[hr][i][h1]...[/h1][/i] [hr] The Victory Ministries Church, due to the influx of people who couldn't quite reach NEST headquarters, was quite cramped and crowded. Loaded with far too many injured and scared people, all that could be heard was the endless chatter of the citizens. They had a few guardians to stand watch over them in the form of Nathan and Rose Danse. "It's those damn Metahumans! They're responsible for this!" one man shouted. "No! This is God punishing us for our sinful ways! We should have repented while we had the chance! Now it's Judgement Day!" "Everyone stay calm!" the priest loudly yelled from behind his podium. "God has not forsaken us! If we remain strong, and believe in him, we will make it out! He's just testing our faith in him through adversity!" [hr][hider=Kanye West/Jay Z - No Church in the Wild (Instrumental)][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PVQU0UaZGc[/youtube][/hider][hr] "...Ah, a test of faith, yes. That's what I never got about you religious types," a voice spoke from in the center of the group - sitting down on one of the benches was a muscular man that wore a long-coat and a cowboy hat that concealed his face. He took casual bites out of an apple - all eyes were on him as he sat there. "You blindly follow and love a '[i]God[/i]' that just so casually kills everyone you know and love just so you can prove to him that you love him." He took one more bite out of the apple, before he threw it away and stood straight up. "Sir, you there," the Priest said. "You must be a nonbelieve---" "'Course I am..." the stranger said, turning towards the Priest. "As I was saying...if anything, I don't think [i]that's[/i] a God that I'd go to for guidance. Because, clearly, he wants to keep everyone in line through fear, and bloodshed - instead of the lovey-dovey peace crap that you [i]want[/i] him to embody." He took a few steps, and noticed how all eyes were on him. "Sir---" The stranger pulled a long combat knife from his coat, and pointed it at the Priest. "You shush now. I'm not done speaking." A woman screamed, "He has a weapon!" That's when everyone got back, and gave him space. Enough space for the stranger to walk around, and casually grace the blade against his fingers. "So, tell me...if he does all this to make you all [i]believe[/i], then what makes him different from - say - a tyrant that sends his armies into the streets to instill fear?" The crowd was silent, still terrified that he had a knife. In truth, they knew that they were in trouble. "'Course you all don't have the answer," The man shrugged. He cut the palm of his hand with the knife, and drew blood that dripped down to the floor. He laughed as he stared at the wound for a bit. It instantly closed up and the man laughed again. "Truth be told, there probably isn't a God in the [i]first[/i] place! Ha!" They still stared at him. "No, no, no, let me finish before you tag me as an atheist. Let me put it like this: there are no Gods, no Kings, no Masters - humanity is free to do as it [i]pleases[/i] without a higher power giving guidance." The man stopped again, and stared at the Priest, who was horrified. Almost like he had the Devil in his church. Which was, [i]in a way[/i], true. "How-[i]ever[/i], while there isn't a God reigning in Heaven, that doesn't mean there [i]can[/i] be." He kept walking in that circle. He laughed deviously. "It's an empty seat waiting for someone to take. I believe that Metahumans are simply the first step to climbing that ladder. If...you haven't been blessed, then you will be reigned over. Simple as that." The man stopped, and shrugged. "But the question is..." He looked at the group. "...[i]Would you follow who obtains Godhood?[/i]" The crowd was quite frightened by the stranger. "Just who are you?" "Oh, I'm glad you asked." The stranger reached up and grabbed his hat by the top, and then threw it off to the ground. Revealing the curly black hair and the European face that belonged to none other than... "I am [i]Luis[/i], the [i]Bloodsucker[/i], leader of the Changeling Unit." Everyone gasped, and panicked. "Oh my God, he's a Changeling!" a man shouted. "Not [i]a[/i] Changeling, but [i]the[/i] Changeling!" Luis loudly said. "I saw him, he tried to kill a kid!" "Just leave us alone! We mean you no harm!" "Of course you don't..." Luis put on a devilish grin as he reached into his jacket and pulled out another knife. "And don't worry - if you stay out of my way, no one will get hurt." He laughed, before his suddenly pointed his knife through the crowd. "I'm here for [i]him![/i]" The crowd, intelligently, stepped aside, leaving a nice path to Nathan and Rose Danse. The elder had whispered something to Rose, and she stepped aside, as Nathan brandished his gun. "...You've been looking for me, Nathan," Luis said, laughing like a maniac. "So, here I am." He shrugged. "Bastard," Nathan said as he raised his gun at Luis. "You destroyed my tribe...burned it all to the ground!" "Oh." Luis shrugged. "Still hung up on that I see. I thought you'd be over it by [i]now[/i]. Though, I clearly missed some if you and the brat are still walking..." He narrowed his eyes. "...Think I should fix that before the girl makes more Wodokai like a rabbit!" Nathan pulled the trigger and the raging hot bullet wrong out through the air, hitting Luis right through the hand. Putting a hole through it. There were screamed that were simply ignored as Luis simply looked at his hand as the hole quickly closed. "...Annoying," Luis said. He leaned back a bit, and put his hands on his sides. "I figure that, since you're [i]going[/i] die here, I tell you [i]everything[/i]. Just so you don't bring any doubts with you to the afterlife." Nathan stood there, with his gun drawn, and everyone staring in confusion. He wanted to hear what Luis had to say. "Those years back...when I first came across the Wodokai... Ah, I should start from the top, yes?" Luis smiled deviously. "We Changelings, are always looking out for special Metahumans that fit, aaaahhh...a criteria, shall we say? And we heard, from a very special member of your tribe met it." He twirled the knives around in his hands. "You know who this person was, do you Nathan? You probably feel guilt about how you treated him now, do you?" "It...was never supposed to be like this," Nathan somberly said. "Tye. That was his name - but you only know him as The Wendigo. You see, the Wodokai feared him because of his ability. You called him a demon, and threw him out of your tribe, and