---

---

Lihua barely waited for the car door to open before she threw the doors open, and stepped out of the Black NEST Patrol car. She immediately walked up the stairs, and pushed on through the doors.

Literally nothing else mattered to her at this moment. Not the busy, destroyed, lobby of the NEST base. She pushed on through the crowd of people, and slammed into a woman. Knocking her coffee into their chest. They let out a stream of obscenities, as Lihua just pushed on right by her like she didn't see her in the first place. She was so furious, so driven, that she was willing to tear this city down to find that man that took Lijuan. She'd burn every bridge between herself, and every damn Agent in this place, if she has to. Like hell that she cared. Lihua made it to the elevator, and pressed the down button. She looked down, and saw that the .

"Cào!" Lihua shouted as she slammed her fist on the side of the elevator. She was standing in front of the elevator, patiently tapping her fingers on the side of the elevator, as she was wondering what the hell.

"Hey, what is your problem?" Lihua heard the voice coming from behind. She simply ignored her, and looked up at the elevator counter. The woman walked up, and quickly grabbed Lihua by the arm, and pulled her around. Making her take a good look at her. Yes... she remembered her. Helena Page, the Super Sonic. A blonde-haired new recruit that was picked up because she was arrested, and NEST seems to be turning every Metahuman delinquent into an Agent. Apparently the coffee she spilled on her had stained the front of her black suit (Similar to something Lihua would be wearing).

"I'm talking to you." Helena said, looking Lihua right in the eyes. "You run in here, and knock over my coffee all over me, without so much of a "I'm sorry"... That's bullshit right there." She said, rolling her eyes.

"... Take your hand off me." Was all Lihua said in response. She looked up, and saw that the elevator was almost here.

"What's got you so antsy?"

"None of your business." Lihua quickly replied. "You just let go of me, and walk off."

"Or what? I should report you for doing that." Helena tightened her grip.

That was when Lihua turned her whole body around, and stood straight up at this bitch. Getting ready to break that fucking hand of hers right off. "Or you're going to be..." Before Lihua could deliver her threat, she was interrupted.

Someone else walked up, and touched her again. Except, he put a hand on her shoulder. It nearly made her shudder, and claw his eyes out in a blind rage. "Hey now..." The man said. Tall, and lazy looking. He had a unlit cigarette in his mouth that he was turning around. Agent Leon Vahan. The All-Seer. "Agent Vuhong... I know that you're distressed and all... but attacking another Agent sure as hell ain't a reason to go about it."

Lihua let out a sigh, and closed her eyes. Her pride told her to tell him to take his hands off him, but she swallowed it, just for Lijuan's sake.

"And you're forgetting about all the Agents here that could help you." Leon said. "Agent Page, wouldn't you mind helping Ms. Vuhong here with her little baby problem?"

"Have you been looking into my mind?" Lihua raised an eyebrow and faced Leon.

"A little." Leon shrugged. "Look, doesn't matter. I think I can definitely lend a hand."

Lihua let out a groan, before she and Helena looked eye-to-eye. Helena let go of her, and Lihua said, "I'm... sorry for doing that, Agent Page. I'm just.... Those bastards took my baby." She explained, "And I need to get to I&I before they do whatever unspeakable things to her." The elevator doors opened, and Lihua looked back.

"I understand." Helena said. "Let me help you."

"I'm one for lending a hand, too." Leon raised a hand in the air.

"Alright, let's go." Lihua sighed. She walked onto the elevator, and was immediately joined by her two new allies. The elevator ascended, and it was a quiet elevator ride. When it opened, they marched out, lead by Lihua. She immediately stepped into the I&I section, which was rows and rows of cubicles.

"Listen up, I need every winged Metahuman in Verthaven questioned soon as possible. A Changeling kidnapped my daughter, and I want to know everyone who came in and out of the Central Valley area." Lihua announced as she stepped in.

The Intelligence Officers went to work almost immediately.

"I can mind probe any of 'em you find." Leon said.

Click, Click, Click, Click

"That's good. Ben move your arm up slightly...perfect. Now hold it there."

Click, Click, Click, Click, Click, click, Click

"And we're done for the day. Thanks everyone." Cora straightened from her crouched position absently rubbing the small of her back that was beginning to ache.

Her thoughts were already on the shots she had gotten today and whether they were good enough for the client. She thought she had gotten some good ones but until she sat down and analysed them on her computer she wouldn't know for sure. She busied herself with packing up her gear, various camera's and tripods etc, giving the others time to get their own things together. Once everything was packed away to her satisfaction she straightened and approached Ben and his wife Layla. She stopped a short distance away and smiled at the two of them, Layla held their newborn baby in her arms and it was currently asleep for which Cora was extremely grateful. The infants screaming had almost driven her to the edge and several times they had had to stop. Though used to working with children this one had been particularly trying and Cora would not be sorry to have finished dealing with it.

"This was the last one today." She told them. "I should have enough now for the album."

Layla smiled in relief, no doubt she was as tired as Cora if not more so, and nodded. "Thank you Cora. I know it was challenging today but you were nothing but professional. I will definitely be recommending you to my friends and family."

"Mrs Kingston you haven't seen the pictures yet." Cora protested.

"I have no doubt they will be perfect. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get this young man back to the car. I think he has had enough of the great outdoors." She smiled fondly at the baby in her arms before pecking her husband on the cheek and walking away in the direction of the car park.

"I second my wife's thanks Cora. And I am sure the album will be great." He deliberately kept his distance and did not offer to shake her hand. Some might have seen that as rude but Cora preferred it that way. She disliked strangers being in her personal space and Ben respected that for which she was grateful.

"Thank you Mr Kingston. I'll be in touch once I'm finished." Cora said.

He nodded and then walked off after his wife, his longer strides meant he easily caught up with the smaller woman and Cora watched the two of them walk comfortably together to their car. She felt a pang watching them, she sometimes wondered if she would ever have that kind of normal, but shook it off with an impatient shrug. Feeling sorry for herself achieved nothing and she did not want to spoil a successful day with self pity. It was a beautiful day with the sun high in the sky, at the Kingston's request she had started early this morning and had managed to be done shortly after lunch. She figured she would have time to work on the album and then grab a coffee in town, she picked up her equipment bags and began the trek back to her cabin.

It was a fairly long walk but she didn't mind. She loved the woods and spent as much time as she could in them preferring the natural sounds and smells to that of the city. As she walked her senses automatically registered the various stimuli around her. Her sensitive hearing picked up the numerous small mammals scurrying away in the undergrowth, and the quiet tweeting of nesting birds that slept during the day. Her nose detected the smells of flowers pollinating bees, the remains of a kill made the day before, and the musky scent natural to many animals. Everything was as it should be and she relaxed, able to just be herself without constantly having to control her instincts and behavior. This was her natural habitat and she made the most of the time she spent there.

As she grew close to her cabin she realised that there were two animals stalking her, felines by their scent, and she shook her head in amusement. She continued on to her cabin as if she had no idea she was being followed. She stopped outside her front door, placed her bags on the floor beside her and waited. After a moment she spun on her heel and caught the large black ball of fur that had launched at her face, she laughed and hugged the cat close. The purring feline raised its head and rubbed its face against her hand and she obliged him by fussing him. After a moment a smaller grey streak appeared and began twining around her ankles. She allowed Mojo to drop to the floor and picked up her bags, she opened her front door and allowed the cats to go in ahead of her.

"Alright you two, lemme get in first." She grumbled.

It didn't take long before the two cats were happily wolfing down their food in the kitchen whilst Cora was ensconced in front of her computer a plate of food beside her. She worked for several hours only pausing to grab mouthfuls of food or to move one of the cats off of the keyboard, they eventually settled down with Mojo on her lap and Luna perched on the windowsill behind her. She absently stroked the cat in her lap as she examined the results of the mornings photo shoot. Finally after a couple of hours she switched off the computer and stretched loudly, arching upwards and enjoying the loosening of her muscles. Mojo complained loudly about being disturbed and she chuckled at his obvious disgruntled expression.

"Oh shush you big softie." She said before heading into her bedroom to change. Her jeans were covered in grass stains from where she had knelt numerous times to get a better angle. She changed into a long flowing skirt, loose top and got rid of the various bits of grass and twigs that had gotten into her hair, though how she had no idea. She grabbed her purse and keys, said goodbye to the cats both now curled up on her bed, and locked the door behind her. She had gotten into the habit of going for coffee after a photo shoot and today wasn't any different, she liked to sit outside and watch the people around her.

A short time later she entered the cafe in Union Point Hills, Haven was to her exactly what the name suggested, and she had been coming here regularly for some time now. She was on speaking terms with the staff but had not made the effort to become friends, not yet at least. She liked them well enough just found it difficult to interact with them. The night at the ball, talking with Henry, had been unusual for her. She wasn't incapable of talking to people it was just that her unpredictable nature made others unsure of her and she often misunderstood verbal and physical cues. It wasn't busy right then and so she was able to go straight to the counter where she ordered her favorite. A Caramel Latte with extra Caramel syrup and cream. She liked to indulge her sweet tooth now and then. She sat in her preferred seat outside and smiled when her coffee was brought to her.

"Thank you."

---

---

Written in collaboration with @Mr Allen J

After a few minutes to allow Jen to change her clothes, she was wearing something a bit more appropriate than a T-shirt, and shorts. She was wearing a T-shirt with an intricate elephant pattern, and torn jean shorts. She had on an artist berrett. She was walking down the street, pushing Alice's wheelchair (Which still felt weird). It's definitely something that she'll have to get used to. Not everyone had a super regenerative system like she did. Though, that wasn't what she was worried about. Jen was constantly looking around. Checking out every corner, and every window. Her attention was more on searching for possible threats than Alice.

Alice wasn't exactly enjoying being pushed down the street, it was another aspect of a changed life, at least if she rolled herself down the street she still had some sort of independence. That said, it seemed that maybe it was offering Jen some sort of comfort. Alice couldn't see her, but she could almost sense the nervous energy emanating from the girl behind her.

"Are you feeling ok?"

"Ummm...." Jen quickly scrambled for an answer. Quickly saying the first thing that came to mind, "Yeah. I'm... fine." She knew that was far from the truth. Her heart was racing, and she was constantly on the lookout. For anyone that might look like a member of the Hands of Science.

Problem was that they blend in just like anyone else. Every person that passed by her could want to hurt her.

Jen let out a sigh as they approached a corner. The light turned red, so they had to wait as the cars pushed on past them. She tried to calm herself, but she found it hard. It was like a nervous tic that forced her to scan the area and keep an eye out at all times.

"Columbiana-Heights is like, right down the street." Jen said. Hoping that Alice wouldn't want to go to a park or something.

I'm fine, two words that were rarely truthfully spoken, and in this case they probably weren't. Alice didn't pry any further though, she was hardly innocent of the same crime. They stopped at the junction, and Alice twisted a little to look back at Jen with a raised eyebrow.

"I was in hospital for two weeks, not two decades, last I checked there are no Metas who can rearrange city blocks. I know where it is."

"Oh yeah, um... sorry. I'm just..." She trailed off, letting that sentence hang loose. Jen scratched the back of her neck, and at the corner of her blue eyes, she saw that the light had turned green. She hoped that this would remove the awkwardness of the situation. You know it isn't going away until you get back into the house. She thought, as her hand went to the back of her neck. She started pushing her way through the street, and eventually, they stepped out of University Row, and stepped right into Columiana Heights.

Alice sighed, "it's fine, I'm just a bit... yeah."

They were immediately greeted with a scenic park that was right up against one of the many rivers. "So, we're here... what do you want to do? Just walk?" Jen asked Alice, looking down at her.

Alice bristled again at Jen's faux pas, "I dunno, I just wanted to hang out with someone, in real life, get out of the house, pretend that things are still the same!"

She took a breath, "don't you ever feel like that sometimes?"

Jen awkwardly coughed after Alice's little outburst. It felt like Jen was... pushing a sore spot. Irritating Alice with every word that she said. She wondered if she could do better by just keeping quiet. "Yeah..." Jen said, but she kept her mouth shut. There was more she had to say, but maybe she figured that she should keep it to herself. With that raging nervousness she's suffering by just being outside impairing her social ability.

A droplet of rain hitting her in the head made her shudder. She looked up, and saw that clouds were forming at astonishing rates. And rain was beginning to drop down.

"Huh?" Jen put her hand out. "There wasn't rain in the forecast..."

Alice looked up as well, the clouds were dark and intimidating, a far cry from the relatively clear skies that had heralded the day. She was momentarily distracted, both from her anger, and the fact that she had probably just upset one of the few friends she had left.

"That's..." she looked at Jen, "a Meta?"

"It... might be." Jen noted. "Only explaination. NEST is going to give him shit for this."

She tugged at her arm, "maybe we should get inside, before it gets heavier."

Yeah... It's best that they get inside. Maybe one of the cafes? Jen had a few dollars on her, enough to pay for a drink or two. "I know a place, come on...." Jen pushed forward, and crossed the bridge they were approaching. She wished she brought an umbrella.

Right when they reached the other side, a large splash came from the river as a creature, hidden behind a silhouette, leaped out. It latched it's claws onto the side of the building, as it's humanoid frame hung off the building. It was no bigger than a taller-than-average male, except, it had no head. It's torso was one big oval, that gave off a glowing green light that was it's sole eye. It had long, strong arms, like an ape, but short legs.

It spotted the girls, and used it's powerful arms to climb it's way onto the building. Where it followed from a distance.

Alice managed to contain her irritation as Jen continued to push her, they crossed the bridge relatively quickly, but there was a sound of something heavy landing in the water. She looked about, but saw nothing, only the fall of rain, movement that she automatically dismissed.

The rain was growing heavier already, enough to begin obscuring their vision, turning the people before them into mere blurred figures. Before long they were both drenched, and Alice's hair clung to her face in wet strands.

"I guess we were too slow. Where the f**k did that come from?"

"Where did what?" Jen asked, confused as to what Alice was looking at. Just to get an idea, she turned her head, and merely saw a glimpse of something quickly moving out of sight. It damn near sent Jen into a panic.

Her heart started racing as fear and adrenaline started coursing through her system. She immediately started pushing Alice a bit faster. "Yeah-yeah, we should go now..." She quickly said, trying to restrain herself from an all out sprint.

Alice gripped the arms of the wheelchair at the sudden increase in speed, maybe Jen didn't realise it, but it was obvious to Alice that something had unnerved her companion. She tried to look behind her, but at the speed they were moving there was almost no point.

"Jen it's just rain, we can't really get any wetter at this point."

Jen barely even paid attention to her. She was more focused on getting out of here than anything. She knew it was one of the Hands of Science's things. It had to be! Which is why she had to get far away from it as possible. Jen didn't even think about Alice for a minute there. All she thought that she was doing was hauling some weight.

She spotted a cafe's sign, which was the perfect place to hide. Jen quickly ran up to the door, and turned her back to it, and pushed her way inside. Before turning both of them around, and got full view of the rustic-looking cafe, with a full wooden frame that made it up. Tables, chairs, and a counter where people got their drinks.

The first thing that Jen did was turn around, and didn't see that thing. Maybe... it just went away. Yeah. She was safe now. She let out a sigh as she started taking steps forward. With her hair, and her clothes soaken wet.

"Are you okay?" Jen asked, legitimately concerned for her friend. "Um... nevermind. Want a drink?"

---

Just as Agent Vuhong ordered, Winged Metahumans from all over Verthaven were brought in for questioning. They couldn't get all of them in at once on such short notice, but they managed to get quite a few. Right now, the Agents were cycling through the suspects, and questioning them of where they were during the time of the kidnapping, and for Lihua to get a good look at them.

Lihua was standing behind the mirror of the questioning room, leaning up on a hand up against the wall. She was watching fervorously. The current suspect they were interviewing, was a short-girl with white angelic wings... Definitely wasn't the guy. She's too small to be him. Lihua let out a sigh, before she put her fingers on her earpiece, "She isn't the one. Too small. Let her go." Lihua said. At this rate, we'll never get Lijuan back. She thought to herself. She knew that the man that took her was most likely hiding by now. NEST Agents are also on hyper-vigilance mode, scanning the area for the man, or anyone else who was in the area.

The NEST Agent nodded his head, before telling the girl that she could go. She stretched her wings before she walked out the door.

"Heard what happened with your daughter." Maximilian said as he walked up, stopping right at Lihua's side. He didn't get a reaction from her. "I'm wondering if this is part of a bigger ploy..." He trailed off. "Because... who would kidnap a NEST Agent's daughter's - especially as high-ranking as yourself?" He asked.

"A fool." Lihua blankly replies. "They best realize I'm coming for her."

Max put his hand up. "Take it easy, Agent Vuhong." He warned her. "Don't get hasty. You'll play right into their hands."

Lihua loudly groaned. People think they're being helpful by telling her that. How can she? Monsters are out there, and clawing for her only two children. Only in this case, Lijuan doesn't even have the tools necessary to defend herself.

"I'll be fine, Cornell." Lihua said. "Just let me handle this."

"This is a NEST matter, you know?" Maximilian said. "The Changeling Unit are a national problem that has been plaguing Metahumans for decades now."

Lihua looked at him blankly.

"And what is one of NEST's goals?" Maximilian asked.

"... The safety of all Metahumans." Lihua groaned.

"Exactly." Maximilian said. "So, don't you think about doing this alone."

My responsibility, and mine alone. Lihua ran the thoughts through her head.

The next person was lead into the room, and Lihua's eyes immediately narrowed her eyes. That build.... those wings.... Lihua thought to herself. Her sharp eyes scanned him during their brief encounter. Just for a situation like this. She could just picture him in the armor. Her finger immediately went to her ear-piece,

"You can sit this one out." She said, "I'll handle this one."

---

Mark was nervous. He was an actor, and he played his part well, wore his mask well, but he was still nervous underneath it all. He had every right to be. He had rare hiccups at work in the past, as far as being shot at or pursued by car, but those were all nobodies. But last night's job wasn't some nobody.

Aside from worrying about maintaining his illusion of harmlessness, he also had to worry about the cyanide capsule tucked under his tongue. It scared him when he thought about it, and so, he tried not to. If worst came to worst, Mark was prepared to break it with a quick bite. It wasn't out of care for his coworkers or The Changeling Unit, but for his daughter. He would've preferred she be raised in foster care rather than risk her knowing his identity.

"Emerson, Mark." A stern looking man with a haircut and demeanor that only could've been supplied by the military opened a door at the end of the room, holding a clipboard. Mark stood up, sheepishly waving. He wore a pair of old grey jeans, brown work boots, a slightly oversized fisherman's sweater with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a banana sticker strategically placed on his forearm where it would be the most visible.

He had purposefully cut himself shaving that morning on his neck and chin, covering two spots with circular bandaids just barely too dark to match his skin. He wore a costume, and it was the same one he always wore when dealing with NEST. The idiot costume..

He had to be careful not to overplay it, though he had no problem with that. He was a careful man by nature, which was how he managed to keep his job for so long. Every minute detail of his appearance, down to his walk, was kept in mind. He appeared exactly as he wanted to appear -- A harmless, forest-squatting simpleton.

Alright Mark. Showtime. He thought to himself. Mark slumped his shoulders a bit, and unfocused his normally steely gaze.

"I forgot to go earlier. Can I go take a leak really quick?"

The military man looked at him with the dour austerity of a Cigar store Indian. "No."

Mark shrugged, and walked into the room with his hands in his pockets.

---

Normally, Lihua wouldn't be caught at work in such an... improper outfit. Yet, she had no choice. Situation called that she immediately head to the NEST Headquarters, and that's exactly what she did. Lihua stepped inside the room wearing the same outfit as before (A tank-top, grey sweatpants, and sandals. Of course she had her bra and underwear on). Her gun was tucked into her waistband. She slowly slid into the chair, and politely wrapped her hands on the table.

"Hello-" You worthless bastard. "Can you tell me your name?" Lihua was doing a great job in containing herself. She always has, and always will.

"Howdy! Mark Emerson." Mark said with a dopey smile. He was a charming man, but he couldn't be charming. To have charm would mean that he possessed at least a certain level of intellect, and to show that he was smart could mean suspicion. It was safer to be a yokel than charismatic for now.

