[hr][h1][i][color=dodgerblue]Lihua Vuhong[/color], [b]Henry olin[/b], [color=lawngreen]Sonya Mayfield[/color], [color=Maroon]Mark Emerson[/color], & The Agents of NEST.[/i][/h1][hr]


Mark gave a wordless nod to Lihua, and hiked the duffel bag over his shoulder. He spread his wings and took flight, flapping quickly to raise himself further into  the air. "Sheeyoushoon." He said. The mask always made his voice muffled, like Darth Vader or Bane. He sometimes wondered if it was intentionally designed that way.

He landed on the rooftop of the abandoned casino the Changelings frequently used as a hideout, placing the bag by the edge of the roof. He quickly removed one of the packages, placing it in the center of the roof, subconsciously hoping to make the distance between himself and the C4 as great as possible.

He hoped that the building was old enough that the initial blast would cause the ceiling to cave in, and Mark would avoid having to hear about escaped Changelings later on. He feared retribution from the group, and knowing he might be able to eliminate most of them at once was something of a relief.

Mark heard a noise nearby, and looked over the ledge carefully. Though it was probably only the wind, Mark was a cautious enough man that he radioed Lihua.

"I heard something near me. Can you scan the area for a metahuman?"

[hr]

Lihua shook her head. [i]There shouldn't be anyone out here except for your Changeling buddies.[/i] She thought to herself. As she quickly turned to Helena and nodded, and the fellow Agent kept watch, while she reached down, and grabbed her Metahuman Radar. These stupid little things barely had the hardware to pinpoint, but give people some damn good direction. She started pressing buttons, and began scanning the area. So far... it detected no other Metahumans around Mark. There were no more in the area than there were NEST Agents. Henry, who was prone next to Sonya and wearing a stupid looking army hat for whatever reason, gave her the thumbs up. He then returned his attention to the marking binoculars- so Sonya would have targets if need be.

"The Area is clear. It's probably just a rat." Lihua radioed. "Just move onto the mission."

"Probably just [i]me[/i]. Got it." Mark joked. Lihua didn't laugh. Henry did. Mark might've been a snitch, but at least he wasn't pretending to be anything else.

"Hey, hey Lihua, Mark..." Henry suddenly said. "What's a rat's favorite game?"

"What."

"...Hide and squeak!"

"Dragonfly..." Lihua groaned. "Not only did you announce my name to whoever the hell could be listening in, and... Ugh." Lihua didn't even have the energy to chide these morons.

"Radio silence unless you have something to report, Dragonfly." Max noted. Realizing that he shouldn't have to note that.

[hr]

Mark walked through the back doors of the casino. He stepped onto the showroom floor, and looked around. All the Changelings were simply hanging around, playing poker. Waiting for their next job. They took one look at him, and continued. To which Mark let out a sigh of relief. The first objective was to get Maria off of him, she felt uncomfortable. Mark walked into one of the closets, and nodded his head.

"Coast is clear." He signaled Maria.

[i]It's showtime.[/i] Maria thought to herself as she slid out of Mark's suit. Not even leaving a mark as she quickly covered his body, before forming a puddle on the floor. She quickly gathered herself together, and quickly formed her body. A tall, humanoid, made out of black ink, which showed her internal organs on full display. The last thing to form was the large tentacles on her head. She would go into one of her disguises, but that was just a courtesy. Not to freak everyone out.

Mark shivered for a second as he felt Maria leave the suit, taking his attention away from Henry's terrible joke. It was somehow less pleasant to feel her leave the suit than enter it. It was like a jellyfish sliding off of his skin, only ten times worse.

Maria reached into the bag, and grabbed some of the C4s. She stood up and faced Mark, looking down at him. It felt odd working with the "enemy" like this, but if he really wants to get the babies back.

Mark looked around. He rarely went to the Changeling hide out, and so he was unfamiliar with the peeling walls and moldy carpeting. There were crumbling columns all around them, and a few scant reminders of the building's former glory. There were slot machines, roulette wheels, poker tables, and other things one would find in a casino.

