes, I do. She really frightened me a moment ago...made me realize that I might just die no matter what choice I make...but, if that's the case; why not die doing the right thing?"

"...Do you like Miss Cia?..." The girl asked bluntly, cocking her head slightly.

"W-What?! Why are you asking me something like that? I mean...she's nice and all...but she could've killed me back there!" John responded in a surprised and somewhat annoyed tone, wincing as he accidentally messed with the bump on his head in a wrong way. "Ouch...uh, look...I need to rest to regain the use of my gift as fast as I can to help Miss Cia find her friend...okay?"

"...Okay..." The girl said simply, walking away and out of sight.

"Well that was weird...but...oddly kind of relaxing. I wonder who she is..." John said as he laid back down to continue his rest, moving the ice bag around every so often.

I should have just let that guy rob me.

Judging by the sound of the frantically approaching footsteps, I was surrounded. And, here, in the middle of a sunny road, I really had no chance of defending myself. That meant I had a maximum of two choices: die or surrender.

If they didn't outright kill me, what would they do? Enslave me? The thought was intolerable. But I didn't want to die, not yet, not before I had even experienced a life of true, complete freedom. I had to take my chances. Occasionally, Gifted were rescued from DMA captivity, weren't they?

So, on the verge of tears, I pulled myself to my feet, weakened by the sun's oppression, and opened the door of the car. Officers were everywhere, and a scary looking woman was pointing her gun right at me. A Warden?

The gun was still in my pocket... the thought of grabbing for it in an attempt to kill the woman was incredibly tempting. But I wasn't stupid enough to try that out in the sun. So instead, I just held up my hands as if this were a movie, feeling foolish and pathetic. The bluffs I had been considering up until this point seemed childish in light of the sheer numbers of my foes.

I felt weak, even more so than was usual in the sun. I leaned against the car for support, waiting to see whether I would be allowed to keep living.

Cia decided it would be smarter to allow John to rest a bit. Cia knew she was a bit scary, but only a few of the children had ever seen that side of her. And for the most part she had kept her past as a two faced killer under wraps. After about an hour of rest Cia headed over to John. "Alright we need to get going, we're taking the bus." Cia said, she had her bus pass attached to her hip. She had a child bring John a new ice bag as she did this.

Cia hadn't heard the conversation between the child and John earlier as she was busying herself with calming the others down at the time. "I'll leave you guys in the care of Ms. Ramsbottom take care!" Cia said as at this point an older looking woman walked in. She was human and she normally took care of the orphanage whenever Cia was away.

Cia got on the bus, after a short ride she made it to Lucies bar, John had followed her. The whole way.

Cia then later barged into the bar with a big smile on her face. "Hey there Gloomy looking people! I brought my new friend to help!" Cia said with a huge smile on her face. She knew the situation seemed a bit dire, but she could atleast try to make people smile a little, after all smiles were contagious. Though after meeting her uglier side most would find it rather creepy.

It was a lie, a big fat lie and she was the only one that knew for sure that it was. Who ever sent that telepathic message was telling a lie, it was no peaceful rally. Something sinister was going to take place and she wanted to stay as far away as she could from that point in the city.

But her curiosity got the best of her, she wanted to see what was going to happen. She climbed to the roof of one of the apartment buildings, taking out a pair of binoculars she spied on the rally. Things were quiet at first, but then the National Guard and DMA rolled in.

Trazi knew that it was only a matter of time as the rally was just a powder keg ready to blow. Sure enough shots rang out, she wasn't sure who started it but it was enough to make people desperate to get away. A part of her felt glad that Gifted were being taken out, but at the same time she was greatly saddened as those were people like her who only wished to live. She knew that mass murder wasn't something to be glad about, but the only gifted she knew either killed her friends or raped. And now she was one of them, it was a cruel hand life was dealing.

She often if she should just give herself to the government or the DMA, as at least she could put away the dangerous Gifted. But she always felt nervous when she got close to a DMA building as she knew that they sold the prettiest Gifted with harmless gifts and killed those that weren't pretty or had harmful gifts but didn't comply to the system. She never really knew where she would go. Instead she just wondered around not exactly hiding and not exactly wanting to be caught.