Mark Emerson. She was wondering where Agent Vahan was. He could easily solve this problem. Lihua let out a sigh, and realized that she'll have to do this herself. "I'll have to ask where you were at 3:10 PM."

"3:10 yesterday?" Mark paused for a moment. "I was out in my garden with my little girl yesterday 'till about four, I'd say." He nodded to himself. Technically, that was what he was doing, and so it rolled off the tongue just a little bit more naturally.

"Anyone to corroborate your story?" Lihua asked.

Mark shrugged. "My little Marigold, but she's at school right now. Homeschool though, so it doesn't matter too much if she plays a little hookie." He said, leaning back into his chair. Though he was sweating bullets, he was maintaining his illusion expertly so far.

This bastard's just toying with her. He was sweating heavily, meaning he's worried about something. She was ready to pull her Glock out of her waistband, and then make him tell her everything he knows.

A man humming a song softly into her comms distracted her momentarily.

She put her fingers to her comm piece to say something, but Maximilian beat her to it.

"Agent Vahan, now isn't the time." Cornell said into the comms.

Leon started walking up, his trench coat flowing with every step, and his sunglasses shined the second he stepped into the room. He looked around, and saw Maximilian looking at him. "Hey, what the hell is going on? I was taking a piss." He threw a thumb over his shoulder.

"Agent Vuhong is questioning this man... I believe she has a hunch." Max put his hand on his chin.

"Oh, lemme get to that." Leon smirked. His swirling white eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, started glowing. He started literally peeking into the man's head, and surprise, surprise, he was putting on a ruse. They got their man. He was the Changeling behind the kidnapping of Lijuan Vuhong. He pulled out of his mind.

He put his fingers to his earpiece - but quickly took them off. He turned his head to Maximilian, and asked him, "He's our guy... but I don't think that telling her this with him in there is, you know, the best idea." He used his ability to observe to spot the gun tucked into Lihua's pants.

Maximilian put his hand on his chin, as he thought about it. "Hmmm... Go for it. I trust Agent Vuhong on this matter."

Leon let out a sigh, and quietly muttered, "You're the boss-man." Before he put his fingers on the earpiece. "Agent Vuhong, I peaked into his head... He's our guy. I'll leave it up to you... but keep your cool. Remember that."

Just the words that Lihua wanted to hear. She just wanted some confirmation. She smirked. Before she came out and said it, "You best drop the ruse. We know who you are, and you're just the man we want." Her hand drifted towards her gun, but she pulled away. No need. He'd get his ass kicked by Maximilian and every NEST Agent in the building should he attempt to leave. All Lihua was feeling was rage. Nothing. But. Rage. However, she controlled herself. Direct that rage in a healthy form.

She tapped her fingernail onto the table, and said, forboding as possible, "Tell me what you did with my daughter this instant."

Mark paused for a moment, his adrenaline kicking into overdrive. He knew that NEST had powerful telepaths, and her assured attitude could only mean one thing -- They were prying into his mind.

Delicately rolling the capsule with his teeth, Mark's eyes darted around, looking for any escape. The window behind Lihua was caged, and the man who let him into the room was likely armed. He could shout, stun her, and make an escape through the front door while she was on the ground, then grab Marigold at the house, and...

Mark's normally fast-paced decision making skills sputtered. How long could he run? And to where? Even if he managed to escape, he had no friends to hide out with, and no place he knew he'd be safe. He probably wouldn't be able to get to the woods without being shot down by some marksman agent on the roof or something.

He realized that his moment to think had become a long, incriminating pause. He exhaled deeply. No matter the outcome, life was about to get a lot more difficult.

Mark sank into his chair, dropping his dopey farmboy smile, settling into his normal face. He didn't look sinister or proud, but tired.

"Don't suppose you NEST types would be willing to bargain?" His half-hearted attempt at lightening the mood did him little good.

There was no amount of training or discipline that could restrain Lihua. She immediately stood straight up, and whipped her glock out of her waistband. She pressed it up against Mark's skull, and pulled the trigger halfway.

"I told you to tell me where my daughter was - Do you fucking get that?!" Lihua roared. "Tell me where she is, or I kill you right here, right now. That is your only bargain."

Mark eyed her without moving. To an extent, he knew what she was going through.

"If you have a way to get information from my corpse, go right ahead." He gritted his teeth, but his tone was neither threatening nor gloating.

Lihua pushed the gun against his head even harder. "You're right. I'll just make this a lot more painful than it should, dog."

A massive shadow appeared behind Lihua, and before she could even react Echo, Maximilian's power manisfesting in a golden-tinted copy of Maximilian, grabbed the gun at lightning speeds and yanked it out of her hand.

"Agent Vuhong, that is enough." Max said through the comms. "Control yourself, or I'm pulling you out." He should pull her out right now, but he knew that, if Agent Vuhong controls herself, she could get information.

"... Told you." Leon said, off-the-comms. His hand went to the earpiece, and he informed Lihua of a little fact he found out, "He's got an L-pill in his mouth. You won't get anywhere if he's dead, so just relax."

With Echo holding her gun, and standing over her, there was nothing that Lihua could use to threaten Mark with. Not with Maximilian snatching it out of her hands, or breaking it. Lihua let out a sigh, and with her eyes closed, she plopped right back down on the chair. And started taking deep breaths in, and then out. Find your zen, Lihua. She was calming herself down. She felt literally no threat than this man.

"If you're willing to talk, I can at least tell you she's not dead or anything like that." Mark said in a genuinely sympathetic tone.

Lihua groaned. "That's swell... but you know exactly what I want to know." Lihua growled at him.

Mark rocked his hand with a pained expression, gesturing that he didn't know everything.

"The Changeling Unit is pretty secretive, even with their own members." He cleared his throat, and leaned forward. "I suppose I should give out the list of demands before I rat out all the others, eh?"

He gave her another half-hearted smile, hoping she'd at least chuckle. She didn't. He knew she didn't find him funny, but he wanted desperately to convey that he wasn't a bad guy.

"What do you want...?" Lihua had to ask. "Let me tell you that you're not in the position to be making any demands. In case you forgot, you're in one of the most secure locations in all of California. Full of people trained to put down dogs like you." Lihua grit her teeth, and tapped her fingernail on the table.

Mark shrugged sheepishly. "That's all true, but I'm still the one with the kill pill." He cleared his throat again, cracking his knuckles nervously.

"First and foremost, I want my daughter far away from this. I don't want her to hear about it, I don't want her shipped off to some NEST boarding home, I don't want her sent back to her mother's." The demands he made were the first things he had said with any hint of anger or forcefulness.

"Secondly, I want to stay with her. Put an ankle bracelet on me, have cameras at my house, give me one of those collars," He threw up his hands. "Whatever. Clip my wings if you have to. I just want to be with my kid. We want the same things, okay? You let me stay with Marigold, and I'll start talking."

When he said "we want the same things", Lihua sneered.

"Agent Vuhong," Lihua's comms came alive with Leon's voice, "If you could get the rest of the Changelings out of him. If we rescue your daughter, and take out some Changelings, ain't that a win-win?"

"I agree with Agent Vahan." Maximilian said. "You need to see the bigger picture here."

Like hell I'm going to let this bastard get away with breaking into my home, attacking me, and kidnapping my infant daughter, so he can get off with a slap on his wrist. Lihua thought to herself when she heard his demands, and when her fellow Agents agreed to go along with it. Lihua dragged her nails along the tabletop, and got wood clipping underneath her nails. If it was up to her, she would be torturing this man until she broke him, and he'd do anything to make it up.

"Very well..." Lihua sighed. Seeming (and reluctantly) going along with it. "We, at NEST, accept your terms and conditions..."

However, there was another thing she wanted to add.

Lihua quickly pointed her hand at the mirror, and closed her hands. Concrete spikes appeared from the floors and ceiling and completely covered the mirror. She quickly pointed her hand at the camera, and did the same. Then she covered the door in concrete.

"Agent Vuhong!? What are you doing?!" Maximilian shouted through the comms - only to get ignored by Lihua. This is a problem, he can't see through Echo, and was essentially blocked off from controlling him. She could do anything she wanted to Mark, and they'd standing here with thumbs up their ass.

She leaned into on the table, and stared Mark right into the eyes.

"I know that you're willing to say anything to... say, secure your freedom, but there's that nagging feeling in the back of my skull that's telling me that this is one big trap for me and NEST. That you bastards had killed Lijuan ages ago, and this is apart of some scheme to remove one of the biggest threats NEST has to offer." Lihua started off.

"You said that you had a daughter? Marigold, you said her name was?" Lihua asked him. "Say... maybe if this is a trap, or Lijuan doesn't get out alive. I'm not going to go for you... I'm going straight for her."

Lihua let the words hang out in the air. So Mark could absorb them. "I promise you, no matter where you hide her, I will find her, and butcher her like the bitch she is. There won't be anything left for you to recognize. And, I can get away with it. You know what my job is? Uncovering crimes, and solving murders. I know exactly how to cover my tracks, and make it hard to track back to me as possible. Or you may not even find her for months after what happened. And I won't even scratch you. I'll let you suffer, just as I would."

Lihua leaned back in her chair. and raised her fist in the air, and opened it. All the concrete barriers she had created had disappeared without a trace. She calmly folded her hands on the table, and asked him, "So, your choice."

Lihua didn't exactly mean it. It was nothing more than a bluff (If anything, she'd help his daughter. Help her get away from him). She was attempting to ensure his compliance the only way she knew how.

With fear.

It was still very underhanded, and cruel, and she knew that. Threatening a man's daughter. Lihua had an ability that very few people had. It wasn't a superpower - but the ability to detach herself from her humanity. Because she's long realized that, with all her sins, she's never going to be able to redeem herself.

She was a demon of her own creation.

Mark's eyes were closed, as if he was still processing everything she had said. He knew what she was going through, he empathized with her, but even then, he had buttons to push just like any other man. He drew a sharp breath, filling his lungs with air.

In her anger, Lihua had never put a power nullification collar on him. His lungs were full of air, and nothing was there to stop him from deafening her. He couldn't kill her, but the ability to permanently rob this woman of one of her senses became immediately apparent to him after hearing her threaten his daughter.

In the end, he chose not to.

He exhaled deeply, wondering if Lihua would ever understand the mercy he was granting her by trying to remain patient in spite of her threats. Instead, he tried a different approach. Though he opened his eyes, he kept his head lowered, focusing on questions he had asked himself many nights.

"Let me ask you something, Agent Vuhong. If something stood between you and your daughter, would you kill for her?"

"I'm considering it now."

Mark nodded. "What if the ante was upped a little? What about, say, arson? Would you burn a few strangers alive for your daughter?"

"... Of course."

"How about kidnapping?" Mark said, raising his head and staring into her eyes. "Hypothetically, if kidnapping a child would save yours, could you do it?"

"I'd find another way, one that wouldn't spread grief. It's what I always do."

"What if it wasn't there?" Mark asked, with a tone that was almost defensive. For the first time during the interview, Mark was neither collected, nor putting on a facade. His hands were in fists, but not raised, and he stared at her with intensity.

What? Was this dog trying to drag her down to his level? She almost considered getting her gun back from Echo, and blasting his head off for even trying.

"If there was no other way, could you do it?" He repeated.

"I couldn't." Lihua hissed at him. She wasn't being true to herself, she knew that she'd definitely do it if there was no other choice. But, like hell that she's getting dragged down with this childish reasoning.

"I could.." Mark said coldly. His words seemed to resonate in the small room, carrying a great weight with them. Lihua was too angry to see, but it was very apparent to those watching the situation unfold through the camera, that Mark was not bragging. He was confessing, and his words carried a deep, hollow sadness to them. His hands unclenched, and he sank into his seat.

There was a long pause before Mark spoke up.

"You ever see a level ten metahuman?"

"Yes. I... have seen many Metahumans." Lihua replied, her guard was up, and she wasn't going to fall for any tricks. Her days as a member of the Gai Hexin Yuan truly was something that haunts her. It's scary how powerful Metahumans can get, and what happens if they lose control.

Or have that control, and decide to burn it all.

"I've only ever seen one, and it's my daughter. She's not registered, though. That'll probably happen soon, I guess." He leaned forward, chewing on a fingernail. "She has these, these..." He trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"Her eyes bug out, and blood comes out of, of everywhere, really." He exhaled again, hoping to regain his normal composure.

"Her power is harmful to her." Lihua blankly answered. What a sob story. She was keeping herself composed as possible - because she knew that she had dug her own grave with that stunt back there. Maybe... she should control herself better.

Mark nodded, but offered no response. "She has these seizures, basically. I don't know how to explain it as well as what I was told by the folks who make her medicine. They're at The Hands of Science.

Now he's associated with the Hands of Science, too? Made sense at this point. This better be going somewhere, other than trying to elect sympathy from her. She remained stone-faced the whole time.

Though Lihua's expression remained unchanged, Mark could tell she was now more interested in what he had to say.

"I'll tell you about them too, just, let me explain myself a bit. This is the first chance I've gotten to talk to someone about it, so let me at least explain why I do, you know. What I do. I'm getting somewhere with this."

Everyone had their reasons for being who they are. Lihua at least acknowledged that. The Gai Hexin Yuan turned her into a monster. while America and motherhood has certainly... mellowed her out.

"So, Marigold has these seizures sometimes. She doesn't normally have telekinesis, but she does when she's having an episode. She's only ever had one fit I couldn't control, and that was before I knew what was wrong with her, and before I knew how to get her medicine." He paused again, shifting the cyanide pill uncomfortably in his mouth.

Mark pulled out his phone, oblivious to any rules against it, thumbing through bookmarks. "It's not a pretty picture. Take a look." He remarked, sliding his phone to her.

It was an article on a Colorado newspaper. There was a before and after picture -- On the left, there was a Google Maps photo of the rustic cottage Mark and Marigold lived in before their move to Verthaven. On the right was the "after". It seemed as if a bomb had been dropped. The cottage itself had been reduced to the foundation, and the forest of trees behind it ripped from the earth. The few trees still remaining had been shredded, missing large branches and chunks of bark.

She ignored regulation, just for a second. Just to humor him. She leaned in and read the article. Hm. She's a dangerous Metahuman if she's capable of all this destruction. Which meant more reason to take her out of his hands.

"Obviously, it wasn't an explosion. When she has these fits, her brain sends out these waves that just tear everything to shreds. Everything." Mark said, watching her scroll through the article.

"Like she's flinging thousands of invisible buzzsaws in every direction." He explained. "Nobody knew what to do. Power suppressant collars were like chemo to her. Nobody knew why, but she would start withering away if she so much as got near one."

He straightened his back, continuing "So, a member of The Hands of Science tells me there's a way to keep her from living her life as a time bomb, and keep her from dying, and stop her fits altogether. Every time she starts to have a fit, I give her a shot, and her seizure goes away." He accentuated his remark with a loud snap of his fingers. "Gone. Just like that."

He leaned back in his chair, sighing with exasperation.

"Care to guess how much a dose is?" He asked sarcastically, as if the two were soccer moms complaining about the price of gas. "Two hundred thousand dollars." His words were without a hint of humor. "When they told me about the price, they explained there was an easy way someone with my abilities could get that kind of money.

"This explains your actions." Lihua said to him with sharp eyes. "But it doesn't justify them." She was quick to add on, just so Mark wouldn't lose track. "No matter how hard things were, you have to remember that nobody forced you to do so. Far as I can tell, there wasn't a single gun to your head...."

"Just because I wasn't being held up by a highwayman doesn't mean I had any more of a choice." Mark replied. "I'm not justifying what I do, I'm just justifying who I am. And that's a guy who's had to do some fucked up things for his kid, who I'd appreciate that you not threaten."

"I'm just making sure you recognize personal accountability, and all." Lihua shrugged.

Mark closed his eyes and nodded, letting go of the last bits of anger he still held on to.

"Now that I've got that out of the way, I hope you can understand that I'm not the guy you should be pointing a gun at."

"Very well," Lihua folded her hands on the table. "Help us find them, and maybe you'll begin your own path to redemption."

Mark nodded again, trying to think of something that would be useful to her. "My boss is called Heartbreaker."

"Heartbreaker...." Lihua groaned. "I know of her. Natalie, her name is. She's on the NEST wanted list."

She folded her hands on the table.

"I'd like to know where she is. I want to meet her in person."

"I can bring you to her in less than an hour if you want. But she won't be alone."

"... And neither will I."

---

“Here’s your Strawberries and Cream Deluxe Swirl with extra sprinkles, miss.” A man said in his gruff voice. He bore a stocky figure, and a mean face adorned by muttonchops and a goatee. A pink polo shirt was covered by a white apron, and he wore a propeller beanie on top of his head. He leaned out the window of a large white van with a logo emblazoned across it that read, “The Candy Shack”, and it had a large neopolitan ice cream cone model on its roof. The older man handed the pink and white ice cream cone to a girl barely older than ten, and thanked her without so much as a smile. “Thank you for visiting the Candy Shack.”

The girl’s worried mother hastily ushered her away from the man in the ice cream truck as she excitedly began enjoying her new cold treat by the boardwalk

“You could try smiling, you know.” Said a voice from the man’s side. The gruff and stocky one turned to face his compatriot in the passenger seat. A tall man with black, slicked hair, wearing the same ridiculous outfit, and sitting with his chair scooched all the way back so that he could sit down with the brace on his leg. The man by the window glared at him.

“Baron.” He said simply.

“Washe.” Baron replied half-heartedly. He knew where this was going.

“Shut the fuck up.”

A lazy voice called out from the back. “And finally, someone else gets the face of the old man’s ire! Alert the press, because a story worth coverage has, at last, emerged.”

“I swear to God, Grit, I’m—“

“Hey, hey, hey,” Grit interrupted, “don’t you say the Lord’s name in vain! I get that you ain’t a believer, I know, but just entertain me on this one.”

“Hi mister, can I—“

“I ain’t gonna entertain you a God da—“

“Washe.” Baron interjected. He looked out the window past Washe.

The older gentleman immediately turned around and looked down out the window. “Hi, lil lady. This is the Candy Shack. What do you want?”

“Snowball!” The girl cheered.

“Sure thing.” Washe said. ’Fuck coconut snacks.’ He turned around and looked at Grit who was laying down in the back, beside the freezers and coolors, communications, storage trunks, and weapon racks.

“Snowball.” He said to him. Grit rolled his eyes and lazily sat up before opening up one of the coolers and stuck an arm inside without looking, staring instead at his phone. Feeling around for a round shape, he found one, and as barely paying attention as he handed it to Washe.

Washe felt both dumbfounded and furious as he watched their squad’s sniper carelessly attempt to give him a M68 hand grenade.

“Snow. Ball.” Washe repeated. His anger was seeping into his voice. Grit looked up and saw what he was holding in his hand. Mouthing the words, “oh shit”, he deposited the explosive back where he found it (underneath the stock of sweets in the cooler) and came back with an actual Snowball this time. He gave it to Washe, and Washe handed it to the little girl in exchange for two dollars.

Watching the event, Baron could only pinch the bridge of his nose and rub his face in second-hand embarrassment.

“Well, let’s look at the bright side.” Said the psychologist in his attempt to lighten the mood. “This cover job can at least buy us a moderately priced dinner at a local dinery.”

“Di’nt expect you to be the family dining environment type.” Washe said judgmentally.

“Of course I am not,” Baron responded, “but the whole reason for this silliness is to subtly gather information, am I wrong?”

“No, you are not.”

“Of course I’m not.”

And of course he wasn’t. Baron was a very cautious man, he didn’t like to be blind sighted by anything or anyone, and that cautiousness did have consequences, but that was a minor price to pay. For instance, between installing themselves into Verthaven’s daily life, Maria’s eyes, and the information and codes provided by NEST that the Dreadnaught had never returned, they knew a lot about this city and what was happening in it. He knew all about Vuhong’s ordeal and he regretted that he was unable to help her, but that was a huge risk. It was already made clear that NEST has been compromised, so they could not be trusted. If the director had a hand in the conspiracy, so could powerful council members. So for the sake of the Dreadnaught’s presence in Verthaven being kept secret from the enemy, they had orchestrated their departure. For all anyone knows, the mercenaries were gone after removing the Fiends from the city. The only would who would reasonably believe otherwise was of course agent Vuhong, who was present with Baron upon discovering the conspiracy, and who is also aware that the Dreadnaughts already knew that the Fiends weren’t the only problem.