Poker chips littered the floor, and the entire building stunk of cigarettes, alchohol, and rotting meat. It was [i]death[/i]. Though Mark had never killed anybody, he had been around enough bodies to know what death smelled like. The casino reeked of it.

Maria wordlessly melted back into black ink, and traveled along the ground, out of sight. With her share of the bombs of course.

Mark flew through the casino silently, only occasionally making noise if his flapping disturbed the poker chips that were scattered across the floor. Occasionally, out of his peripheral vision, he would see one of his former coworkers in a corner, either eating or checking a phone. Occasionally he would nod to them and give them a grunt, and they would be completely uninterested in him.

By the time he was half-finished with his bag, he was on the second floor, which originally housed a bar and restaurant 

"Blackbird."

Mark spun around, trying to conceal the duffel bag with his massive wings. He was hoping it was Smoke, or Satyr, or even [i]Wasp[/i]. As he had informed NEST, many of his comrades in The Changeling Unit weren't that dangerous.

Wild Fang was.

Even if he hadn't been a metahuman, he still would've been a beast of a man. He was tall. [I]Unnecessarily tall[/i], at nine feet. Though he was covered entirely in fur, it wasn't hard to see the huge packs of muscle under his skin as he walked. He was buil

He smiled at Mark, which he figured was only to show him his gleaming white teeth.

"You smell..." Wild Fang sniffed the air as if he were tasting a fine wine, "...Different."

Mark had no witty comeback for him. He knew what Wild Fang was smelling, and it was the C4 in the bag. He suspected Wild Fang knew it too.

Henry's coms came in. Wild Fang wouldn't hear them, good as his hearing may be. The sound wouldn't travel out of Mark's ear canal. Which would be... very helpful. Henry, having a sense of smell not unlike Wild Fang's, knew just how to counteract it. Also very helpful.

"Mark, he's probably smelling us or the C4. Just say you had guests and one of them smoked in the house. Cigarettes have tar in them."

"Your nose never fails, Fang. I had a few guests over earlier. Maybe it was their cigarettes you're smelling?" He suggested, leaning back on his wings, keeping himself between Wild Fang and the bag.

"Maybe." Wild Fang said. "Maybe not." Wild Fang said, eyeing the green duffel bag. He knew it was something nefarious, though he didn't know exactly what.

"What's in the bag, Birdman?" Wild Fang wasted no time in asking him -- Unsurprisingly, a lifetime mostly spent in the wilderness equipped him with few social skills.

"Promise to keep it a secret from the others?" Mark asked, zipping the bag shut and throwing it over his shoulder. Wild Fang nodded eagerly. If there was one thing he loved as much as killing, it was lying to people.

"One of the houses I've visited had a little growing operation in the backyard. I decided to take a little cut, and make a few extra bucks."

Wild Fang laughed a stupid laugh. "Nice." He turned around, chuckling to himself, satisfied with Mark's reply. 

"Oh I cannot wait to punch a muttin the face. Did you hear that laugh? Damn this is gonna be fun."

When Wild Fang had left, Mark replied on his intercom, mocking his unwitting former coworker. "Haw, haw, hawww."

"I planted all of my bombs." Maria spoke into the comms, as she placed the last C4 in between slot machines, then armed it. "I am pulling out the building now." She said, as she turned into a puddle of ink, changing color alongwith the floor as a camouflage. She slid out the broken window.

All while Mark was finishing up his part of planting the explosives. He planted the last bomb in the kitchen, he armed the C4. "Time to bounce." Mark said to himself, climbing out a window and into the air. Though a part of him wanted to stay around to watch the show, 

"Seeds are planted." Mark said into his microphone as if they had been using a code.

"You did awesome Mark. Thanks for the help. You saved a lot of kids today." Henry said over the microphone. Henry took a breath for a moment, as if he was steeling himself (or holding back a joyous laugh). Then he continued. "Just get yourself to a safe place. We dont want them figuring you pulled this shit. Haul ass bro. We'll take it from here."