Leaving the apartment buildings roof,Trazi walked around aimlessly with occasionally "feeling" an other Gifted near by. This usually made her move in the opposite direction, as she didn't want to be too close to another Gifted. She walked down the streets with no sunglasses or hood, her silver and light blue eyes nearly looked the same. So unless someone was really looking at her they wouldn't have known that she was Gift. She was basically hiding in the open and it was working so far for her.

It was growing later in the day and Trazi ' s stomach rumbled. "Guess it's time for some food." She whispered to herself as she began to look for a place to get some cheap chow. She didn't exactly have enough money to last the week. She came to Pub that looked like a good place to get cheap food. But she stopped short at the door, she could feel many Gifted inside. If there was so many in one place it made it a bigger target for a raid and she wanted no part in that. She knew some would freak out and try to kill to get passed DMA troops, it would be a blood bath. Plus she didn't really like other Gifted, as they were always complaining about something.

Backing away Trazi left the Pub alone and tried to get as far away from the place as possible. But wouldn't she just get the shitty end of the stick, as her wandering lead her onto W35th.

She always had beyond rotten luck.

@TheDarkTemplar

@Cuccoruler@ArkmageddonCat@Liocalset@Ace of flames01@smarty0114@Inertia@my Lalia

Cole could tell Finn cared for Jessica, there was a look in Finn's eyes that Cole knew all too well. From the looks of it there was no talking him out of coming. "Looks like I don't have a choice", he thought to himself as we went over the plan in his head. Cole turned to Finn and put a hand on his shoulder, "If you're coming then you need to understand me right now. This is not running from a couple of DMA agents in the streets. This is us attacking a black site. They are all armed, high trained, gifted killers and we are in their territory. When I give you an order you need to follow it. You cannot let your emotions get the better of you and above all, do not run off alone. They will not hesitate to kill you, there is no mercy where we're going, understand?". Cole let Finn think it over as he turned to deal with Car-tali. The man volunteered to come and help but that just made him more suspicious. Car-tali was right however, now was as good of a chance for him to prove himself and if it turned out that he was still with the DMA then at least Cole would have the pleasure of taking him out along with as many other DMA agents as possible. "You can come but if I think for a second that you're going to betray us. You're dead".

The sudden entrance of Cia and John caused Cole to spin on his heel towards the door. The second he saw John all the blood in Cole's blackened veins began to boil. Instead of going to meet them he stayed where he was for fear of losing himself and ending the DMA agent's life. Cole nodded after hearing Cia confirm that this man was DMA. He approached slowly with a look of hate in his eyes as he spoke, "You know how to get us in?".

---

The first thing Pariah did was search Eva for the gun. Once she found it Pariah passed it to and officer who approached, "I need your handcuffs" she to the sane officer but received a confused look from him. "You ain't gunna put her down? I thought that's what you DMA types do?"

"Not this one, I need her alive", she said with her gun still aimed at Eva's head. With her free hand she grabbed the officer's handcuffs and put them on Eva. Pariah spun her around and let her rest against the car. The girl looked weak but Pariah was unsure as of why. It didn't matter at the moment as she walked the girl over to her car. "I'll cut you deal, you tell me what I want to know and I'll let you live", that was she said before she threw Eva into the backseat of the SUV. "Noore, I got 'em. Prep the-Noore? NOORE!", Pariah cut off her comm link to the blacksite but before she drove off Pariah noticed something. A woman stood at the end of 35th. Normally Pariah would have waved it off as the judgemental stares of the public but something was different about the woman. Pariah turned back to the captured Eva, "Try anything and the cops outside put you down".

Pariah exited her car once more with her sidearm and rifle. If this was a meta then she'd be more than ready to take her down. "Bagged two today, let's go for a third", she thought to herself with a smirk as she approached. "Hey you! Don't move, stay where you are!", Pariah at this point had her rifle aimed at the woman. From this distance she didn't see a difference in eye color but she couldn't be sure until she got a closer look.

---

Noore was surprised by Jessica's response to her earlier statement as she took a few steps back away from the metahuman. "Jeez, harsh much?", the irony in that statement hit Noore hard as soon as she realized what she had said before. It was a mistake to take the bag off as Noore needed Pariah now more than ever. "Ok Noore be strong. You are holding her captive. You are the boss", after the mental pep talk Noore put on her best serious face and said, "You're not in the position to make demands. You speak when I give you permission to do so, understand?!". "Perfect execution. I should've been an actor", Noore sat down in the chair Pariah had set up across from Jessica and maintained her stern gaze at Jessica.