He just had to trust she wouldn’t out them and stir suspicion.

“Anyways…” Washe said, rolling his eyes at Baron’s hauteur, “as for the current events revolving NEST, Big Hoss, and napping, I suggest that’s a fight we stay out of. Clearly, the bitch can’t keep track of her own children – this is the second time it has happened to her. But more than that, we don’t know enough about the enemy, and we don’t want to out ourselves so early in the game. We’ll let them war with whichever organization it was that did it, and we’ll just watch it unfold and siphon all the intel we can get from it. Once we get enough intel from all eligible threats, then we can start the last operation and fuck ‘em all up in one sweep.”

“Sounds reasonable…” Baron muttered. Sounds like Lihua is suffering through hell what with all that has happened in the past month. He was no soldier, so even if Baron was allowed to, there still wouldn’t be anything he could do to help in that fight. So instead, he must have his and Washe’s brain work together and execute the endgame plan that will finally make this big mess go away like it should.

“This is going to be so boring!” Grit complained.

@Virani

"Caramel latte! Extra caramel, extra cream!"

"Got it boss!"

Marcus placed a cup of milk underneath the steam spout of the café's coffee machine and gave it a frothing, even as coffee dribbled gently from the filter into a porcelain mug set underneath it. Once the mug was almost full he pulled it away and stopped the drip, adding a hefty amount of caramel syrup and full cream into the coffee as he stirred the dark liquid with a spoon. Then he poured in just the right amount of milk to make a nice creamy layer on top, and topped that with a dash of caramel and a sprinkling of brown sugar for added sweetness. Then he placed the steaming mug onto a plate and stepped out from behind the bar to deliver the drink.

The café today was quiet; the mid afternoon crowds had petered out to a light sprinkling of patrons spread out amongst the tables. It wasn't late enough for people to be off work, which meant a more relaxed atmosphere instead of the hustle and bustle of the working crowd looking for a cuppa. His boss, Audrey, was on the register, as usual, and his colleague and friend John Cole was in the kitchen doing a stock check. A handful of patrons inhabited the café, including his target today: one Cora Dubois. He ambled over to her and set the mug down on her table, smiling and tipping his baseball cap while he did so.

"There ya go, miss Cora. Caramel latte, extra caramel and cream, just like you always order. If'n there's anything else you need, just head up to the counter."

Marcus gave her a wink as he ambled back to the counter, eliciting a groan from Audrey. As he squeezed past her to get back behind the bar she slapped him in the chest with another receipt, making him yelp in surprise.

"Ow! What -"

"Another order, casanova. Latté, double espresso. And please, stop hitting on every poor devushka that walks into my café."

"Aw c'mon boss, I ain't gonna hurt 'em or nothin'. Besides, Cora's been in here for months now, on a regular basis. She's cool."

"No thanks to you, now get to work!"

"Y-yes ma'am."

As Marcus retreated to the bar to make the next order, Cole emerged from the back kitchen, a clipboard in his hand and a frown on his face. He approached Audrey and tapped her on the shoulder.

"U-uh, ma'am Audrey?"

With a quiet sigh she softened her expression and turned to him.

"Yes, John?"

"We're out of mozzarella, and, um, linguini too. Also, um, rye bread and plastic cups."

She sighed and squeezed the bridge of her nose.

"Well, we can't stand around and do nothing. Marcus!"

He looked up from the drink he was finished making and cocked an eyebrow. She scowled as he approached her, drink in hand. Without any warning she took the drink from him and slapped the clipboard and paper on his chest.

"We are missing things. You will go down to corner store to buy. Go now."

With a weary sigh he took the paper and stowed it in a pocket.

"Alright boss."

Marcus headed outside and went for his bike, which was clamped to a nearby lamp post. The corner store in question wasn't far, and as he unlocked the clamp and saddled up he relished in the opportunity to get away from work and enjoy the wind in his hair. He took off his apron, stuffed it in a pocket and sped off, bike wheels spinning rapidly as he shot away from the café.

Audrey watched her employee pop a wheelie as he cycled off and sighed.

"One day that blyad will be the death of me."

As Cole watched in wonder, she went back inside, heading for her own escape at the end of a cigarette, leaving the boy to tend to the register on his own.

---

---

"Alright, everybody," Maximilian said as he stood over his assembled group, with his arms crossed. It consisted of Agent Dragonfly, Supersonic, All-Seer, Inkshade, Merryday, and a variety of rank & file agents. They were grouped in the viewing room, standing row by row. In Henry's case, because he had smashed the only chair on accident by trying to sit in it. "This is the first official operation against the Changeling Unit."

Lihua, who still felt quite underdressed, wearing the same casual outfit as before, leaned up against the wall with her arms crossed. Just get it on already. Lihua thought to herself. She already knew what was going to happen.

"Mark has given us the exact location where the Changeling Unit has been hiding out-"

"So essentially the plan is go in, attempt to take a shit on the Changeling Unit on their own home turf without any information as to who they are, how they operate, and their abilities should they have them." Henry stated, not at all impressed by the small amount of information that they had. Which was probably to be expected considering that he had been in the gunfight literally earlier that day.

"... If it bothers you so much, I'll-" Lihua didn't waste any time in hissing at Henry, but was cut off again.

"No, no, Agent Vuhong, he has valid criticisms." Maximilian said, before Lihua got a chance to say the... obvious. "We're not going to attempt to head in blind Agent Dragonfly." Max said. "Agent Merryday, and Agent All-Seer are going to go ahead and preform some advance scouting. If possible, Agent Merryday will extract any infants taken by the Changeling."

"Okay, minor error there. We know Heartbreaker is a changeling right? Well, REAPER is the HoS's personal army and today Sonya and Henry found out first hand that REAPER has teleporters now. Who's to say that the Changelings dont? That kinda fucks the whole strategy man." Helena pointed out. Henry nodded his approval of the point.

"True." Maximilian said. "It's also possible that the teleporter they encountered was working with the Changeling Unit."

"We know they have a marksman. Which makes things interested because it makes it way harder to get Leon in." Henry said, sighing. This was going to be harder than previously expected. Almost as hard as getting that small group of people out of the multiverse helmet thing that one crazy blob made. THAT had been a brain teaser.

"A sniper always has the home advantage." Sonya noted, her long tongue lazily falling out of her mouth. This might be one of the most difficult missions that Sonya ever been on. Usually, her missions consisted of her sneaking in, getting a clear shot, and blowing her target's head off. Then came the part where she hauls ass. Here? She'll be fighting a group of unknown psychos, and they only know about one of them.

"Perhaps it's time that we have a word with Mark." Maximilian said. He put his finger on his ear-piece and said, "Bring in Mark for us."

Lihua let out a low growl.

Henry raised and eyeridge, and Helena elbowed him in the side. Despite her attitude of keeping herself out of trouble, she and Henry got along well on one thing more than any other. They both loved a good show.

The door was opened, and Mark walked out. His arms and legs were chained and cuffed, but loosely enough that he wasn't unable to walk. He also wore a power-nullification He was unexpectedly calm for a man who was surrounded by a group of people who could legally kill him.

"Warmer in here than in the cell." Mark said, cracking a half-smile. The response was lackluster.

"Well, uh, higher quality air conditioning is a thing." Henry commented, crossing his arms. He didn't know why Mark was here, but at least the video recording would give whoever played it back a more fun job.

"Now, I need to ask you what you know about the current members of the Changeling Unit." Max said.

Mark took a seat. "If you've recovered any Changeling documents, I'm 'Blackbird'. My boss is Heartbreaker, who I've been told you already know."

Mark cleared his throat, continuing "They have this doll-thing. I don't know if it's a metahuman or something they made, but it's called The Mannequin. It knows about biology, and how to treat things. And has a lot of retractable blades. It always kinda creeped me out, so I never asked that much about it."

"Great. Wonderful. Blades. Anything you know about him? He's obviously not fully... human with retractible blades." Helena questioned, crossing her arms.

Mark shrugged. "I should mention, you're not talking to the head of The Changeling Unit here. I wasn't ever told that much because they didn't really trust me. I guess I can see why." He said jokingly, gesturing towards one of the agents taking notes. A few agents gave a quiet chuckle, though Lihua's grumbling cut them short. "It knew about medical things, but it wasn't the healer or anything. That was this one chick."

He paused, trying to recollect his memories. "Witch-Doctor? No, no.." He paused for a moment longer, before snapping his fingers as if a lightbulb had gone off in his head. "Witch-Mother. This black chick, I think she was Dominican or Haitian or something. She was another outlier of the group like me. There was another I definitely remember, Leech Man. He's easy to find."

First target's going to be Witch Mother.... Lihua thought to herself. She quickly grabbed a notepad, and attempted to write all of this down. At lightning speeds.

Mark cleared his throat, coughing dryly. He considered asking for water, but figured he was already pushing his luck. "So, Leech Man was this really big guy, made out of leeches. Like, imagine a bunch of leeches in a man-shaped cookie cutter, and you get the picture. Super strength, and a power-copier. Though, I figure you guys have a more technical term for that power."

Henry whistled lowly. "Power copier. Hear that all? Probably going to want to pack some explosives for that one. We dont want a repeat of the Goodwin incident."

Mark blinked once, as if he were a schoolboy listening to an inside joke he wasn't part of.

"There's a few more. Want me to just, y'know, list 'em off?" Mark asked.

"Sure. But we'll probably have you write them all down for later consideration." Henry answered, having noticed Lihua writing things down. He nodded to Helena, who left the room and returned a moment later with a note pad and a pen for Mark to use.

Mark began jotting names and descriptions down on the piece of paper, in a distinctive chicken-scratch handwriting. Moments later, he put down his pen, cracking his tired knuckles. He stared at the list for a moment, as if he were lost in thought.

"It's weird. I don't feel guilty for ratting 'em out, but it's still a strange feeling, y'know? One day, I'm working with them, and the next," He chuckled to himself, handing the paper to Max. "And the next, I'm writing down what they look like to the feds."

"It's them or your daughter. You got yourself and her into this shit. Time to get yourself out, man."

When Henry said that, Lihua looked up at Mark with a narrow glare.

Mark smiled for the first time at Henry. "Like I said. Not an issue of guilt, just definitely a surreal feeling. Here you go, names and addresses."

The Changeling Unit

• Bloodsucker - Luis/The Boss. Spanish, like from Spain. Looks like he's in his twenties. Regenerator/Super-system/Blood Manipulation. Salt and Pepper hair, doesn't catch that much attention. Strong but not meta strong. Not in the city.
• Heartbreaker - Natalie. Second in command. You know her. Out of town but returning.
• Mannequin - The doll. Third in command, somehow. Doesn't talk. Not sure of location.
• Witch-Mother - Black lady in her 70's. Healer. Never spoke to her. Not dangerous. In Verthaven. Drives a beat up black Acura from the 90's.
• Fig - Spanish maybe Arab girl with green hair in her early 20's. Makes gas she can turn into things, gas also burns. Lives somewhere in Chinatown.
• Wild Fang - Giant werewolf. Dangerous. I don't think he actually has a house but he's made references to seeing me in Eastover Woods. Not worth questioning him.
• Pretender - Skinny white dude in his late 20's. Makes illusions. Dead ringer for Pee-Wee Herman. Smokes like a chimney. He told me his name was Jamie, but I heard Fig call him Peter. Has mentioned living near University Row. Drives a white saturn.
• Leech Man - Leech man. Kind of similar to The Mannequin because neither talks.
• Ironsides - Creed. White guy in his 20's. Can turn into metal. I think he's a nazi or something like that. Shaved head and everything. He's in a gang, I don't know which one. I think he does meth or heroin or one of those hard drugs. Dangerous.
• Gravedigger - Lemuel. Super skinny guy in his 20's. Dirt brown skin. Freakish. Dirt manipulation on a large scale. Like, islands. Drives a black van. Dangerous.
• Smoke - Javior von Abasta. White guy in his teens. Turns into smoke, also manipulates it. Smokes, but not as much as Fig. Will surrender without a fight. Not sure about his exact address, but I could point it out. Red house on a corner in Knightdale Rows. He invited me over once.
• Wasp - Victor Carrol. Insectoid wings. Fast, but not faster than me. Homeless, but lives somewhere in The Iron District. Poison barbs on his skin.
• Dr. J - Not a Changeling. Hands of Science member. Old Old. Like 90. Made my suit and mask and makes basically all of The Changeling's tech. Makes Marigold's medicine. Please do not kill him unless you can figure out how to make it. He lives somewhere in Eureka Harbor.
• Satyr - Half-Goat meta. 136 Huron Drive. Into kids. Keeps a gun in his house. Creepy guy.
• Colossus - A giant creature that's covered in a bio-armor that'll make bullets bounce off of it. It's humanoid in shape, but robotic looking. Possesses immense strength. Dangerous.

"We need Heartbreaker, and the Mannequin alive." Lihua noted. All the information they could get out of them would great. Lihua made a note to also go murder Dr. J soon as possible.

"I call Wild Fang!" Henry commented as he picked up and read the list with a little bit too much excitement. He cracking his knuckles. This prompted a chuckle from a few people in the room- those who knew Henry. Henry had a fetish for beating on other animal metas or just... big metas in general. Something something dominance. It was his thing to square up on the big guy. He had fun with it.

Lihua gave Henry a glare that practically screamed death. She arched her head back, and grit her teeth. This isn't a game, you moron. She thought to herself as she started tapping her nails on the table. My daughter's life is on the line.

Henry gave Lihua a shit eating grin in response, but otherwise said nothing. If he didn't have fun with it, he'd probably go insane at some point. He looked down at the list again. "Heey... We're dealing with a neo-nazi here. Neat."

"This is all useful information, Mark." Max said. "I think we're done with you for today."

"Glad I could help." Mark said, getting out of his seat. "If you need me, I'm in the cell." He said with another half-smile as he was escorted out of the room.

"And who's to say that they're even still there?" Helena noted. "They might already know that one of their members have been captured, and are on their way out right now. Or setting up a trap."

"Maria, you might be our best bet." Henry stated, turning his head to face his partner's wife. "If anything, you'll be able to get in in ways we wont. I'm too big and Heartbreaker might see Sonya somehow. But ink in the night? Fat chance. No thermals either. If anything you could give us an idea as to what we're up against." Henry pitched, bringing his hand to his chin in thought.

"I could slip in." Maria said.

"... If you all are done shoving your heads up your own asses, I have a suggestion." Lihua noted.

"Another saying that's synonymous with 'living another day'..."

"It's a simple one... if Mark really wants to redeem himself, perhaps he goes in and does the scouting for us." Lihua suggested. "It'll run on a chance that they aren't already alerted. We could have Maria ride in on him."

"This guy stole your kid Lihua. This mission is your idea so you get the say, but are you
sure you want to trust him?"

"... I have something to keep him in line." Lihua noted, and got a vile look from Leon. He knows Lihua thought to herself.

Henry nodded. Not really wanting to know more. Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to. First rule of Black Ops.

Helena Page, who was fiddling with her bun, raised a finger with a stoic look on her face. "Do we know how many babies the Changeling Unit have stolen?" She asked.

"Uh, Eli, could you run some missing baby statistics in the Verthaven Area?" Henry questioned out loud, his finger pressed to his ear. He was silent for a moment before he frowned. He seemed to think again for a moment and then frowned harder.

"Codemonkey says that the number of Amber Alerts for small children and babies in the past year is around six or seven. All still have still not be rescued or... recovered." Henry said. Then came the other part that wasn't as fun. "Groups like these tend to move a lot. Could've taken more before. We could find a whole... market. If they're selling them at all."

Good grief... Most of those kids must be long sold by now. All that was on Lihua's mind was getting there before they sell Lijuan to god knows whoever. She tried to think happy thoughts. For now, she kept quiet. She had a plan. A plan that she wasn't going to share with anyone else.

"Six babies. I don't know how many we'll find in their hideout, but we can only hope we can get there in time." Max said. "We'll raid the place at midnight."

"So, lets talk getting in then. We want to go in the dark, as Max said, and we want to keep it stealthy. So that means I'm probably out for the initially phase. We should probably send a drone overhead to get an arial view of the place. Sonya and I can talk about where to position people from there. We can also talk about where Heartbreaker will be most and least likely to see us." Henry said, looking over to Sonya with a smirk. They had the experience in that side of the playing field. She'd give first hand stuff about difficult shots and he could help her choose tactical locations for insertion and movement. Last thing they want is someone getting shot in the face- something Heartbreaker is very capable of.

"Do we happen to have any illusionists in NEST we can call on if things get hairy? Stuff to confuse the lookout?"

"There's a few..." Max said, letting out a sigh. "... But they're all out of town. We might be able to call them in... but it'll be a stretch."

"Well, our lives are on the line tonight. I'd sure as hell like to pull the whole 'lol hologram' thing if I need to." Helena commented with a wry smile.

"I'll make the call."

"Max, Echo is a big fucking attention magnet that only metahumans can see, right?"

"Right." Max confirmed, giving Henry a strange look.

"Well, if there's anything I learned from Death Valley, it's that there's the principle of 'Pick on the new kid'. Except this new kid is as big as I am, glowy-glowy, only visible to metahumans and isn't going to die after being shot into submission like we would. Dont be afraid to make that bitch sparkle like a god damn firework."

"Of course." Maximilian said. "Me and Echo have been taking out Tyrants for years."

"I dont have have any dates, so I'm game."

---

---

With the team assembled, Lihua felt that it was appropriate to slip into something more appropriate. The last thing that she wanted to do was go into - what was going to be the fight of her life - dressed like she was never going to leave the house. She stepped out of the viewing room with the rest of the NEST Agents, and walked towards the female's changing room.

"Agent Vuhong," A voice came from behind hers. Leon's. Good grief, she knew exactly where this was going. Leon walked up, and crossed his arms.

"I know what you said to him." Leon said to her, as her back faced him. "And you were crossing the line back there. Threatening his kid like that."

Lihua let out a sigh. "... Whatever keeps him in line."

"Look, I understand what you're going through, and I know what you really meant there..." Leon put his hand up. "What you just did could get you fired ten times. Good thing that I managed to lie to Maximilian about what happened in there."

Letting out another sigh, Lihua opened her mouth to say something, but kept it close. He should already be peaking in her mind, so he should already know what's on her mind. Whatever's necessary. I refuse to even attempt to excuse, or justify, my actions.

Leon took a step over to Lihua, and put his hand on her shoulder, and turned her around. They faced each other, looking at each other eye-to-eye. "Only reason why I'm not reporting you is because we need as many legit Agents on the field as possible." Leon leaned in a little closer. "But you seriously need to cool down. If you don't, I'll have no choice but to file a report to Max."

Lihua let out a sigh. Before she spoke, "Perhaps... you're right. I have been ignoring my creed. Acting erratic won't solve any problems." She also accepted responsibility for what she did. "It was cruel, but I was so overcome with rage. I... don't intend on doing anything to his child."

"I know, but just tone it back a bit." Leon said. "You know that we'll defeat the Changeling Unit before they do anything to your kid." He turned off and started walking, before giving Lihua the salute. "Adiós, Agent Vuhong."

While he walked off, Lihua looked to the side, before letting out a sigh.

He was right, she was acting erratic. Though, she was glad he didn't mention going to their level. Because she's long past the point of holding the moral high-ground. She let out one final sigh before she proceeded into the locker room. It was empty, probably because most of the NEST Agents that were already had already suited up. She quickly scrolled through the lockers until she had reached her own. She put her key in, and turned it open. She laid eyes upon her own armor. The one that she barely wears, except on the few combat missions she accompanies the other Agents on.

This was one of those uncommon circumstances that called for it. Hanging from a hangar was her armor, a black flak-jacket, with a black longcoat over it. Along with padded combat pants, a tactical belt (and two holsters), steel-toe combat boots, gloves, and a shirt to wear under the armor. Her battle-dress. It wasn't all that different from the armor she wore while working with the Gai Hexin Yuan. Except, a bit less intimidating. Whatever works.