It honestly didn't matter to Lihua long as they got her daughter back. In her hand was the trigger, the Deadman Switch. If she pushes this button, then lets go, the entire building will go up in flames. [i]Killing Lijuan.[/i] Lihua thought to herself. She put her finger to the comm piece, then said, "Hurry up. [i]Hate[/i] for you to get caught in the blast." If there was a way, Lihua would throw Mark into it. Two birds with one stone. But, no. She has to [i]honor[/i] their agreement. Another time, then.

Mark heeded Henry's warning, and took off with a great speed, flapping his wings faster and faster into the clouds. For a moment, he was a black speck in the navy blue sky, and then, he was gone. Mark was no coward, but he [i]was[/i] cautious and aware of his own limitations. Mark was by no means an adept fighter. His skills were avoiding and evading, and he had few attacks that would defend him for long. Even though NEST had never removed the gadges and weapons from his suit, he knew it would be much safer to leave than watch the show. After all, his debt to society had been paid, just like that.

"Have the bombs been placed?" Maximilian asked, putting his fingers on his comm piece. 

"It would appear so." Lihua said. "Are the Agents in position?"

"Role call. Are all Agents in position?"  Max asked.

"Yup." Sonya said, as she peered into the Changeling hideout through the scopes of her rifle. A powerful piece of hardware she has here. She kept her sights on the windows, keeping tabs on each of the Changelings.

"Ready when you are, Boss Man." Leon said, as he was on the roof. With a sniper rifle as well. He was viewing the interior of the casino to spot.

"The Super-Sonic in position." Helena said, as she checked her rifle, a M16, and saw that it was still in tiptop condition. All she had to do was fly around, and be a distraction while the boys made their shots. Helena was never a gun person, she preferred [i]knives[/i].

"Inkshade nearby." Maria said, poking her head out of a nearby dumpster not too far away. Nearly invisible in this light.

"The Concrete Dragon is in position." Lihua said last, letting out a sigh. She had to get amped. Pumped for this. This was the battle to get her child out of the clutches of evil. "Shall I get their attention?"

"I was born ready. On your call!" Henry commented, cracking his knuckles..

"Go ahead." Maximilian said, pulling out his Beretta.

Lihua nodded her head. She took a few steps ahead, and faced the nearby building. A former apartment. She didn't need to knock it down, but it needed to make some [i]noise[/i]. She pointed her arms at it, palms open. Putting her leg far back - the second her boot hit the ground, it created a long bang. She snapped her hands closed, and pulled back her arms, almost as if she was pulling something. Large cracks formed in the side of the building, and the side of the building quickly crumbled. Lihua quickly ran out of sight, back into position.

"... Hey, what the hell happened out here!?" Smoke, with his silvery white hair, walked out of the Casino, with Acid-Scar behind him, producing a glowing pink acid, that surrounded his arms. Pretender and Satyr were waiting right by the door.

[i]Perfect.[/i] Lihua thought to herself, as she narrowed her eyes.

"[i]Freeze![/i]" Maximilian shouted, as the Agents came out of cover. Quickly aiming all of their weapons at them, and in Henry's case claws raised. They formed a line in front of the casino, as the few Changelings that came out had thrown their hands in the air.

The rest of the Changelings were gathering at the windows, prepping their powers. Like they were ready for a fight.

"Hold up!" Lihua shouted, as she aimed her glock at them. Taking slow steps forward. "We have the entire building wired to explode! Try anything, and your entire group goes up in flames!."

"Huh? You're bluffing, NESTie...." Acid Scar said, as she produced more of the acid.

"Let me ask you a question..." Lihua put up her fingers. "You're in the one part of the city that nobody cares about, that is, far as we can tell, devoid of any civilians... [i]Can you afford to take that chance?[/i]" Lihua asked.

Sonya quickly walked up to the edge of the building. With her .50 cal aimed at the people inside the building. She knew that the Agents would make short work of the Changelings in front of the building. [i]Gooood luck, lads.[/i]

"F-F-F-Fuck this, M-Man." Satyr stuttered, sprinting back into the building on long goat legs.

"Argh, where's Heartbreaker!?" Acid Scar shouted. The acid he created had disappeared, absorbed back into his body. "The hell do you want, broad? Our surrender?"