First thing that she did was slip the pistol out of her pants, and put it on the bench behind her. Lihua took her shirt off, and dropped her pants. Before she slipped on the shirt, and the pants. Before she put on the rest of the armor. She looked like she was ready to roll. She grabbed her pistol, and put it in her holster. She let out a sigh.

She figured that she'd send Meifeng a text so she can get her car back from her... but figured that this is something that she'll keep from Meifeng. She's worried enough as is. Lihua quickly pulled out her iPhone and sent Meifeng a text;

Meifeng, me and Lijuan are spending the rest of the day with your uncle. You can hold the car for a little longer.

---

---

Still no response from Anna...

Meifeng quickly peaked at her phone as she awaited a answer from Anna. Anna didn't even respond to her text last night. The longer she waited, the more she realized that maybe Anna feel the same way that Meifeng did. That she got her hopes up over and kiss, and confessed herself. Maybe Anna was ashamed of this. Or wanted to distance herself from her best friend because of what happened. Meifeng wished that Anna would just... talk to her. Just a little. She felt so hurt.

The light turned green, and Meifeng pushed the gas pedal. Her windshield wipers were pushing the rain off her window. Meifeng let out a sigh as she threw the phone into the other seat and kept driving. It's raining, she doesn't know where her friends are (Or if they're even down to hang), and going shopping seemed so empty without some friends. Meifeng arched her head, and looked out the window. Her phone rung again, and she quickly went off to grab it, and read it.

Meifeng, me and Lijuan are spending the rest of the day with your uncle. You can hold the car for a little longer.

Good. She'll have the house to herself... if Mika wasn't there. Meifeng let out another sigh as she kept driving to nowhere, and nowhere's far. She chose to pull over, she was in Chinatown at the moment. She knew that she was barred from going to the Estella isle, but she wanted to see Anna. She doubted if she wanted to see her. Meifeng kicked her feet on top of the steering wheel, and started typing away at it. Just checking Facebook for anything that's up. Again, her phone buzzed, and, since she had it open, she immediately checked it. It was from Cindy:

Yo, Meifeng, dat bitch Sophia is throwin a party in da fire shores. wanna go fuck it up?

Sophia. Yeeeeeeah, Sophia Hoss. One of the queen bitches from Academy 12 that thought that she was special because she had a little money, and a superpower. Meifeng and her buttheads a lot. And she was tossing some party? It'll be the perfect stress reliever. Meifeng quickly pounded away a response:

Hell yeh girl. lemme assemble the squad

yeah, u go ahead. it's not until 8, so we have plenty of time

This is bound to get Meifeng's mind off Anna (And her tiddies). Meifeng shifted the gear into drive, before speeding off.

---

8: 23 PM

The night fell upon Verthaven, and the two groups of people put their separate missions in motion. NEST, beginning their battle against the Changeling Unit and their conspirators. Meifeng and her group were prepared to sabotage a party. Little did either group know that they were in for the battles of their lives. The rain from earlier had faded away.

---

Written in collaboration with @DeadBeatWalking.

---

"Alright, here is the plan." Lihua said to Mark as they all stood in the middle of the armory. NEST had went over to his house, and retrieved his armor. He'll certainly need it for this operation. Agent Inkshade - who had reverted to her true form, a large black humanoid comprised of ink. Which her body was see-through, so one could spot her bones and organs through her skin. Lihua looked over at Sonya. Who was leaned up against the nearest wall, with her arms crossed, and her sniper (Which she had swapped out with a Barrett .50 Cal). She had a sullen look on her face. Because there was a big part of her that didn't agree with this plan - but what else could they do?

Lihua held a C4 bomb in her hand. "Agent Inkshade here will slip underneath your armor, and you will go into the Changeling hideout. Once there, she will sneak out, and plant these bombs that you'll be carrying in. The two of you will plant the bombs, and we will threaten to blow them all to hell if they don't give up the children. Clear?" Lihua said. "Remember who's on the line here, Mark."

Mark nodded, holding his helmet under his arm. "Don't worry. I've done enough double-crossing for one day." With a chuckle, he put on the helmet, clipping it down at the sides and taking in a deep breath. He stared at Lihua for a moment, noting the eerie recreation of their first encounter now that he was in his armor. He felt like Lihua noticed too.

This man disgusted her, but she was certain that her threats could keep him in line. Even if he betrayed them, Lihua had some Agents stake-out his home. So, the second things go wrong, they'll take Marigold before he even has a chance to get there (Or lay down a sick-ass trap). And there was a tracker on Mark's armor (He didn't know about it, of course). She nodded her head, and slapped the C4 into a green gym bag (Which contained the rest of the bombs). She handed Mark the bag, and nodded her head.

"Agent Inkshade," Lihua said as she turned her head to the Aberrant that was standing right next to her. Inkshade turned into a puddle of ink, and quickly creeped into the seeps of Mark's armor. Until she was completely inside. Touching his skin.

"... Might be a little uncomfortable, but you know what to do." Lihua said. As she turned to Agent Merryday, who gave her a narrow glare.

"... Just be careful in there, Inky." Sonya said.

"Alright, I think we're ready. Maximilian should have our ride ready." Lihua said.

---

---

"Area looks clear," Sonya said into the comms, looking down the sights of her 50 .cal from the roof of an abandoned building. Fortunately, Sonya had night vision, and enhanced senses. She was able to see the areas.

"Agent Vahan?" Max said to the man that was right next to him as he leaned up against a wall.

Leon had his fingers on the side of his head as he quickly scanned the area. He checked every corner, every building, every cranny. There wasn't a single Changeling in sight. "Can't see any, boss." Leon spoke into the comms, just to alert everyone. "Then again, they could be invisible." He shrugged.

"Alright, coast is clear, everyone move up." Max said, before the group moved ahead. Sonya jumped over to the next building, and the rest of the group were spread out as they quickly moved to the next area. Keeping to the shadows.

The group assigned to battle the Changeling Unit were a medium-sized group, consisting of some of NEST's Metahumans, and many faceless guntoting Agents. They were placed in their battle dresses, and armed to the teeth (Max made a note that everyone carries a canister for containment foam to take out the big ones). They were spread out, in small groups of two. Not spread out so far that they couldn't come to another's aid if they get attacked, but far enough so that the entire group doesn't get killed in a single blast or ambush. The groups of NEST Agents were Sonya and Henry. Max and Leon. Lihua and Helena. And, of course, Maria and Mark.

Lihua pushed herself against the wall. Before she looked at the datapad. "We're almost here...." Lihua moaned to herself. She pressed her earpiece, and said, "We're in position, Mark, time for you to begin the plan."

---

---

Meifeng was standing on top of a hill behind some bushes. Knelt down, with a red Nike gym bag at her feet. Looking at the party from a distance, which was right down the hill, with a small road leading up into it. They had an entire section of the beach all to themselves. It was closed off by a fence. This was one of the private beaches that the rich people bought, and closed off to themselves for whatever reason. This was either a beach owned by Sophia's family, or they just broke into this random beach and threw a party. It was quite exciting. There were teens everywhere, beer, and people had brought cars onto the beach. People were dancing everywhere. Now, in the middle of the beach was this fancy three-story beach house. Which was crawling with people. Meifeng had to bet that's where Sophia had to be, and where Meifeng should not be.

Now, she sent convincing texts to all of her friends in order to get them here. On this hill (She also instructed them to park their cars far away from the place).

She kept scoping out the area. Meifeng saw this as training for her to be a NEST Agent. She was scoping out an area for a mission. Just looking for ways to fuck it all up. And she was going to have fun doing it. Especially with the little secret in this gym bag. She turned to it, and started tapping it with her hand. The bag started buzzing faintly.

Footsteps came up, and Meifeng turned around. Looks like the squad all showed up on time. Cindy, Jennifer, Lucille, and Trevor.

"Heeeeeeeeeey," Meifeng said to her group. Standing straight up as she put her hands on her hips. "Looks like the gang's all here."

"Yup, you got it girl." Cindy said with a chipper smile on her face, and her hands on her hips just like Meifeng. She had changed her outfit. It wasn't exactly party-wear, but Cindy thought that she had looked fashionable. She had wore a rather short skirt, with a white dress shirt, and a black tie. She also has on black boots. She twirled around the tie in her hand.

"Yeah, Meifeng, you said that it was important, what is it?" Jennifer quickly asked. Specifically about the text that Meifeng sent her, implying that it was very urgent.

"Oh..." Meifeng hadn't thought about her plan to string Jen along this far. She smiled like a fool, before ruffing her hand through her hair. "Well, you see, I kinda lied so I could get you to help with ruining this otherwise fabulous party..."

"Ugh." Jen said, as she immediately turned around. "I don't think you remember, but the last time we went to a party, it went to hell. And now you want to sabotage one, and possibly get our asses kicked? No, I don't think so." Jen started walking away.

"C'moooooooon, Jen. It'll be like old times!" Meifeng said, but Jen kept walking. Meifeng crossed her arms, and looked off to the side. "Jen... I just want to hang out with you. Jesus. You can't keep mulling about what happened forever."

"Yeah, don't go, Jen. I wanna get to know you, too." Cindy pleaded. Having little idea about what Meifeng was talking about. "It'll be fun pulling a few pranks on these assholes."

Trevor was looking at the party from, but he figured that he'd say something to get Jen to stick around. "Yeah, just relaaaaaaaaax...." Trevor trailed off a bit. In truth, Trevor just wanted to stare at Jen's butt.

"Alright, I'll stay." Jen said. "But the second something goes wrong, I'm leaving."

"Yay!" Meifeng said, clapping her hands.

"... Do you even have a plan?" Jen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Meifeng said as she threw a thumb over her shoulder. "We go in, and fuck it up."

"... Nice plan." Jen rolled her eyes.

---

---

"... How many Metahumans are here?" A man asked, with a strong figure, and a bald head.

"At least ten. All from Academy 12." His woman companion said, as she looked at the party through high tech binoculars. Every face was scanned, and cross-referenced the Hands of Science's database of Metahumans, and possible Metahumans.

"Any that we need?" The Man asked.

"The doctors wanted telekinesis, and there's two telekinetics in the party." The woman said. "The rest of the boys will move in."

Footsteps came up to them, as a woman, wearing a white suit, and had blonde hair, walked up. She said, "... But aren't you forgetting the new group that's staking them out as well?" She pointed off to the side, towards Meifeng's group.

"Alright, boss." The woman scanned them. Meifeng Vuhong, Hydrokinesis. Cindy Keagan, Haylokinesis. Lucille Hartigan, Telekinetically enhanced strength. Jennifer Caspin, Regeneration. Trevor Obott, Narcotic Emission.

"We don't to add Water, or Glass, manipulation to the REAPER stockpile, do we?" The Woman asked.

"No." The Boss said. "Besides, Meifeng's the daughter of a high ranking NEST Agent. She'll just ramp up Anti-Hands of Science's efforts until they find her. What we're after is the telekinetics. They''ll be useful editions to the REAPER arsenal." She said. "Just grab them, and run off. Our teleporters are busy elsewhere."

"Right, boss." The two said in Unison.

---

---

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?"

---

Lihua shook her head. There shouldn't be anyone out here except for your Changeling buddies. 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 me. 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.

---

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.

It's showtime. 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 death. 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 Wasp. 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. Unnecessarily tall, 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. Killing Lijuan. Lihua thought to herself. She put her finger to the comm piece, then said, "Hurry up. Hate 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 honor 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 was 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 knives.

"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 noise. 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.

Perfect. Lihua thought to herself, as she narrowed her eyes.

"Freeze!" 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... Can you afford to take that chance?" 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. Gooood luck, lads.

"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. Immediately." 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, we all go in the explosion."

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.

"T-T-TAKE YOUR FUCKIN' KI-KI-KIIID BACK, LADY." 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, "What are you waiting for!? Get the rest of them!"

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 birdie told them." Smoke hissed. "Mark is radio silent for days at a time. Woods reception my ass."

"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." Literally.

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.

"... Kill them all." The words came out of her mouth with cold fury.

---

Written in collaboration with @Defacto

---

"That's your plan?" Lucille didn't hid her discontent. It was the second time she met with Meifeng and amazingly the second time she had a plan in her mind. "You realize that every time you come up with a plan the one who ends fucked up it's me?"

"Plans? Ptttf!" Meifeng made the sound, and looked at Lucille. "Honey, that was one time. One! You're acting like I did this a million fucking times already."

"... She says this every time." Jen noted, only to be ignored.

"And who the hell needs a plan? When you get down to it, you just gotta improvise! Leave the thinking to the corporate lawyers, babe." Meifeng said, leaning in. "Either you're out, or you're in, Lucille. Tell me, are you?"

Lucille sighed, running her hand across her face. She looked to Trevor who was just staring at the crowd. She tried to say no but instead said yes—she was unable to avoid the glancing at Cindy's peculiar body shape. "Okay, I'm in."

"Excellent!" Meifeng said, clapping her hands together. "Now, we're going have to get into the place." She turned as she looked down the hill at the party. She saw the gates... garded by Billy, and Bruno. The Bruiser Brothers. They both had super strength, and durability. Yikes... They aren't getting past them. The second they see Meifeng or Cindy, they're going to raise a fuss.

Meifeng quickly looked around. There was no way that none of them could climb the fence without being seen. Using their powers would only attract attention (Which would, in turn, ruin their plan). Then... It came to her.

"Guys, come on." Meifeng said as she started a light jog. The rest of the group joined her in her run around the fence. until they ran into the wooded area. Meifeng kept pushing through the bushes. Until they reached the water, obscured by the bushes. Meifeng took slow, and steady steps, and stepped on water. She took another step, and got the rest of her body over the water without even getting her shoes wet. A little perk she gets from water manipulation. Meifeng smiled as she looked back at her group. The water raised a bit, forming a bubble.

"... All aboard the SS. Vuhong." She tipped her hat.

Without a second of hesitation, Cindy simply jumped onto the bubble. She started twirling her tie as she looked back at the group. "Whaaat?" Cindy said.

"I hate water," Lucille objected hesitating to climb the bubble.

"C'mon, Lucy, it's cool." Cindy said, sportung that same grin. "If Meifeng drops us, I'm pulling her down with us."

Trevor hopped onto the water bubble, he nearly tripped. He threw his arms out, trying to regain his balance. He looked down, and pressed his foot against the water bubble. He giggled a bit, "Walking on water, Meifeng?" Trevor asked. "I'd be impressed, but Jesus beat you to it."

"Bitch, I taught Jesus how to do it." Meifeng said, putting her hands on her hips. She turned to Trevor, shrugging. "He's a cool dude, too. How many times do you meet a time traveling stoner?" She casually asked.

Jennifer hopped onto the bubble, almost about to fall off, but she was stopped when Meifeng and Trevor grabbed onto her arm and shoulder. "Thanks." Jen said, as she stood straight up.

Don't fail on me now, Lucille wanted to say that to her legs. She mentally counted to three and jumped. Her jump was a little out of balance, enough to stumble over Cindy, hugging her instinctively to keep from falling. "I'm sorry!" She yelled with a flushed face.

Looks like everyone's falling off this bubble! Cindy thought to herself when Lucille grabbed onto her to make sure that she didn't fall. She looked at Lucille, with her body pressed up against her. Cindy and Lucille looked each other face to face. "... Heeeeeey." Cindy said with a smile. "Mind letting go?" She asked.

"Yeah, of course," Lucille said looking around to the fearsome water and letting Cindy free. "There was this time I almost drowned..." She shivered.

"What? Afraid of a little water?" Meifeng said, as she knelt down, and started splashing some water on Lucy. Laughing.

Lucy just frowned trying to hold her embarrassment and personnal fear of water.

"C'mon, let's just get on with this." Jen said, looking around. Making sure that nobody sneaks up on them.

"Yeah, yeah..." Meifeng said, standing straight up. She started waving her hands in the air, and the bubble moved with the entire group on top of it. It started moving towards the party, the edges of it that were hidden behind the rocks.

"What? Need me to hold your hand, Lucy?" Cindy teased Lucy, putting her hands on her hips, shifting her weight.

"What?" Lucy said, followed by a brief pause, "No, thanks." She said looking away.

Cindy started laughing.

"Alright, we're here. Act cool everyone." Meifeng said as they approached the rocks. The bubble carried them onto the beach, before Meifeng and the others stepped off, and it receded back into the ocean.

As a group, they walked up to the party. Which was a massive crowd of people so big that it was hard to discern one person from another. Perfect way to sneak in.

"Alright guys," Meifeng said, throwing her hands behind her head. "We made it past part one of my master plan, now it's time for the part where we ruin everything."

"... Still don't know what your plan is." Jen said, scratching the back of her neck.

"Oooooh, I have an idea!" Trevor said, raising a finger in the air, with his blue eyes full of idealism and hope. "How about we add a little something to their drinks?" Trevor said, putting his finger out. He produced a bit of his drug at his fingertip, and it dripped down onto the sand. "If they have punch, or food out...." Trevor said, fiendishly. "One drop of this will have them high as a kite."

"Not that thing with the finger again." Lucy said with a sigh. "Ehh... I'll... go to the food and... ruin... the pizza and chicken." She said awkwardly and without the slightest idea what to do.

"Good, you and Trevor can go fuck that up." Meifeng said, putting her hands on her hips. "You can bring Cindy." Meifeng flicked her hand out.

"Hm? You're volunteering me?" Cindy swayed her hips again.

"You hang out with me enough," Meifeng replied. "You should get to know new people. Like Lucy here!" Meifeng slapped her hand onto Jen's shoulder. "Besiiiiiiiides, I want to hang out with my first homegirl right here!"

Jen started awkwardly laughing. "Hehe... y-yeah." She said, as she flicked hair out of her face.

"Looks like it's time for us to split." Meifeng said. "You three do your thing, and me and Jen will do ours."

"Roger that, boss!" Lucy said with a salute directed to Meifeng. "Shall we go? I'm hungry."

"Yup." Cindy said, sporting that same smile. She turned and walked off into the crowd.

"Heeeey, you won't be very hungry after I'm done with the food." Trevor said with a impish grin.

Meifeng and Jen began walking in another direction. Jen made sure to keep extra close to Meifeng.

---

---

Meifeng could practically sense the anxiety Jen was giving off. You didn't need to be a psychic to tell, especially since Jen was practically seconds away from clinging to her arm.

There was a part of the bruiser that understood the fear. It was just that Meifeng chose to reject it, and push on with confidence (Or at least a facade), instead of giving in. Meifeng isn't the type to show fear. She needed strength, and fear is a weakness. Meifeng kept walking through the party with Jen in tow - but she kept her head down. She had to remember they were crashing this bitch! The fact that Meifeng had a distinctive, and rather pronounced, appearance didn't help the matter either. So, she grabbed her hat, and tilted her head use it to cover her face. At least she was surrounded by drunken kids, and whatever.

Speaking of drunken kids, all around Meifeng were boys and girls in swimwear. Dancing, drinking, and having fun. In her eyes, there was just eye-candy far as she could see! Too bad that she was dedicated to Anna (If the girl actually returns her feelings). Oh well. Meifeng had to think of ways to screw all of this over. Not like the obvious, and just throw water in the speakers. She had to be creative! Think outside the box! The best plans come when you improvise (Or, she had the most fun improvising).

They were by the fence. Not too many people out here. Meifeng would be content with walking until she found something to do - but the rumbling and reving of a motorcycle caught her attention. She raised her hat, and turned her face to look. She wondered who the hell was bringing a motorcycle to this party. Most parents to these bratty-ass kids barely buy cars for them - who the hell has a motorcycle?

A spark of curiousity drew Meifeng to this mysterious cyclist (Even though it'd probably end up being pointless, or boring, or boringly pointless).The cyclist kicked the stand of her motorcycle down. It was a Kraus-make, and the muscle of the bike and its skeleton was visible to the eye. Nearly as soon as her combat boots hit the pavement, she took off her helmet and locked it around the seat. She was clearly a very young woman, beyond her teens, but still with many years to go. She combed her fingers through curly ginger hair, stylized in pixie faux hawk, blending with the red thermal she was wearing under her leather jacket. A smug, judgemental grin had stretched across her face as she checked out the party's scene from the outside.

And she was hot.

The cyclist leaned against the seat of her bike and crossed her arms as she looked . at the place left and right, before digging into a pocket of her baggy camouflage pants to procure a cheap looking flip phone and texted a brief message.

'Well, I made it. IDK about this place, I just hope there's free food. Wish me luck, lamb~'

Meifeng, after watching her, had a bit more curiosity about who she was. Definitely not someone she's seen before (She dressed like she was from out of town, too). Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained (As she keeps telling herself). It might be fine to find out just who she is. And if she's a bitch, then Meifeng will just deck her and toss her behind some bushes.

It was only after a few brief moments had the stranger finally began moving towards the building. She carried herself with a particular swagger, a sure sign of confidence, but was at least somewhat guarded, if only for the idea that she was an uninvited newcomer around these parts.

Meifeng waited for a few moments as the strange girl walked in. Just to get her a little out of sight before they have their conversation. Meifeng grinned, before walking up to her. She made sure to carry an aura of confidence. "Heeeeeey, you there." Meifeng said, as she put her hands on her hips, taking large steps. "Haven't seen you around these parts."

Jen, who had been reluctantly going along, simply flicks her bangs aside and looked at Meifeng. "Verthaven is a big city, you know..."

Only to recieve Meifeng's elbow. "Shut up Jen, I'm trying to make conversation." She whispered.

The redhead was somewhat taken back by the sudden introduction. She had only just waltzed in and she was already making friends? Sweet. As she looked up, she caught a look at the nasty scar that was attempted to be hidden under the girl's hat, warranting a curious (and maybe even slightly worried) expression.

"Oh, uh, yeah." She responded to Meifeng. Her voice was soft. "I'm new in town, just came in a couple days ago and all, and uh... damn, were you fighting bears or somethin'? That looks sick."

This girl is right to the point.... Jen thought to herself as her eyes went to Meifeng. She looked around for a moment. The whole night there was probably even worse for Jen. It's just that she can walk away from some horrible injuries without scars.

Meifeng can't.

Good grief. Meifeng closed her eyes for a moment, and tried to clear her mind. Just remember you're moving on from that. Meifeng thought to herself, as she simply looked off for a moment. "... Something like that." Meifeng softly said. Not making eyecontact again for another couple seconds. She realized that, with one comment about her scar, she basically froze up with awkwardness. God damn it, I can't keep doing this. She thought to herself.

"Dude!" She chimed with goofy smile, butting her with her elbow. "Remind me not to mess with you then, eh?"

"... Uh, where are you from, then?" Jen asked, trying her best to change the subject from Meifeng's injuries. Because not everyone can look as scarless as Jen.

"Huh? Ooohh, right, right... up and over by Maine, actually. Y'know, top right corner? Opposite of so-Cal?"

"Oh?" Jen said. "How is it up there?" She said, trying to make small talk. There was a part of her that was highly questioning the decision to visit Verthaven of all places. Yet, there was a familar aura around the girl. With the hair, motorcycle, and... the bruises on her knuckles that Jen found very hard to ignore. Like she seemed like the type of person who wouldn't care about all the chaos that's swirling around Verthaven, and show up anyway. Because it'd be fun. A lot like Meifeng and the other girls that Jen knows.

Meifeng had crossed her arms, choosing to remain silent. Just for a second. She made one big inhale through her nose, then let it all out her mouth. A breathing technique they taught her in Karate class. She didn't want to let Jen keep the conversation going (Or God forbide try). She looked out through the fence at her bike again.

"... You came all the way here from Maine on that?" Meifeng suddenly said, throwing a thumb in the direction of the bike. "You braver than me - but the question I want to know is, what brought you to this party? Only Verthaven kids here."

"Cold." She said simply and unimpressed to the two girls, nodding. "Cold and wet. Like Cali - but colder, and with shittier streets. And moose."

She turned to face Meifeng, the the corner of her mouth curled up in an amused smirk.She shifted her weight to one side of her body and crossed her arms as her hips rocked. "Hey now, don't you diss my ride. I got a glovebox full of teeth from people who do that sorta thing. For the record, I just found this place, okay? Free food, better than eating out, right?"

Meifeng just accepted her simple explaination. Hey, she's right though. Free food is free food. Especially when you're stealing from people too drunk to give a shit. She closed her eyes, and crossed her arms. "I don't get how you people live in these cold-ass states. I lived in Black Fall for two years and nearly froze my tits off every winter." Meifeng noted, crudely, but honestly. "Here in Verthaven, always warm. Always sunny. You can just run out and have fun."

Since she was letting Meifeng take charge (Because it was pretty obvious to Jen that she wouldn't have much to say to Reyna), Jen was absorbing bits and pieces of their conversation. Such as the matter of food. Jen was searching around for some food. While they were talking, Jen saw a pizza box that was conveniently abandoned, and quickly walked over to it. Like, nearly ran. Since, she wanted to get there and back before anything nasty grabs her. She bent forward, and grabbed the pizza, and quickly head back.

The biker barely kept herself from snorting in amusement. "Yeah, well," she started as she leaned forward and pointed a finger at Meifeng, "I guess we people are just made of tougher stuff. What do you think?"

Her tone was challenging, but not necessarily malignant. "Strongly worded banter" was probably a better descriptor for it, but there were definitely some buttons she seemed to be trying to push.

"Hehehehe...." Meifeng laughed, putting her hands on her sides. "Bet you'd melt after one summer in Verthaven!" She teased. She took Reyna's comment in stride (Or it flew over her head). This girl seemed pretty cool (They should get to the name asking part soon, but whatever). This might be the perfect opportunity! Meifeng always told herself to improvise whenever possible, and always do something spontaneous. What's more spontaneous than a asking random girl she talked to for five minutes to help ruin a party?

Meifeng took two looks around, and there weren't too many people nearly. She doubt that this chick was the snitching type (If so, Meifeng will take it upon herself to give her some stitches like that stupid phrase), and she was more than willing to take that risk. She leaned in, and put a hand to the side of her mouth.

"Psst... Let me let you in on a little secret...." She started off, looking at Jen for a moment - who was more than content with staying quiet - and continued her explaination. "Two of us? We're not supposed to be here. The person hosting this party is a total bitch. Like, you can count all her character traits with one hand! So, I assembled a little group of friends to go... you know? Fuck it all up for it. Make the worst party that Verthaven has ever seen!" Meifeng swiped her hand through the air dramatically

The stranger looked at Meifeng with a mix of interest and awkwardness. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "Sounds neat and all, and like... I mean, damn chica. Buy a girl dinner first, y'know? Like... look, hey, my name is Reyna. Tell me yours and then maybe we can talk about a date."

"Heeeeeeeeey... I'm Meifeng. Yes, I know, Chinese-ass name. But, I'm to the point, baby. I'm not the type to fool around with the boring stuff." Meifeng shrugged, closing her eyes. Opening them wide, before she sported a innocent smile.

"Uh, y-yeah, right." Reyna stammered quietly, apparently losing her demeanor. She turned away just a tad.

Jen had returned with the box of pizza (Missing the introductions). She nodded her head at Reyna. "Um, I grabbed us some pizza." Jennifer stammered. "We can talk over some food--"

"Oh great, we've got grub!" Reyna interjected about as soon as Jen came to deliver the goods. She opened the box to peer inside at the treasure trove of the greatest party food that life had to offer them. "Awesome, I'm starving. We can talk about party crashing after I got my fill, eh?"

"Yeah, yeah." Meifeng said. "Could go for some pizza too - Oh yeah, this is Jen." Meifeng noted.

"Yeah, nice to meet'cha." Reyna replied. Her eyes have yet to be taken off her quarry.

Jen spotted some chairs off to the side (Like hell they'd sit in sand). Jen sat down, and opened the pizzabox. Pepperroni. A few slices were taken, but there was still enough for the three of them... Though, she doubted that they were going to share. Jen simply took one slice, and started chewing. Because of that regenerative factor, the NEST doctors said she has to eat a little extra (On the plus side, she'll have to try extra hard to get fat!).

Meifeng sat down, and reached for the pizza - but quickly stopped, and put her hands on her lap. Let's see what Reyna does first?

Reyna didn't have as much restraint as he new acquaintence. As suspicious as she'd normally be of party food in California, she was starving, and she figured she could fight these two little girls off if it was laced - after her system fought that off, of course. She grabbed two slices, and lacking a plate, she stuck them together, the bottom side of the slices on either side with all the good stuff in the middle.

'Like a pizza sandwich. Or something.'

Nor did Reyna have the restraint to keep her from wolfing it down the moment she got her hungry hands on it.

---

The party was loud. Obnoxious. Noisy. Chaotic.

Nothing like he thought it would've been.

Cole was in a corner of the beachhead that served as party ground zero. There was a DJ playing obnoxious music (and he wasn't even doing anything he was just leaving his Macbook on autoplay while he mimed fiddling with his things), people around dancing and drinking and having fun. And then there he was, a glass of punch in his hands as he sat in one of the side chairs, alone, a plate of finger food resting on his lap.

The party itself, it wasn't his idea to attend. He'd been convinced to go after he'd heard (read: grabbed information from Verthaven's data network) that some of his old classmates from the Academy were coming. A bunch of Chinese girls, couple of guys and girls, nothing more. He barely remembered their names, it'd been a while since he'd seen them last. Hopefully they'd remember him more than he remembered them. But here he was, twiddling his thumbs as he tried to ignore the ever-present streams of data that flowed from all the various cellphones up into the sky. He could see information jumping out at him; tweets about how "totally rad the party was", Facebook status updates, Youtube videos, text messages, even feeds from phone cameras! It was all driving him crazy.

Cole sighed and stood, taking his plate with him as he wandered to a railing to stand, trying to breathe in fresh air before some drunken lout with too much cologne on bumped into him again. As he rested, his eyes were drawn to the Verthaven sky. Thousands, if not millions of data streams intertwined and entangled with each other as they wound their way into the sky and around the city. Like little silver threads, they were the metaphysical representations of your text messages, tweets, Vines, bank transactions, forum posts and general riff raff that populated the world of cyberspace. Everything from the Internet to computerised traffic systems to the Verthaven power grid's networking glimmered and weaved patterns in the sky and space above the city. He couldn't access them from here though, no sir. He could only watch them and wonder what they contained.

Cole sighed again, blanking out as he leaned against the railing, not aware that just beside him were two of his former classmates from the Academy, conversing with an as yet unknown woman over a box of pizza.

---

_{@DJAtomika@Spoopy Scary}

---

A few moments after Reyna began eating, Meifeng decided to scarf down on a pizza herself. She took a bite out of it, and let out a "Mhm" sound. This plan was going to be great! After they perform a little prepping, that is. Never do anything on an empty stomach. Though, the conversation went dead afterwards. That made things more than a little awkward for Meifeng. She wanted to talk, but found it hard to think of stuff to say. It wasn't long before she simply gave up, and looked away. Looking for another thing to do.

Eyes drifted around the party. Part of her was looking for Trevor, Cindy, or Lucy. Another part of her was looking for Sophia, so they know when to dip. However, Meifeng's eyes observed another person. A boy, usually unremarkable. Brown hair. He was a total twig, didn't have any muscles! Meifeng had more muscles than him (And that's embarrassing). Yet, it took Meifeng a couple seconds to recognize this twig. Cole Sykes (Or was it John? Everyone called him Cole anyway). They haven't seen that weirdo in ages! Meifeng wanted to see what was up.

Meifeng quickly hopped up to her feet, and without a word, walked over to the boy. "Heeeeeeeeeeey, Cole." Meifeng said. Greeting him with a wide smile - before that smile turned into a frown when she remembered her scar. She quickly tilted her head, and used the hat to cover her face. "Didn't expect to see you here." Meifeng said, changing her tone to sound more mysterious. "Haven't seen your ass in years, how you doing?"

---

---

"More Metahumans are showing up." The Boss noted, with her arms behind her back. She raised an eyebrow as she looked down on the beach.

"This is starting to look a little bad..." The man said.

"What? You should be able to handle this. You're a REAPER." The Boss teasingly said with a smirk. She reached into her back pockets, and pulled out two large syringes, which were glowing brightly with a green liquid. She held them up, presenting them to the two REAPERS. "See these? They're advanced versions of our little Mutagen. These will put you on par with those freaks. If you get discovered, and have to fight your way out, just use these, and you'll be able to fight your way out."

"Ooooh...." The man said as he stared at the syringes. He quickly looked up at the Boss, and asked, "Wait, you're not coming down with us?"

"I think not." She said. Handing the syringes to the two REAPERS. "I'm only here to observe, and collect data - and, should we get discovered... I think it's best I don't reveal my hand too early."

"Wait, what powers will these give us?" The female REAPER said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask Doc Cross what these do." The Boss said. She flicked her hand. "They give you powers. Work with it." She said. "Now, move in. We don't have all night." She said.

The two REAPER Agents nodded their heads, before they moved down from the perch they were on, hopping the fence into the beach.

removed

---

_{Written in Collaboration with @UrbanEvolution, @DeadBeatWalking, & @Zombiedude101}

---

Lihua dropped the Deadman switch, as Acid Scar started shouting at them. She stomped her foot into the ground, and it sounded like it hit with a lot more impact judging off the loud crash. A wall of concrete erected between the NEST Agents, and the building. The second her finger let go of the switch, every bomb in the building went off at once. The building went up in one large explosion. Every window exploded, as the building went up in flames. The explosion could be heard from all over the Isabella Isle. Many of the Changelings were instantly killed in the explosion. The few that survived sure as hell took a mighty hit.

Acid Scar's porous, chemical-laced skin did him little favors. Before he could gratify Lihua with a scream, his entire frame had reduced to withering black leather. Unfortunately, he shielded most of The Changelings, leaving Smoke only singed and Ironsides and Wild Fang annoyed. Another new problem was the noise NEST had made alerting their presence to the few Changelings in the Ghost Town away from the hide out.

The armored trucks containing the infants had already escaped the blast zone, peeling away the moment Leon had confirmed Acid-Scar's truth. Though the children had been guaranteed safety, the NEST agents began to doubt theirs for a moment (Except for Lihua, she's ready to die in this fight).

"Agent Dragonfly requesting permission to engage." Henry said from his ambush position. He was just itching to fuck someone up.

"Permission granted." Max said into the comms. "Take them out."

Lihua raised both hands in the air, putting them sideways, before she dropped them. She cut the walls of concrete in half, before she swung her hand, palms down, sideways. Slicing the concrete into blocks. She pulled her fist back, and slammed it forward into the concrete. Each of the blocks that she created shot forward, flying into the walls at high velocity. Smoke was unfortunate enough to get hit by the block of concrete. It carried him right into the wall, and sent him through it. Killing him instantly.

Lihua raised her foot into the air, before dropping it. It tore a chunk of concrete out of the ground underneath her feet. Which levitated, and carried her around. She raised her hands in the air, and pulled many concrete rocks off the ground, and it began circling around her. Forming a shield.

Henry exploded from his position, which was only about sixty feet away from the now destroyed casino. Wild Fang and Ironsides had just risen out of the rubble when Henry, with all his speed and momentum decked into Wild Fang's torso, sending them both into Ironside, running over the poor man in a flurry of claws, scales, and fur. As Henry lost momentum he threw Wild Fang off of him a few meters away.

---

A massive creature came running through the walls of one of the buildings not too far away from the battle. Once the cloud dissipated, it revealed the twenty-five foot tall monster, that looked like an organic robot, covered in rough armor. The Colossus. It stood straight up, and balled it's fists. It began a dangerous charge right for the center of the NEST Group.

"I got this!" Maximilian said as he did a pose. He flew up into the air at the Colossus, and Echo came out of his body. The Colossus picked up speed, and Echo started flying at the Colossus's feet. With one swipe of his hands, Echo sent the Colossus tumbling backward. Breaking the street, before it dug it's massive hands into the ground to slow down it's momentum. It was kneeling down, as it faced Max. Max had his arms crossed as his feet hit the ground. Echo standing right behind him.

The Colossus started running at Max with it's fists balled. Echo responded by rushing the brute at high speeds, and quickly delievered a barrage of fists that moved so fast that it looked like Echo had a lot more arms. The Colossus threw it's arms up to block, but the barrage of high impact punches cracked it's armor. Threatening to break it if it kept up.

The Colossus took a step back, and kicked it's leg forward at high impact. It hit Echo, and sent the golden-shadow of Max flying backwards. Max let out a loud yelp as he quickly got out of the way. Echo disappeared, then appeared again right behind Max. Standing over him.

The Colossus balled it's fists. Max was ready.

---

Ironside rolled off the wall with a flurry of high-pitched metallic dings and scratches as he balanced himself out, steadying himself on the concrete. He glared at Henry who was preoccupied, though that was likely to Henry's advantage -- All of his clothes had been burned off but his leather boots and about a pair of board short's worth of decency from his still-smoldering jeans. His metal skin was red hot, and his eyes resembled molten gold. He shouted in sheer, primal rage at Henry as steam radiated off is skin in lieu of sweat.

In short, he was terrifying.

"I've been waiting to have a crack at your ass since I heard about you!" Henry snarled to Wild Fang, a devilish, feral grin on his face. His attention was taken away for a moment by Ironsides shouting and he really wished he hadn't turned his head to look at him. A red hot floppy dick was probably the scariest thing he'd ever seen.

The young man sprinted towards Henry, launching himself forward like a lion chasing prey. As Henry's attention switched from Wild Fang to Ironsides. It wasn't much of a real plan that Henry was cooking up, much the opposite- because that's what fighting was. Henry however had been trained to do one thing in all twenty years of hand to hand combat.

Side stepping usually always worked. And so, Henry did just that.

Ironsides' flew forward, and directly into Wild Fang, who's balance was thrown off. This resulted in the larger of the two of them falling. Ironsides skidded along the ground, sliding with a metallic hiss, steadying himself with both hands.

"Not like this." He barked, clenching his jaw tight enough for Henry to hear his metal teeth crack.

"Bro I'm just waiting until you cool down. First rule of baking- wear oven mits or do not touch the hot food." Henry said, standing to his full height and grabbing a rather large lead pipe from off the floor.

Henry thought Ironsides had laughed at the joke, though the sound he made was either a very strained laugh or a bark. He launched himself at the agent again, now prepared for any misdirection the agent had tricked him with once.

---

"Okay, gotta take the shot." Sonya lined up the shot with Ironsides - before a buzzing filled her ears from behind. Wasp. Sonya thought to herself as her tongue shot out of her mouth, and latched onto the edge of the building. She jumped off, just as Wasp was rushing her, and her tongue acted as the rope. Wasp was floating above her, looking down.

"... Freak." Wasp said.

Sonya said, "Takes one to know one", but, because of obvious reasons, it came out incomprehensible. She put her hand (Other hand was holding the rifle), and feet, onto the wall, and it clung against them as she retracted her tongue. As Wasp rushed her, she leaped off the wall, and Wasp followed behind he. She landed on the ground - which was bad, because she was in the action, a sniper is never in the action - as Wasp flew at her at high speeds with a knife.

She quickly reached for her knife, before shooting her tongue out against. It hit wasp directly in the face.

"Oh! Oh my God!" Wasp shouted, as all he saw was Sonya's pink tongue. She quickly pulled him in closer, and jabbed the knife into his throat. He gargled, as blood pooled. He was dead a few seconds later.

Sonya quickly looked back up at her perch. She was about to jump up onto it, before she heard something. Like a fucking landslide. She turned, to see a wall of dirt flying right at her, filling up the street.

"Bloody hell!" Sonya shouted, as she instinctively jumped into the air, looking down. She saw a tall, skeleton-creature, riding on top of it. It had dark-brown "skin" (It was so bony, that it barely appeared to have any skin), and these large, glowing yellow eyes. He turned and looked up at Sonya, and the dirt quickly formed hands that started flying towards her.

Sonya reacted quickly, and shot her tongue out, which attached to the edge of the building. It pulled her right for the ledge of the building, out of the way. She quickly grabbed on, and launched herself onto the roof. Quickly, her hand went to her earpiece.