"On the contrary, I want every infant you have released, unharmed. [i]Immediately.[/i]" Lihua said. Raising the Deadman Switch in the air to empathize her point. "And just so you know, this is a deadman switch. If your sniper kills me, [i]we all go in the explosion.[/i]"

Acid Scar groaned. He quickly turned around. He knew that they were going to get arrested. They might as well come out alive.

A few moments of silence passed in the casino, before a thunderous sprinting could be heard. Satyr's raised ears allowed him to hear the entire conversation as he ran, and he already held one baby in his arms, and was making his way for the door.

Ironsides lay on a pool table, sliding off with a catlike relaxation. He closed his eyes tightly with a crunch of his jaw, and opened them again to see Satyr making a run for the door, reaching out in a drug-induced daze after him. "Leroy, no!" By the time the name escaped his lips, the superhumanly quick young man was crashing through a half open window towards NEST, with a tightly swaddled infant in his hands.

"[i]T-T-TAKE YOUR FUCKIN' KI-KI-KIIID BACK, LADY.[/i]" The half-goat shouted, forcing the somehow still-sleeping baby into her arms. His head snapped sideways with a reflexive speed faster than the human eye, and he took off with a leap, his hooves echoing in the silent ghost town.

Lihua put her glock back into her holster slowly. She knew that she was in perfect control of the situation. When Satyr handed her back Lijuan, a smile etched it's way across her lips, before she took her infant into her arm. A smile of relief. She stared at Lijuan for a few moments. She was perfectly safe. Not a scratch on her. Lihua brought the child closer to her, and kissed the baby's forehead. After the kiss broke contact, her attention went back to the Changeling Unit.

"Where's the rest of them?" Lihua asked the rest of the Changelings. "Bring them out now."

Acid-Scar growled, as he took a few steps back. His head shot over his shoulder, and he loudly shouted, "[i]What are you waiting for!? Get the rest of them![/i]"

Ironsides arrived at the door, already encased in metal, with his fists up. He surveyed the scene for a moment, looking between the agent holding her daughter and his comrade's defeated expression.

"Who squealed?" He barked through gritting steely teeth. Acid-Scar shrugged. Smoke had been silent until that point, and could bear it no more.

"I'll bet a little [i]birdie[/i] told them." Smoke hissed. "Mark is radio silent for days at a time. Woods reception [i]my ass[/i]."

"Well, that's not really what happened, but-" Henry began, but Lihua had the floor this time around. He wasn't gonna dick her out of her 'I-got-my-baby-back' speech.

"Does it matter who outed you?" Lihua asked Ironsides. "It's over. For all of you." [i]Literally.[/i]

One by one, the Changelings handed over the tightly-wrapped children to NEST. They had been taken surprisingly well taken care of -- They were organized by gender with blue or pink blankets, and had remained silent in their sleep. Later on, the agents would find that they were unreceptive too food as they had been well fed as well.

"Is that all?" Maximilian asked, as he held a baby in his arms. He quickly deployed Echo, who's glowing visage stood above Max, with his arms crossed..

Henry did a quick headcount.

"We have five children in our possesion. About the number Eli predicted. Just about all of the Amber alert cases." Henry answered. His eyes were watching around them though. Especially Wild Fang's, who seemed to want at Lihua's throat about as much as Henry wanted at his.

"Look, that's all of them. We don't have anymore, we promise." Acid Scar said, as he put his hands up.

"That true Leon?"

Leon was kneeling on another building, aiming his own rifle at Acid Scar. He quickly peaked into Acid-Scar's head. He saw all sorts of emotion - fear, being the primary emotion. "Yeah, he's telling the truth." Leon said into the comms. "He's just about ready to piss himself, heh."

Max nodded his head.

"Good." Lihua said. She quickly dropped her arm to her sides as she turned around, and started walking over to the line of armed NEST Agents. Maria Mayfield quickly snapped into her true form, and walked up to Lihua. The mother handed Maria her child with uttermost confidence, and the Inky woman carried off Lijuan along with the other faceless NEST Agents. Before she turned around, and faced the group.

"... [i]Kill them all.[/i]" The words came out of her mouth with cold fury.