"... Think I found Gravedigger!" Sonya said into the comms. "I could use some help! You all know I'm not equipped for up close and personal fights like this!"

The hands made of dirt grabbed onto the ledge, as Gravedigger raised himself in the air on a hill of dirt.

---

The relatively short time since his “enlistment” with NEST had felt like a lot longer to Quentin, especially when he piled the training he’d been given and the overall process on top of his ‘Agent’ status. Agent Taylor, Agent Quentin Taylor, 'Counterpoint' - somehow it felt..... odd, didn’t exactly roll off the tongue, either. He’d never wanted to be a cop, felt almost an aversion to it when he’d first heard Reed say he was going to join the academy at the first chance he got, yet here he was.

In true NEST fashion, he’d slipped on a tactical vest fresh from the armory’s locker over a long-sleeved combat shirt whilst wearing a pair of combat pants, complete with padding in the appropriate areas. Around his waist was a tactical duty belt with a holstered Glock 23 on his right whilst he wore a pair of combat boots. His gloves were also lightly padded with Kevlar yet he’d opted for the pair without the finger tips, allowing him the finer functions that he would’ve been inhibited from if they were fully covered. To top it off, he'd grabbed a Remington 870 Police issue from the armory and was in for a whole world of shit, or so he'd mused not long before it hit the fan.

"This is Counterpoint, breaking cover," he uttered into his PTT headset as he moved in alongside other NEST agents with his weapon at the ready, searching his field of vision for potential targets. Barring the fact it was his duty, he wanted a chance to bring some retribution against these bastards for everything they'd done to him and judging by the brief, he might have had a shot against that bitch, Heartbreaker. Approaching one of the dilapidated and now burning casino's blown-out windows, he spotted a smoldering figure bursting through the windowsill, strewing debris all over the vicinity.

As it escaped the smoke and the flames, he noticed chunks of the figure's mass sloughing off and writhing on the floor. Leeches. Dozens of them, shriveling away at the presence of the intense heat and smoke and dying en-masse, yet the figure continued onwards toward him with a heavy stride. Quentin leveled his shotgun with the Leechman and squeezed back on the trigger, firing off a spread of lead pellets which disintegrated some of the leeches fixed to its torso and causing the bastard to stagger.

The Leechman roared in the air. It's inhuman, needle-like, teeth were on full display when it opened it's jaws so wide it looked like it unhinged. His eyes glew bright red as he hunched over, looking at Quentin. Before it suddenly rushed him, extending it's claws. However, it was launching leeches off it's body at him.

Quentin recoiled as the leeches were flung against him, sacrificing his aim so that he could heftily sweep the leeches off before they did any real harm. Even through the sleeve of his combat shirt he could still feel the vile things trying to clamp down into his skin, making it clear that these were no ordinary leeches.

While Quentin was getting the leeches off of him, the aberrant charged him, making it clear it was simply a momentary distraction. It charged so wildly, it appears to be thrown off balance. When it was close, it swiped it's claws at him.

One swipe was close enough to snag and tear his shotgun sling away and another knocked the shotgun out of his grasp, briefly sending him staggering backwards, off-balance. Training only did so much for you when you were in the heat of the moment and about now he felt like he was in the god-damned steel mill. Without thinking, Quentin instinctively reached for his sidearm and snapped it to the ready, firing off a short volley of.40 rounds at the Leechman's center mass, hoping for the stopping power to punch through its organic body-armour.

The Leech man took a few steps back, the impact sent it backwards. It looked down, and some leeches merely dropped off. These leeches were enhanced, just like their host. It laughed a little. It threw it's arms backwards, then quickly flung them out at Quentin, sending the leeches on it's arms at him in a shotgun style attack that wouldn't be easy to avoid. It exposed it's arms, long, and nearly skeletal. Yet, it quickly grew more leeches off it's body. It looked up at Quentin.

Unable to ignore the volley of aggressive leeches being thrown his way, Quentin recoiled and staggered backwards yet again, cursing rather colourfully as one bit through the kevlar padding of his right glove. "Fucking freak!" It forced him to drop his pistol as he tore it away with a free hand, clenching his palm into a fist to dull the pain. The Leechman grew closer, probably ready for another volley of leeches, forcing Quentin to think fast.

Remembering the tactical knife on his belt, he quickly contemplated something that could've been wither downright suicidal or ingenious before deciding it was do or die. At the last minute, he yanked the knife out with his right hand before making a charge for the Leechman in an effort to drive the blade as far in as he could, even if it meant pushing through the mass of leeches.

There was a violent cry of pain as the knife punched through flesh. There was the disgusting sounds of flesh being torn as the leeches on the creature's frame started violently shaking (Like a rave!). It put it's claws onto the blade, and tried to pull it out... before it looked up at Quentin. It opened it's mouth wide, and launched it's mouth at Quentin's neck. Were it not for the (expensive) protective gear he wore, he would've possibly bled out or choked to death on his own blood had the bite been made with surgical precision. Instead, amidst the struggling between the two it bit down between his neck and shoulder, it's needle-like teeth just barely punching through the padding of his vest. Quentin howled with an agonised growl and relinquished his grip of the knife as one might drop a glass if surprised, jamming his fingers inside the wound it had created.

The Leechman wasn't getting the results it wanted. Quentin jamming fingers into it's fresh wound made it take steps back, releasing it's grip on him. It's red eyes flashed red, before it simply lunged at him with all that it had. Quentin met force with force, taking advantage of the Leechman's aggression by letting it get close before turning its own momentum against itself. In a way, it was like the security work he'd done for years with the likes of drunken troublemakers and wannabe thugs with the same method. Quentin thrust his an elbow into the Leechman's neck and jabbed his free hand into the gaping wound, this time pushing hard against it.

Ahead of them, the burning structure had gone to further ruin and huge gaps existed in the building where windows had blown out and the architecture had collapsed in on itself. The flames roared like an open furnace, and the Leechman frantically scrabbled and screamed as it felt chunks of its mass either and die, scorched by the flames. It tried to push Quentin to the ground, yet this time he sent a frustrated kick to its knee before giving it a final shove into the roaroaring depdepths of the building.

It's mass charred and withered, the foul stench of burning "flesh" permeated the air as the Leechman wailed its swan song. For good measure, Quentin recovered his lost sidearm and returned (dangerously close given it was a burning building already structurally weakened by well-placed explosives) to empty the remainder of his magazine into the barely moving. "Better safe than sorry" he murmured.

@Mr Allen J

---

"Heeeeeeeeeeey, Cole."

At that, he started out of his "trance" and snapped back to the present. To his left was the ever pretty Meifeng Vuhong, one of his classmates from the Academy from days gone by. After they'd graduated he'd gone his own way from the "popular" clique, and even in school he hadn't socialised with them much. They only needed him for his data crunching powers, and not much else.

"H- hey Meifeng."

"Didn't expect to see you here. Haven't seen your ass in years, how you doing?"

"I..."

How had he been doing? Should he tell her about his dead end job in Haven? That he was working for a woman who could turn into smoke? That his closest friend was an adrenaline junkie who could manipulate his own bones? That his days were spent making coffee and warming up food in a microwave?

"I've been fine, Meifeng. Haven't seen you in a while too. How've you been?"

---

_{Written in Collaboration with @Mr Allen J, & @DeadBeatWalking}

---

"Da-da-da DA DA DAAAAAAA!" Henry just about shouted, swinging the lead pipe he had picked up like a baseball bat at Ironsides as he flew towards him.

The metal pipe reverberated in his skull more painfully than the actual hit itself was. Ironsides flew backwards, and was well acquainted with the ground once again. Ironsides stumbled back onto his feet, words sliding out of his mouth as if his tongue were swollen.

"That hurt." He mumbled, holding his face in a stunned stupor.

Henry didn't really waste any time though. The bottoms of his feet were covered. And so, since he had SOME protection, Henry did one of the things he did best.

The spartan kick.

Ironsides was knocked onto his back as if he had ran into a clothesline, though it did little to pacify him. He was certainly stunned, and it felt as if he had been hammered in the chest by a blacksmith's hammer

Henry kept moving forward though. Ironside's skin was still probably very hot, but it wasn't red anymore. Which would help. He dropped the pipe as he turned, using his huge and powerfully muscled tail to lift the metal man off of the ground by the ankle. Around him was rubble, some from the now destroyed building, some from this part of town just being itself. But exposed broken concrete had metal rod framing. Henry slammed Ironsides down onto the ground next to a particularly large hunk of concrete, and pinned the metal man down with his foot. With his immense strength, he used one of the metal rods as a leash and bent it around the man's neck- keeping him right where he was.

Ironsides snarled, and would have bitten Henry were it not for the fact that the metal rod was holding his jaw shut. Still, his body convulsed in wild thrashing kicks and punches, trying desperately to hit at anything. Though his anger was chaotic and misguided, Wild Fang's was not.

He used the chaos of the scene to snatch up a NEST agent, and dove into the burning building by the time Henry had incapacitated Ironsides. Most of the agents assumed it was a suicide attempt, and made no effort to crawl into the blaze through the now-broken window.

Henry turned around to face Wild Fang, who was gone.

"FUCK." Henry just about roared, genuinely pissed off that the one fuck he was here for had moved away. Henry looked down at Ironsides. "You see what you did? God damnit man!"

Then, a new threat came to their attention. A rumbling in the distance. It was feint, as if they were on a very large boat that had been scraped, and a vibration rang out in the ears and feet of the NEST agents, as if the earth was shifting.

A figure rose in the distance. There was a hill about thirty feet high rising out of the center of the street, slowly crushing the concrete sidewalks and frames of houses as it rose. At the top, there was the upper half of a man.

His face was oddly calm, devoid of any emotion, as if he were only the upper half of a mannequin, and his skin was the same shade of brown as upturned soil.

"His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone." He spoke in a booming voice.

---

The Colossus ran up, and threw a punch so strong at Max that had the strength to break the man in one blow.

Max just stood there, no Echo in sight. Once the Colossus was right where he wanted him, he quickly floated off to the side. The armored fist flew right by Max, and Echo shot out of his body, and delivered a series of punches that moved faster than the eye could comprehend at the Colossus. Quickly moving up it's body, each blow sounded like a shot from a machine gun. One last upper-cut was delivered to the Colossus's face, which sent the giant stumbling backwards. Blood started dripping from it's face as it realized that it's armor was cracked.

It turned it's body around, and grabbed an abandoned car and tried to swing it at Echo, but it was quick enough to immediately zip upwards, and deliver one powerful kick, followed by a series of lightning fast blows. The Colossus stumbled backwards, and tried to punch, but Echo flew at him at high speeds, and delivered a punch across it's cheek, and sent the brute flying backwards and it flew through a wall.

Echo faded away. Max put one hand in the pocket and started walking back over to the Colossus. The rumbling in the distance immediately made Max turn around. He saw the dirt move almost as if it was a living limb, and immediately thought of Gravedigger. Well, at least Mark's information was correct. The man out of dirt was engaging Agent Vuhong, and Agent Page.

Looks like Agent Cornell will have to lend a hand. He started flying towards Gravedigger, and immediately deployed Echo.

---

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Gravedigger said again in his booming voice. He raised one arm, and the pile of dirt he seemed to be sprouting from began spinning, with small tentacles of compressed soil lashing out at the NEST agents like biting snakes.

Lihua was floating in the air - making sure not to go above the houses (Out of fear that she would make herself an easy target for Heartbreaker). The shield of concrete could deflect so much. They weren't really going to stop a 50. cal. She was looking down, searching for a taget, as every Agent was engaging a member of the Changeling Unit... and then the rumbling and shaking, followed by the dirt, gave her a good indication of an opponent. Gravedigger. He certainly lives up to his name. He can control dirt on a massive scale. He's practically dragging an island around with him. Who knows what he could do if he decides to destroy Verthaven.

Fortunately, Lihua's going to stop him before he could even start. By putting a concrete lance through his skull.

She quickly raised her hand up into the air and tore a chunk of concrete out of the ground, and crafted a wall in between Grave Digger's attack, and the NEST Agents. The dirt merely collided with the concrete, and otherwise did no damage. She thrust her palm outwards, and sent the wall flying right at Grave Digger.

Gravedigger created a massive hand of dirt, and caught the blocks. Wrapping them in soil, before throwing them right back at Lihua in explosions of dirt. Lihua merely raised her hand into the air, and the blocks of broken concrete froze in the air.

The dirt, on the other hand, was still flying towards her, compacting itself in midair into a small boulder.

Lihua quickly shifted out of the way.

Gravedigger sank into his still-growing hill before he could see whether or not his attack missed. The spinning stopped, and the exterior dirt stopped growing, and began to press together, squeezing out water and changing in texture to hard clay.

What is he up to? Lihua thought to herself. She was patiently floating above the ground for him to come out. Last thing she wanted to do was rush in headfirst, and end up getting killed.

The long silence ended. Gravedigger exploded from the top of the hill, no longer in his bare, vulnerable form, but through a gigantic soil avatar. He had been recreated perfectly, as if the tremendous statue was really him. He roared in anger, swinging both hands to clap Lihua into a fine paste.

Of course they always transform. Lihua rolled her eyes. It's always the standard evil villain tactic. They shift into a "stronger" form, without considering the weaknesses. The very second the giant tried to crush her, Lihua immediately reacted (Waiting for such a moment, in fact). She quickly began her descent, and the street opened up, a large hole formed in it. Lihua fell into the hole, and it closed up behind her. She quickly burrowed through the concrete, only the sounds of cracking (and dust rustling above) giving away her position.

Another hole opened behind Gravedigger, and she emerged, quickly rising up into the air. She raised both hands into the air. She pulled concrete lances from the walls around her, and they all floated towards her. She swung both hands out, and they all started flying at Gravedigger spinning.

Sonya and Leon got into position on opposite roofs. They immediately took aim, and began tearing away at Gravedigger. Sonya's 50. cal put holes clean through it. While Leon's shots were doing damages.

All while Agent Supersonic was flying towards Lihua. Wielding her machine gun, she opened fire.

The soil titan was torn to shreds from the concrete spikes and bullets alike. It collapsed, leaving a massive pile of dirt in the middle of the street, piling up to the roofs of buildings it hadn't already destroyed. The NEST agents on the ground closest were buried in an instant, though most began to run from the near-mudslide. Giant hands of dirt erupted out of the ground, and started flying at Helena and Lihua.

Max arrived just in time, and flew in between the two. He dove right at the hands, flattening his body like a torpedo. Echo flew right into the dirt hands, and delievered a barrage that reduced the hands to clouds of dirt, falling carelessly onto the ground. There wasn't anything left of the hand, and Max pushed through. He quickly flew up to Gravedigger's head, and Echo performed a roundhouse kick that knocked a great deal of dirt off Gravedigger's face. It exposed it's aberration pilot, and Max sent Echo in, but Gravedigger deployed a series of tentacles, and grabbed onto Max.

"Uh!? What the hell?!" Max said, as he started getting pulled into Gravedigger as the giant remade his form. Lihua and Helena pushed in, while Leon and Sonya stopped firing.

Picking up speed, Lihua tore a chunk of concrete from the nearby wall, and sent it flying at Gravedigger's face, spinning fast as she could make it. It took the upper half of Gravedigger's head off. While Echo started bashing Max out of the dirt with a storm of kicks that hit like a drill. Helena grabbed onto Max, and pulled him out. As Gravedigger reached at them. Lihua pulled the wall from Gravedigger's head, and threw it at the palm of his hand, and broke it before it could interrupt their exit.

The trio went back into the skies, and started watching from a distance. Lihua pulled from rocks of concrete from the area around her.

Good thing that Maxie showed Sonya exactly where the bastard was hiding. Sonya lined up the shot through the scope, and pulled the trigger. She immediately felt the violent recoil of the rifle. The bullet flew right through the giant, putting a hole through it... and it kept moving just like nothing happened. "Damn it... Shit." Sonya said to herself. She can't keep wasting shots like this. "Bastard moved. Find him, and I can take him out." Sonya said into the comms. "... Just don't get grabbed again, okay?"

"Got it." Max said into the comms. He had an idea where Grave Digger was. But, they'll need to apply some explosive pressure. Max reached onto this belt, and pulled out some hand grenades. "Cover me!" Max shouted as he dove at Gravedigger like a torpedo.

A series of tentacles came out of Gravedigger's body, and started flying at Max. Lihua retracted her concrete lances, and sent them at the tentacles, and destroyed them. Helena was shooting at the ones that were getting close, it wasn't effective, but it gave Echo some breathing room. From Max's front, Echo was furiously punching the tentacles. Every time a tentacle got close, it was immediately destroyed in a single punch by Max.

Gravedigger stopped the tentacle storm, and swiped out at Max with his hand. Max triped his speed, while Echo immediately got in front of him, punching wildly (Even twice as fast as before). Max pulled out his grenades, and pulled the pin. Echo punched a hole right on through Gravedigger, and Max let go of the grenades while inside Gravedigger. Both ended up on the other side of Gravedigger.

Gravedigger tried turning around, but the grenades went off, and massive bubbles of dirt formed inside him, and one final blast caused the dirt form to crumble into a pile of dirt. The arms Gravedigger had formed fell. Max had hoped that he killed the Changeling. Yet, the skeletal form of Gravedigger stood up outside the pile. Wiping the dirt off his figure.

Sonya immediately lined up a shot - but Gravedigger quickly created a dome of dirt. "Damn it!" Sonya said. He probably moved, and Sonya doesn't want to waste anymore shots.

"Oh no you don't!" Max said as he witnessed what Gravedigger was trying to do. Max quickly retracted Echo, and flew into Gravedigger's dorm fast as possible. He made it inside right before he could finish.

Inside the dome, Gravedigger tried to reinforce it as much as possible. After he felt it was sufficient, he immediately knelt over, and started panting.

"... Hey." Max said with his arms crossed, as the golden light of Echo appeared behind him. Gravedigger slowly turned around, eyes wide. "This is going to sting a little, okay?"

That's when Max utterly pummeled Gravedigger. A nonstop barrage of punches that hit every part of Gravedigger's body. On impact, his skeleton was shattered, and he knew that Gravedigger would be dead in one solid blow to the head. But he found this so cathartic. One upper cut to Gravedigger's gut thrust him into the air, and Echo punched Echo with a series of quick jabs to the gut. It sounded like an explosion when Echo launched one last right hook, and sent Gravedigger flying out the dome like a skipping rock.

Gravedigger's corpse landed on the street, and Max floated over to him (While Agent Vuhong and Page landed around Gravedigger). Max stood over his kill, he nodded at Agent them.

Echo raised his fist into the air, and drove it into Gravedigger's skull. Shattering what was left of it.

---

Henry was angry. He was looking forward to this. The damn dog had left. But, the dog still smelt like a dog. And dog smelt very different than smoke or fire. It led him into the building, strangely. Specifically, to the upper levels of the building. The elevator had been trashed, so Henry was left with one option- the stairs. But the smell was growing stronger and Wild Fangs seemed right at his fingertips. So he followed.

Henry bolted up the stairs after Wild Fang, who's laughter still echoed in the smoke-filled corridor. [i]Haw, haw, hawww[i]. Wild Fang crashed through a door, and made his way onto the roof. Henry arrived shortly, in time to see Wild Fang crush the neck of the NEST agent he had brought along.

"Always works to bring out the heroes. Ha-haw."

Henry cracked his neck and popped his knuckles in response. Not really caring if Wild Fang was speaking to him or the now very much deceased NEST agent.

Wild Fang dropped to all fours, and charged towards Henry with surprising speed for his size. His teeth were bared, and he barked in excitement and blood lust.

Henry's response was just as feral, but in a different way. Unlike Wild Fang, who simply lunged, Henry roared and beat his chest- very much accepting the pounce, but kicking his legs out as he fell on his back to launch Wild Fang off of him.

Wild Fang spun forward, sliding along the peeling roof with his claws. He paused for a moment, and then stood up, hunched forward rather than on his hands and feet like a dog.

"I'm going to eat you. Break your legs so you can't run and eat you." He began to make his way towards Henry with his hands open and ready to scratch or grab. "Eat you."

Henry tapped the floor with his sickle claw as an intimidation tactic.

"Tic... Toc... Tic... Toc." was Henry's response. Nothing hyper aggressive. But he was aiming for unnerving. He was hoping to put Wild Fang more on edge. If he could do that then Wild Fang might make a mistake. Or make... more mistakes.

Henry, his jaws wide and claws bared, very much intent on latching onto Wild Fang's neck if he could. Wild Fang leaped on to Henry, scratching his shoulders and trying to bite at his face, though Henry succeeded in taking the fight to the ground once more.

The two clawed, punched, and bit each other in a flurry that lasted only a few seconds before Henry was thrown off of Wild Fang.

Henry saw something in the far-off sky. For a brief moment, he thought it was a bird. But it was too high in the air to be a bird, and approaching far too quickly.

Henry landed a powerful punch into Wild Fang's gut, very much lifting the Changeling off the ground with the amount of force behind it and no doubt causing internal damage. But at the same time, breaking some of the bones in his hand. When Wild Fang landed, the adrenaline flowing through the mutt caused it to react on pure instinct, and Wild Fang swung his clawed hand at Henry's face, catching him across the cheek and eye. Henry, now partially blinded, stumbled back holding the wounded side of his face. He was still standing, but in pain.

Wild Fang circled him, charging at the half-blind NEST agent from behind. He caught him from behind, knocking him onto his back and grabbing one of Henry's legs. He bit into the agent's knee, roaring with energy.

"Break your leg and eat you." He shouted over Henry's roars, his voice muffled by the mouthful of flesh he was sinking his teeth into.

Mark's feet connected with Wild Fang's back as if Mark had been fired from a very large bullet. There was an alarming crack, and Mark took a tumble across the roof as Wild Fang collapsed momentarily, trying to collect the air Mark's kick had knocked out of him. He took a knee as Henry approached him, stumbling initially from the leg wound but overall able to gain his balance. Wild Fang paid no attention, still trying to inhale.

"Your bite is weak." Henry snarled.

Raising one arm high above his head, Henry drove his elbow down into Wild Fang's back, right between his shoulder blades. Putting Wild Fang onto the ground. He planted one foot on Wild Fang's torso and drove his large sickle claw into his spine.

Wild Fang took one breathless gasp, clawing at Mark desperately, who lay motionless thirty feet away.

He could muster very little air to speak, but managed a few spittle-laced last words as he clawed aimlessly at the traitor. "I'll kill you in hell if I have to, Birdman."

Henry leaned down and spoke.

"Just remember, C4 smells like tar."

Henry planted his jaws firmly around Wild Fang's neck and bit down with all the force he could muster- the large crocodilian teeth and jaw strength giving him all the necessary power to lift Wild Fang's front up by his neck while still pinning his body to the floor with his foot and claw. With a swift turn of his head, Henry broke Wild Fang's neck.

Henry turned his head to his friend and dare he say savior. One of his hands came up to cover the injured side of his face and he pulled his claw from Wild Fang's corpse. He took a few tentative steps over to Mark, being careful to not put too much weight on his wounded leg, and picked Mark up on one of his massive arms.

"Your feet are fucked, man." Henry said, not entirely aware of whether or not Mark was conscious. He tore the mask off of Mark with his claws, cringing for a moment at the compressed air hissing through the torn gaps. The stairs would be a bitch. But when Henry escaped the building the pain in his leg was worth it- mainly because suffocating to death from smoke inhalation wasn't on his to do list.

Henry set Mark down against some rubble as best he could and put his massive and somewhat bloodied hand on his shoulder.

"I owe you a drink, Mark." Henry said, sitting on the ground himself. He stared at Mark's unconcious form for a moment before he continued speaking- just because he could.

"But, ya know, I'm just gonnasp... take a day. To sleep in, have breakfast, you get the idea. I've been meaning to go to iHOP recently..."

Mark would have thanked him if he were conscious, though he stopped drooling on Henry's shoulder, which Henry took as a sign of gratitude.

---

"Agents, report." Maximilian spoke through the comms. It seemed that all the fighting has died down. "Have all members of the Changeling Unit been terminated, or detained?" He asked.

"Appears so. Lemme take a look..." Leon said, before his eyes started shining. He quickly observed the area. Many members of the Changeling Unit were dead, defeated in combat by NEST. The Colossus was being soaked in containment form, as Agents placed him onto a truck with a forklift. "Looks like we got them all... but I don't think we have Heartbreaker, or the Mannequin anywhere." He noted, before he shrugged.

"Dragonfly coming in. Took on Wild Fang and won. But I'm a bit injured. Mark also came around, broke his ankles. Requesting a med-evac for the bird."

"Affirmative. Medics are on the way." Maximilian said.

"Remaining Agents: group up outside the casino." Maximilian said, as he ran back over to the casino entrance with Helena and Lihua behind him. All the NEST Agents were there before long, and Max crossed his arms. "I think while we were occupied by the rest of them, the leaders escaped." Max hung his head with his eyes closed.

"Damn it." Lihua hissed. "Without them, we can't take down Bloodsucker. They'll just regain their numbers!"

"True." Sonya said, cheekily. She put her hands on her hips. "... And I really wanted to take a jab at this Heartbreaker fellow. Sniper battles are real hard to come by in this line of business."

"Maximilian!" A Random NEST Agent said into the comms. "We have visual on Heartbreaker, the Mannequin, Witchmother, and Fig." He said. "They're hauling ass, but we're in hot pursuit. We could use you over here. They're north of your position!"

"Hehe.... Looks like we got our big break." Sonya said, grinning.

"We need Heartbreaker and the Mannequin alive." Lihua said, nodding her head. "We can use them to get at the rest of them."

"Alright, you heard him, let's roll out." Maximilian said, taking to the skies, followed by Helena. Lihua stomped on the ground, and tore a large piece of the street off, and let Leon hop on. Before they started floating. Sonya hopped onto the rooftops in a single leap, and started hopping from roof to roof.

They intended on finishing this fight with the utter defeat of the Changeling Unit.

---

"What's going on?" The woman, in the very mid of her forties, with neatly slicked back hair, and various scars on her face. She wore a long labcoat, with a suit underneath it. She stepped into a room, which had serveral monitiors. Each of them were viewing different parts of the city. She stood in there with her hands behind her back.

"Dr. Cross, it's the Changelings... NEST has found them, and they've been... eliminated." The woman, wearing the red and black armor of REAPER, said. "Heartbreaker and Mannequin have escaped, but they're in hot pursuit."

"... Damn it Natalie..." Dr. Cross said to herself, hand on her chin. Looks like the Changelings were the first to feel the brunt of the NEST counterattack. Only problem was that the Changeling Unit were valued partners of the Hands of Science. They were useful when the HoS needed a disposable psychopath, or someone kidnapped. Dr. Cross refused to let them fall like this.

"Where is Ignatus?" Dr. Cross asked.

"He's out on another operation on the Fire Shores." The REAPER said. "And I doubt he'd want to show himself to NEST this early."

"Hmmmm...." Dr. Cross thought on it for a moment. "I have another idea... Let's call this a little test run for our project?"

"Do you really want to throw that guy at NEST...? He's still a valuable prototype." The REAPER asked.

"We have no choice. Natalie and the Mannequin need to get out of this alive." Dr. Cross shrugged. She turned around and nodded her head. "Send in PR-1." Before she stepped out of the room.

---

Off in an isolated room, completely shrouded in darkness with no light to illuminate it, sounds of clicking metal and mixing vials of various esoteric liquids and substances together made disturbances in the silence. A crack in the door let in the faintest sliver of light leaking through, and the sounds had suddenly stopped. It cast a silhouette over the figure in the room, and all that was clear was that they were donned in white lab coat. A small light and beep came from a pager on the far side of a table. The blue dot is reflecting off the stranger's hand. The shadow gently placed the vial in his hand onto its rack and grabbed the pager, and pressed the button.

"Hello, PR-1. There will be no more trials from now on. It is time you are sent on your first mission. Please come to the departure dock as soon as possible."

The figure set the pager back on the table and remained silent for a couple seconds longer.

"...I'm being summoned." He finally said. His voice was warbled and inhuman, as though it were implanted in a speaker inside of him. "It appears that my patrons finally have a use for me."

---

---

A short walk through the beach, kicking sand underneath their feet.

Trevor, Cindy, and Lucille, were on a mission to sabotage the party. Awful lot of people here. Cindy noted, with a wry grin on her face. She could probably take a lot of incriminating photos of people, and release them all over the internet. Not that she was going to (But the idea seemed a bit appealing, just for fun). She kept walking, twirling the tie around her neck. Those sharp brown eyes scanning the area around her.

"Oh. I have an idea." Trevor suddenly said, coming to a halt. His attention rested on the various boxes of pizza that were scattered throughout the area. "How about I use my magic finger to make their food a little more... exciting?" He said with a grin.

"Heh, I'm game." Cindy said, spinning her tie a little faster. "You might need a little distraction, though...." She looked over to the nearest pizza box. There were a few dudes around it, and Trevor standing over it wouldn't go unnoticed.

"Yeah! Just make the best trip for everyone!" Lucille sneered at Trevor's idea.

"Lucy, just go over there and look pretty." Cindy said. "That'll distract them. Heh."

Lucy discreetly peeked over her left shoulder towards the group around the pizza box. What she saw was able to ruin the day of anyone. Especially hers. She didn't needed a lot of deduction to guess who was among the group. The first guy had four arms and she was sure it was Tom; after all, he was the only one who had four arms and moved like a fool, she thought. If one was there, the troupe of clowns would also be with them.

Beside him she saw John who was smaller but far stronger. She didn't see Mike though. He was probably at home with a broken nose. "That's a bad idea," Lucy said to the group. "I had a little fight with John some time ago, I just want to stay away from him."

"... That'll make it even more distracting!" Trevor said, with a dumb smile on his face.

Rolling her eyes, Cindy shifted her weight to one hip, and slapped a hand onto it. "Won't that make it much more fun to fuck with them? It'll only take a minute."

"What I'm supposed to say?" Lucy's voice was boiling with indignation, she was about to outburst in a stupid rage.

"Ask Tom if he has two dicks - or four!" Trevor said.

Cindy once again rolled her eyes. "Look girl, they're a bunch of horndogs in a party. You don't even need to say anything. They'll be too busy drooling." She shrugged. "I'll head over there with ya'. Give you a hand."

"Gosh. I don't believe that I'm doing this," Lucy admitted grabbing Cindy's wrist and dragged her along. "Let's just finish this quickly."

"Whoa, girl!" Cindy said with a smirk on her face. She was curious as to where Lucille was going to take this.

Lucy and Cindy walked toward the group. Lucy's heart was pounding, deep down she didn't knew what to say to John or Tom. "John!" She yelled with a cynical smile on her face. "And... Tom!" She said after a few seconds trying to remember who was the Moskau next to him.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Tom was about to rush towards her when John intervened. Deep down John still had feelings—or at least wanted a taste—for Lucille. Every time he tried to hit her she went with a big no. No one says no to John Hayward, no one.

Cindy had already raised her foot into the air a bit. All she'd have to do is bring it down, and the sand underneath their feet would turn into glass. A barrier between herself and them.

"Easy bro, it's a party," he said holding Tom's upper arm. "Let's just have fun."

Cindy put her foot down - but didn't use her power. She felt a bit relieved things didn't immediately escalate to violence. She started twirling her tie, with a wry grin on her face. "... You and John still causing trouble? Damn. Some things really don't care." She rolled her eyes up into her head. She knew of the brothers, and how they were simply a bunch of thugs. Nobodies who wouldn't have anything without their superpowers (And even then, they wouldn't lose a lot)

Cindy eyed Trevor walking up from behind, giving them the thumbs up. Cindy decided. "We just came over to talk. Talk out the bad blood between ya'll."

"Things got heated in the NEST ball." John said looking over Lucille. "But we cool."

"For now," Tom grunted to himself.

"Nice to see you here, Cindy." He smiled. "You've become friends or..." Everyone knew that Lucille had her thing towards girls, John's hopes were minimal. But he was a rich boy anyway. Harder the fish is to catch, the better.

"Yeah, friends." Cindy answered. What Tom was implying flew right over her head. "It's goood that you boys decided to play nice. Hate to have to use my powers."

Meanwhile, Trevor was slowly sneaking up to the pizzabox. He gave the girls the thumbs up, before he opened the box. He looked at the contents, only one slice of pizza was taken. Jackpot. He raised his hand over it, and began secreting his liquid drug. Which dripped off his fingers, and onto the pizza. Since it was clear, it would be hard to differentiate from the grease and cheese.

He slowly took steps back, and acted like he didn't have anything to do with this.

"So, how'syour brother nose, Mike?" Lucille spontaneously said looking at Tom mistaking their names as usual. She had good intentions at least. But Tom was about to burst into rage.

"You!" Tom was about to punch her in the face but he felt John's hand grabbing his arm, hard. "He's okay," he said freeing his arm with a sudden movement.

"Yeah, right, sorry about that..." Lucy coughed. "I'll let you guys sharing the cool stories... I'm going to the bathroom," she said going in one direction. "I even would stay for the pizza but I'm in a strawberry only diet." Cya, fuckers, she thought to herself drifted away getting lost in the crowd. Her mind overflowing with thoughts. Perhaps... nah...; maybe she isn't playing her same game, she concluded. She was starting to like Cindy though.

Cindy had thrown her hands up into the air. "Well." She shrugged, keeping that smug grin on her face. "Ain't she unpredictable?" Cindy asked, but they ignored her. Trevor's plan worked perfectly. She stuck around for a second - She wanted to see what Trevor's drug does to them. A few moments after Tom calmed himself down, he grabbed a slice of pizza, and Cindy had to resist laughing as the effects of the drug immediately kicked in. He went dead eyed for a moment, as he took another bite, then another. One by one, the rest of the group took bites out of the pizza, succumbing to the effects of the drug. Eventually, each of them were sedated.

"Hehehe... Assholes." Cindy said, casually twirling her tie as she turned and walked off. She needed to catch up with Lucy. Talk to her about what weird ass things just happened.

It was about this time that REAPER pulled their ambush. They quickly ran up on Lucy, using the crowd as a cover. The female REAPER Agent slapped a power nulifying collar around Lucy's neck, while the man put a bag over her head.

"... Keep calm, and you won't get hurt." He said as Lucy writhed and screamed under the bag. "Calm down." He said, the female REAPER pulled her fist back, and punched Lucy right in the gut. Under the effects of the collar, her power wouldn't be able to defend her. Lucy grunted in pain. Tears fell from her eyes as she felt her legs become weak, unable to bear her own weight.

Cindy was casually strolling in the direction of Lucille. Twirling her black tie as she always did... Her hand released the tie, and went to her side, as her mouth opened wide, the second she saw these men dragging Lucille off. She just met the girl, and she knew that this was fucked up. She couldn't just let her get kidnapped like this! Cindy picked up the pace.

Heroism was never her strong suit, but Cindy had to do something.

---

---

A lite cigarette fell from her red lips, before it was crushed underneath a boot.

Guard duty tonight. She'll have to repress her nicotine urges for tonight. A light like that could be spotted by any competent soldier. Which, now that the Changeling Unit is outed, they have to worry about now. Before, they could just chill, and rely on their anonymity, now... that isn't an option. Heartbreaker was resting in one of the taller apartment buildings, not too far away from the Casino. She knelt down, and observed the area through her scope. She didn't need any nightvision goggles, because she is the night vision. Nothing but darkness. Heartbreaker let out a sigh. A brief wind blew by, and sent her longcoat fluttering - revealing her holsters, with her revolvers in them. It's going to be hell on her knees if she has to do this all night.

She stood straight up, and stepped over to a chair, which was left behind by the former inhabitants, she pulled it over to the broken window, and sat down on it. All better... She thought to herself as she leaned back in the chair with a dumb smile on her face.. Her icy-blue skin contrasted well with the moonlight. With her black outfit, it made her very hard to spot. She stood up, and stuck her head out the window to peak. With her excellent eyesight, she didn't see a single target.

There was a sound. Heartbreaker turned around, and took a few steps to pivot - only to immediately draw her revolver (At lightning speeds) when she saw an unexpected guest in the doorway. It only took one heartbeat to get her gun out, one to line up the shot... and she put the revolver back into it's holster.

"Damn it, Mannequin." Heartbreaker hissed, rolling her eyes up into her head. "One of these days, Mannequin. Gonna actually fuckin' shoot you."

The Mannequin... It was hard to put into words what it was. It appeared to be a Mannequin doll, like one artists use to pose. It's body shape was nothing human, only similar in anatomy. Crafted out of a light-grey ceramic, it had little features that made it look human - with the features it does have making it look much more uncanny. It's ceramic shell was smooth, and segmented to allow it to move. It had balls acting as joints for it's limbs. Underneath the shell, were red wires, weaved to appear like human muscles. With a few dangling, disconnected. What made it odd was the light-blood splatter that coated it's limbs, and shell. It's limbs were long, and had several joints. It's legs were long enough to make it ten feet tall - yet, since it was always hunched, walking strangely, it didn't always appear to reach that full height. It's fingers were long, and oddly human-like. All topped off with it's head, it had no face, no features... Other than a actual human eyeball, with a strange, organic, mass, surrounding it. It moved erratically. And it's lifeless.

"... Heartbreaker." The Mannequin spoke, in it's whispering, monotone, sounding vaguely robotic.

"Yeah, what is it?" Heartbreaker asked, putting her hands on her hips. "You and Witchmother find someone to add to your little project?" Because God, say no.

"I am... unable to find proper samples." Mannequin said. It's body was unmoving, still as a statue. Only it's eye moving strangely. "I cannot find the right person to add to... my masterpiece..."

Heartbreaker kept a toothy smile on her face. Looking at the Mannequin. This was just standard procedure, the Mannequin is creepy as fuck.

"There is no one... pure enough. Pure enough to preserve it forever." The Mannequin walked past Heartbreaker - yet, his walk was more like a limp than an actual walk. It walked over to the window. "This city... it's a wasteland of sin. I had to eliminate a tortured soul earlier today. I... hope I can find that one precious soul worthy of my art...."

"Yeah..." Heartbreaker tried to force a cheerful, and supportive tone - but what Mannequin wanted to do was fucked up. Even for her standards. She scratched the back of her neck. "You take care now. Don't want you or Witch Mother getting captured."

"We will be fine. Long as I have mask of anonymity." Mannequin whispered. "Yet... that is not what I came here to ask you." The Mannequin said, leaning in very close to Heartbreaker's face.

"What is it?" Heartbreaker raised an eyebrow. Something inside of her was telling her to keep a hand close to her gun.

"The Changeling Unit... I feel we have a problem...." He broke the distance between himself and Heartbreaker.

"Hm? What the hell is it this time...?" Heartbreaker said, irritated.

"I... caught word... NEST put out a calling." The Mannequin started off, limping a circle around Heartbreaker. He leaned in very close to Heartbreaker's face again. "A calling for Metahumans with wings."

"Where are you going...?"

"Who do we know of has wings?"

"Blackbird..."

"I tried to get in contact with him... I could not get reception." He pulled back away from Heartbreaker and continued walking circles around him. "I... went to his home, snuck in, and he was not there... Only his daughter. Oh... I value her purity."

"Son of a bitch..." Heartbreaker hissed, snapping her fingers. "If that dumbfuck got himself captured...."

"It might be worse than that... NEST could have gotten information out of him, if he was captured." Mannequin suddenly stopped, fresh blood dripping down his hands. "I heavily advise that we... vacate. Leave bombs behind for NEST to find."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck... fuck...." Heartbreaker shook her head as she immediately grabbed her rifle, and before she could look through the scope, the side of a building collapsed. It fucked collapsed. That doesn't just happen for no reason. There has to be... She immediately looked into the scopes. She saw Acid-Scar, and Smoke step right outside the building to investigate - only to get greeted by a firing squad of NEST Agents.

"Fuck!" Heartbreaker shouted. "Mannequin! We have a problem!"

The Mannequin stepped over, and stuck his head out the window to look. He said nothing.

Heartbreaker kept looking down the sights. Fuck. There were quite a few NEST Agents in here. They had the casino surrounded! Heartbreaker knew that she'd only be able to take out a few before they find out where she is. However, her sights landed on the tall Asian chick. She was about to take a shot, when her sights gazed down at the switch. Her eyes went wide, as she immediately realized what it was. "Fuck! They have the building wired to explode. Deadman switch."

Which meant the second they take any of the NESTies out, every one of the Changelings in there (Including Witch Mother, who she actually likes) are going to be blown to pieces.

Know what? Fuck this.

"Alright, Mannequin, I hate to say this, but looks like NEST has pulled a fast one on us!" Heartbreaker said, defeated as she grabbed her rifle. "Let's bail, before they figure out we're here." She didn't even wait for a response, she just hauled ass right out the door. Because of a few super-system enhancements, she could run a lot faster than average. Mannequin latched himself onto the ceiling, and started crawling on the walls using van der waals force. He was climbing on the walls like a speedy lizard.

Heartbreaker kicked the door open, and ran through - followed by the Mannequin, who leaped onto the ground next to her. She sprinted out of there - the explosion threw her off balance a bit. She nearly tumbled over - but quickly regained herself and kept running. The Mannequin was running, too. It's sprint was... bizzare. It looked as if it was about to fall over, upper body leaning all over the place as if it was too heavy for it's legs to handle. Yet, it stayed up on it's own two feet.

For a moment, Heartbreaker glanced at the chaos. Looks like NEST has some brass balls for blowing up the Changeling Unit's hideout, and going after them for the kill. Means they aren't playing. Heartbreaker knew it was the best decision to stay out of it.

They kept running. However, right in front of them, Heartbreaker saw the Witch Mother... Well, at least someone in a robe. Heartbreaker passed her, and got a glance at her aged, weathered, face.

"Come on!" Heartbreaker grabbed onto her wrist, and pulled the Witch Mother along. Who could barely even keep up with her pace. She heard a heavy crowd of footsteps behind her.

"... There they are, after them!" Heartbreaker mentally shouted "fuck" as she heard the Agents shout, pick up pace.

Heartbreaker, pulled out her revolver at lightning speeds, twirling it, as she quickly turned around, and fired off a round. It hit a masked NEST Agent right in the chest, knocking him right on his ass... but didn't penetrate.

"Fucking body armor!" Heartbreaker shouted as she twirled the chambers. "Make every shot count!" She said to herself, pulling the revolver right back into it's holster. Alright, they were coming up on a corner. She could dip around this corner, and run into a building or something.

"... FREEZE!" A line of NEST Agents emerged from around the corner, and quickly formed a line in front of her. Leveling their weapons at her. Utterly shattering her hopes and dreams. Heartbreaker quickly came to a stop, but kept her hand on her revolver as she quickly looked around. She was searching for an exit.

"Drop your weapon!" One of the Agents ordered.

The Mannequin was standing hunched over, sole eye scanning the area. It could take one, or two, shots before it starts breaking. Like hell they were going to surrender.

A green blast of a green, glowing, gaseous energy came from one of the roofs like a flamethrower, and utterly burned the line of NEST Agents in front of them. Standing on top of one of the rooftops was a woman, tall, had Arabian skin-tone and facial features. She sported bright green hair, which she flicked aside as she put a wicked smile on her face.

"Fig." Heartbreaker said with a smile.

The NEST Agents quickly turned their sights onto Fig, and opened fire, but the woman created a box out of the energy. Which quickly solidified. The bullets impacted the box, and cracked the shield like glass - each bullet created a wave throughout the dome. While Fig kept a smile on her face.

Heartbreaker quickly jumped into the air, and spun in a circle. Her revolvers were spinning around her fingers - and she fired off two shots that hit NEST Agents in the chest. Knocking them back. Mannequin squatted down, and shot himself off the ground. He attached himself to the wall, and leaped to another wall. She quickly started running.

"After her!" A NEST Agent said. While a few were focused on Fig, the rest went after Heartbreaker and the Mannequin.

Fig simply took a few steps back, until she was out of their line of fine. Before dispersing the field. The NEST Agents that were focusing on her assumed that she had retreated, before chasing after Heartbreaker. Fig created a pathway of smooth solidified energy. Which looped around, and ended on a roof further up street. She stepped on it, and created skates out of the energy. She skated down the path after Heartbreaker and their NEST pursuers.

Heartbreaker, and the Witch Mother, were still running with the NEST Agents behind them. Then something occured to her;

Where am I supposed to run with these fuckers right on my ass?

Well, she'll keep running until there isn't anywhere else to run! Something will come along. Fig jumped down from the roof, and Heartbreaker merely nodded her head as Fig ran alongside her.

A golden light came from above, and Heartbreaker looked over her shoulder - only to immediately witness the golden visage of Echo (Maximilian's golden copy), flying at her with a fist cocked. Heartbreaker flipped forward, and did a handstand, as Echo punched the sidewalk, making one hell of a hole. Heartbreaker, as she was flipping back onto her feet, quickly pulled out her revolver.

It only took one heartbeat to get her gun out, one to line up the shot with Maximilian flying in the air... Before she could pull the trigger, Echo used his superior speed to swipe the revolver out of her hand.

"It's over Heartbreaker." Maximilian said, crossing his arms as he floated in the air. In the distance, she could see the Agents of NEST approaching. All the ones that were in the fight.

Looks like the Changeling Unit lost that one.

The thoughts ran through her head as she stood on her feet. She looked around. NEST Agents were pushing in. Agents in front of her, Agents behind her. She looked up, and they had taken position on the roofs, too! She was utterly surrounded as every NEST Agent in the Ghost town was surrounding her.

Maximilian and Helena floated down and landed on the street. Maximilian had deployed Echo in front of himself, just to guard against any attacks. Echo floated in front of Max, acting as a shield, before they both stopped. Echo crossed his arms.

"It's over Heartbreaker. Surrender." Max said as he pointed at her.

Heartbreaker kept her hand on her revolver. Giving Max (Well, echo) the eagle eye.

"... Like hell it is." Heartbreaker hissed with anger, as she came to admit defeat.

---

_{@Defacto@DJAtomika@Spoopy Scary}

---

The REAPER Agents had just about pulled Lucille out of the party. They were nearing the edges. They were, fortunately for Lucille, stopped, when emerald-green spikes of glass erupted from the sand, blocking their path. They quickly looked around for an exit, but they only saw glass.

"What the hell!?" The male REAPER said, as he quickly pulled his leg back, and kicked one of the spikes. It shattered on impact, but there were still a few behind it, but he noticed that there was a girl walking up. He quickly reached for his pistol.

This was Cindy's handiwork, of course. She had turned the sand the beach was made out of into glass, and quickly created constructs. She didn't know if this would work or not, but she at least had to try. She walked up to the cage of spikes, a worried look on her face. While she wanted to help her, these people probably had guns on them or something. Cindy's heroic resolve was being overwhelmed by her fear. No, gotta do this. Cindy thought to herself.

Just as a confidence booster, Cindy grabbed the glass spike in front of her, and quickly pumped it full of glass. Increasing it's size, and width - until it was a glass pane. Most importantly, making it dense and compact. In fact, she made the outermost layer of glass soft, while the layer underneath was hard. She read something about bulletproof glass, and can do it... she never tested the theory. So, she hoped that this worked. She put as much glass.

"Alright, I'm only going to tell ya'll this once, let her go." Cindy warned them, trying to sound foreboding as possible. However, she was failing, she was sweating, and breathing heavily. Looking around.

"... And what are you going to do if we don't?" The woman asked, before she instinctively winced when a emerald glass blade was raised to her throat. She looked, and saw that the same was done to her partner.

"I'm gonna do that, bitch." Cindy spat out. Another glass blade raised up into the air, and carefully cut the bag that was put over Lucille's head. Just so she can see. "Now, only going to warn you again."

"Fuck you!" The REAPER said, as he pulled a revolver and quickly leveled it at Cindy.

"Oh shit!" Cindy immediately panicked, she jumped out of the way, and unwittingly lost focus, the glass shards that she was threatening them with dropped, and did no damage. The man pulled the trigger, and the raging boom of the revolver echoed through the party. The bullet impacted the glass shield... but was stopped. It left a heavy dent in the pane, but didn't penetrate it. Glass dust dropped down from it.

After she realized that she wasn't dead, Cindy looked up, and saw that the bullet didn't even go through. This was a huge confidence booster. "Alright, warned ya!" Cindy shouted, as she jumped up to her feet, raising her hands. The glass spikes she had created shattered with a hellish sound that reverberated throughout the party. The glass shards started floating the air, and when Cindy closed her palm, many of the glass shards flew at the man's hand (that was holding the gun).

When he looked at his hand... it wasn't pretty. There were at least a hundred shards of glass in his hand, some of which impaling his arm. The wounds were oozing blood, and he couldn't move his hand without experiencing excruciating pain. His hand was shredded to bits.

Cindy had stepped from behind the shield, feeling much more confident in herself.

He let out a yell of pain as he dropped his gun, and fell backwards. Grabbing onto his wrist as he rolled on the ground. Cindy covered his gun in a glass dome.

The other woman reached for her gun, but glass shards shot into her leg, and, while it wasn't as bad as her partner, she had to get down on her knee and yelp as blood oozed down her leg. The sand swirled upwards as it was turned into glass. Cindy forced as much of the powder-y glass into the woman's gun as possible. Filling the barrel, and the clip, with glass powder. Before she quickly solidified it into one piece, and clogged the gun. Rendering it useless.

Parts of Cindy's body had been converted to a green glass, which is what happens when she uses her power. Her entire right cheek was glass, along with much of her hands. She quickly turned her hands back into flesh, and looked up at Lucille. The girl was completely safe, safe from harm. She had dispatched her would-be kidnappers, but Cindy needed to get Lucy to safety, and get that damn collar off her. "Lucy, run!"

Lucy ran off, and Cindy gathered glass to restrain them...

"... Look at you two." The Boss said through their comms. Observing the hole thing. "Dispatched by a teenager. Pitiful. Looks like there's a good reason you guys are NEST dropouts." The Boss paused for a moment, to let the words hang in the air. "... However, I have just the thing to turn the battle in your favor."

The two were listening... but the pain was incredible.

"... Just take the serums. Then you'll see how it feels to be a man like God." She taunted. "Better be quick, because she looks about ready to finish you."

The woman fell over on her side, and quickly reached into her pocket, and pulled out the glowing syringe.

"Wait, what is-" Cindy said, before the REAPER jammed the syringe into her thigh. That's when it happened...



A transformation. Glowing green energy surged through the woman's system for a moment, illuminating her entire nervous system. She started shaking uncontrollably, and let out a scream of utter pain into the sky as a pilar of fire erupted from her mouth. Suddenly, one hand erupted in fire, and the other exploded with ice. She came to terms with her transformation, looking at her hand. All REAPER Agents are given basic training in the Mutagen, but they never said it'd give you two powers. She felt so...

... Powerful.

"Huh, what?!" Cindy took steps back, assembling the glass around her.

The glass shards were being pushed out of her body, and the wounds were being healed over. The woman quickly turned to Cindy, and swiped her hand at her, creating a massive burst of fire. Cindy quickly turned the sand into glass, and created a pane to shield her, but the fire seeped over the pane, and the sheer heat burned.

Cindy let out a cry of pain, as her skin got a lot more red.

Meanwhile, the REAPER Agent quickly crawled over to her partner, and pulled the syringe out of his pocket. She jammed it into his neck, and that sent a pulse of the green Metahuman energy through his system that lite his nervous system up. His hands started swirling from sand from the beach, as rocks floated lazily around him. He started floating in the air on a pillar of spinning sand. His hand turned into stone, and the glass fell out, and stone filled in the gaps. Regenerating his wounds. After the process finished, the pillar of sand dissipated, and the man stood on his feet.

"This is nice, very nice..." He said, examining his hand. "... Looks like I'm going to have fun tearing you to pieces."

He quickly thrusted his hand outward, and a wave of sand flew at Cindy. The girl quickly pulled the pane of glass that she had used to stop the bullet, and used it as a shield. It impacted the pane with sheer force. Didn't break it, but pushed the shield, which threw Cindy back onto the ground. She tried to get back up, but sand binded her limbs. Cindy quickly turned it against them by turning the sand into glass, and used it's help to pull herself back up.

They walked around the pane, man was riding a pillar of sand, and the woman was walking. One hand brandishing ice, and another glowing fire.

Cindy was turning the sand into glass, as she heard... water. Like a wave was right behind her. In fact, a crescent moon shaped wave of water flew over her head, and knocked the man right off his pillar. It sent him flying, while the woman managed to dodge.

Meifeng landed not too far away from Cindy, and the girl looked up at her, and she looked ready.

---

"How have I been?" Meifeng put her hands on her hips, turning her head as she gave him a funny look. "I've been doing fuckin' awesome, Cole!" She said, feigning confidence.

The boy, Cole, was kinda cute. He was a twig, and a huge nerd... but still cute. Though, not Meifeng's kind of guy. He was a bit... off, and if Meifeng had to be honest with herself, she didn't want to deal with it. And Cole probably wouldn't return the fee... Oh! That gave her an excellent idea! Just have a little fun with Cole. Meifeng slapped her hand on Cole's other shoulder, and wrapped her arm around him, pulling him in tightly. Good thing that they were on par in terms of height. She walked Cole over to Reyna.

"Hello, hello, hello, everybody! I'd like you introduce you all to my new boyfriend!" Meifeng loudly as possible announced, with a half-smile on her face. She shook her head at Reyna, before she continued, "My own personal love-slave! Cute isn't he?" She gave Cole a slap on the butt.

"Uh-huh, y-yeah... hehe...." Jennifer put her hand to the back of her head, brushing some hair out of the way. She quickly looked away to see what was going on. She knew that Meifeng was just screwing with him, but she found it hard to find funny. "Hey, I wo-"

That's when the raging boom of the revolver caught everyone off guard. It utterly overwhelmed the music for a moment. No one even noticed the sound of it impacting glass. They were too busy panicking, and rushing for the exit.

"Yo! Oh, shit!" Meifeng immediately let go of Cole, and hunched over, throwing her hands over her head.

"Jesus Christ!" Jen dropped down, praying to God that she wasn't going to be shot again. She felt the pain of being shot again, and again, and again (It was hard to forget).

Meifeng was the first to raise her head, and look around. It was hard to get a good view with everyone screaming.

"... I think we should leave!" Jen had to shout over the panicking crowds.

"Yeah... Lemme just go find the others." Meifeng said, looking over her shoulder, as she stood up, scanning the area for when. "Stick clo-"

Meifeng caught sight of a green pane that looked awful lot like Cindy's handiwork. That's when a wave of sand smacked that thing, and knocked down the person behind it that had to be Cindy.

"Oh shit, Cindy!" Meifeng immediately burst into a sprint. She had no idea what was going on, or who these people were, but she was going to help her friend no matter what. Meifeng summoned some water out of her pocket dimension, and created a spinning pillar on water. She leaped on it, and rode it to the fight.

"Oh shit!" Jen shouted, shaking in fear. She couldn't move, only stammer out the words, "S-something always happens! There's always something with this god damn city!" She watched on, wondering what she could do to help.

Meifeng was riding the wave, before it flung her up into the air, forming a orb around her leg. She quickly kicked her out for a roundhouse kick, and created a wave in the shape of a crescent. She packed as much force behind as she god damn could, and when it hit, it sent the man flying backwards. That was satisfying enough.

Meifeng's feet hit the ground not too far away from Cindy. Then she mouthed the words with cold fury...

"... Get the fuck away from her." Meifeng spat the words out with cold fury uncharacteristic with her previous personality.

---

---

"... All is going according to plan." The boss said to herself, with a grin on her face.

She had to avoid laughing. This was what the Hands of Science really wanted, otherwise she wouldn't be here for a simple kidnapping mission. If only these stupid, naive, rookies, realized the trap Dr. Cross set on them. The Boss wondered if they thought something was up if they were going on a kidnapping operation with only two people, and no back up.

Of course the plan was not kidnapping.

It was to start a fight, and test this new experimental strain of Mutagen. The Boss thought it might be fun to give two useless rookies the serum, and send them into battle with some rookies of their own. In a party full of people where they're bound to get noticed and captured. The Boss was happy that the girl confronted them, and forced them to use the Mutagen. Otherwise, she would have to go down there and stir up a fight herself.

Now, all she has to do is see how well this Experimental Mutagen works.

---

---

Quentin had only a brief moment of respite from his encounter with that Leech-coated bastard when the call for support came over radio comms. It was only when he heard her name that he sprung into action, following his fellow agents in their pursuit of one of their most wanted targets - his number one. Alas, he was beaten to it by another Metahuman agent on the team - Maximillian and his Echo, whilst what was practically an army held Heartbreaker at gunpoint. Making his way through the formation of armed agents with their weapons trained, he couldn’t help but smirk just a little with satisfaction.

“You bitch,” Quentin muttered below bated breath. “We've got you now.”

---

_{@Mr Allen J@Defacto@DJAtomika@Spoopy Scary}

---

Today had seen another case for the GND, yet it was the first time Reed had been assigned to work alongside them. He'd seen a couple of cases with commercial and juvenile and once with RHD, yet this had been his first with this division. He'd been partnered up with Gabriel Saunders, a senior detective and an old colleague of his uncle, and after a day and evening’s work running through the usual routine they were en-route back to the station when the police radio blared out.

“KJ438 calling any units in the beachside area, dispatch just received a call about a drunken disturbance at a party. Any units available, please respond, over.”

Gabe looked tempted to continue their steady cruise back to the station from work but Reed made up his mind for the two of them and shifted over to grab the speaker unit, answering “11E here, will respond. Out.” As the radio answered back with the address, Gabe gave him a stare that resembled an old, tired dog that didn't feel like going out for a walk today. “You think it's worth it? Could've finished up the case file a little earlier tonight and let one of the patrol boys handle it if you hadn't blabbed off.” He grumbled lightheartedly, briefly taking a hand off the wheel to swig from the open bottle of mineral water wedged in the cupholder.

“Sure, we'll finish it when we're back. Besides, we need the fresh air.” Reed shot back, like he often did to his Uncle Cass.

“Bah, what does your generation know about that?” Gabe asked, exaggerating a grumbled, growling voice and wrinkling his face for effect. It was a funny sight to behold, like a scene from one of those stereotypical buddy-cop movies. Eventually he relented and cleared his throat, speaking with his regular voice. “Alright, fine. My legs could use a stretch anyways.” Recalling the street from a place he'd stopped by on another case a couple months ago, he didn't bother with the GPS and set off.

“Yep, that sounds like it.” Arrival at their destination was precluded by the growing sounds of music and teenage voices. Putting on an intentionally nostalgic tone, Gabe remarked “Y’know, in my day-” before Reed cut him off “In your day you'd be the paladin of good behaviour, clean as a whistle, like the rest of your generation. You and Cass parrot word for word, you know.” That only earned him a shit-eating toothy grin from Gabe. “I was gonna say that I wouldn't have been caught.” Reed smirked at that and stifled a chuckle, before finally snorting with amusement.

Pulling up outside not too far from access to the beach, it was just before Gabe rolled up the windows when they heard a gunshot. “Shit!” Reed instinctively ducked out out of the car and behind the passenger door whilst Gabe followed suit with a surprising level of speed for a middle-aged man. Reaching for the radio, Gabe made a call for backup whilst Reed quickly -
maneuvered around to the rear of the car to retrieve their equipment from the trunk. By the time he'd slipped on a ballistic vest over his shirt and loaded up with extra mags, Gabe had beat him to it and already had the car’s Remington 870 loaded at the ready.

As they approached the beach, weapons ready, terrified and panicked people streamed past them, most ignoring their shouts of “Police!” as they pressed on. It was only when a girl screamed about sand turning into glass and the sound of a battle of the elements raging not too far away that Reed connected the dots and grabbed for his radio. “This is 11E, on-scene, we have a Metahuman situation. NEST required, over.” He'd been involved in a couple other situations involving Metahumans in his time on the force, but all the same it made him uneasy. “Gabe, you ready?” He looked over to his senior, who looked over with a hawk’s expression and answered with a nod. Into the fire they went, weapons at the ready.