right into my hands." Luis put his knives back into his holsters. "He had built such an immense hatred for your tribe, that he told me everything, and took the first steps into becoming a [i]Changeling[/i]," He said that last word with so much dramatic flair. "The Wodokai had a Metahuman that could drain the Metahuman energy out of people." Luis took a few steps forward - keeping eye contact with Nathan - and shrugged. "When we came asking for him, you all tried to play dumb, defending your fellow tribesmen to the end... Which is what happened when I razed the Wodokai." Luis gave Nathan a near lusty look as he paused. "You should have [i]seen[/i] it. It was a total massacre, yes. People were dying left and right, and Tye was literally eating the women and children [i]alive[/i] - that's when he really became the [i]Wendigo[/i]. That's what I do, Nathan..." He shrugged. "I unchain people from the self-imposed restraints they have and show them how it feels to finally cut loose, and be what they [i]always[/i] wanted to be." He stopped, and looked over his shoulder at Nathan. "Few of them ever turn back. That is why I killed your tribe - why you and the girl are going to die tonight, as well." Nathan was grasping his gun in rage. He shot the gun again, and it hit Luis right through the neck in a gory display that splattered blood on the people behind him. The wound quickly healed, and Luis smiled lustfully. Luis finally took this as the signal to finally begin the fight. He broke off into a lightning quick sprint that went from left to right in a zig-zag motion to dodge Nathan's bullets. The old man took steps back, but there was only so far he could go until his back was against the wall. Luis closed the distance, and swiped the gun away right when Nathan pulled the trigger. The rogue bullet went flying off, and hit a woman in the crowd of people in the face - her entire head turned into a bloody mist as she hit the ground. The crowd screamed. Luis, with his free hand, drove his other knife into Nathan's stomach, quickly pulling it out and slashing Nathan across the face with it. He used his other hand to drive the knife right through his cranium and the sickening sound of his skull cracking filled the room as everyone gasped. Luis pulled the knife back, and Nathan's dead body went limp. "One loose end that's finally been tied," Luis casually said, he reached down and grabbed Nathan's revolver and opened the chamber. Two shots left. Luis turned towards the sobbing and terrified Rose, and aimed the revolver at her. She stopped like a deer in headlights, before he pulled the trigger and the supersonic bullet exploded her skull. She fell backwards with a bang. "...Two loose ends closed in one day. I'm feeling generous." Luis threw the gun to the ground, and broke it when he brought his foot down on it. He took steps back towards the crowd - and every step he took, they took a step back. "What's the matter?" Luis asked. "Stay back, Demon!" a woman shouted. Luis laughed. "Woman, I am appalled that you gave [i]such[/i] a childish title to me - but that's neither here nor there, yeah?" At this point, the rest of the church doors opened and various members of the Changeling Unit kicked in through the door. The Mannequin dropped down from the ceiling, and immediately elicited screams. A woman, muscular, scarred, and ugly, kicked down the front doors and looked around. Her arm was crackling with electricity as she stepped in. Another member of the Unit, who was freakish in every sense of the word, stepped in. His body seemingly made out of different kinds of skins stabled to himself, and he was tall. His face was covered with a layer of skin (he had no facial features) that seemingly made it impossible for him to see. "So, here's how things are gonna do," Luis said as he lazily plopped down on a chair. "We are going to leave most of you alone - but, I want everyone in this city to ask the question of '[i]who[/i] can kill this man?'. So...we're gonna play a game." "Please, no more games!" another woman shouted, and just as Luis was about to look up and say something, he recognized her - she was a woman clutching three children in utter fear... The photos that the Contessa showed her. The blonde haired family that was associated with that one girl. Luis immediately hopped up to his feet, and walked over to them. He got in real close to them, as they shivered in fear. Luis leaned in real closely to one of the Caspin boys, and grabbed him by the face, trapping his jaw between his thumb and index finger. "Huh, yeah, you do look like them." "Alright, boys!" Luis loudly announced as a portal opened behind him. "These four lovely people are exempt from the games." "Huh, what?!" Annabelle said. "Take me, just leave them alone! I'll do anything!" She erupted into tears. "Well...if a certain someone plays ball, then I [i]will[/i] leave you and your kids alone," Luis calmly said, as he looked down and wiped the blood off his knife with his hand. He absorbed the blood into his body - but didn't receive a major boost. "But, get. In. The. Portal," He sternly said, as the Mannequin got behind them. "I'm not telling you again." The Caspins reluctantly stepped into the portal, and it closed behind them. "Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Luis grandiosely said. Everyone was terrified to hear what these [i]games[/i] were. "Oh, you were expecting the games?" Luis said, "Well... sorry!" he said, all chipper. "We have more pressing matters to attend to, so we're just gonna kill a couple of you all, okay?" Waving his knife around, Luis said, "Just hold still, and [i]maybe[/i] you'll save your own neck." That was when everyone said their prayers. The ugly woman with the electrified fist put her hand out, and shot a stream of electricity at a man, and he loudly screamed as electricity ravaged his system. Everyone else let out a scream as well. He hit the ground, fried, soon after. The man with patches of skin threw his elbows back, and flaps of skin came off his body - revealing muscle-y flesh, the skin wrapped around a woman's face, and she desperately clawed at it, trying to get it free. It was a few minutes until she was strangled. The man, Skinwalker, released the woman as she dropped dead. Count Vicious created a metal spear and shot it into a crowd of people with unbelievable amounts of force, and impaled a few people. They screamed in agony as the metal split up to ravage them from the inside. The Mannequin used its long limbs to grab a woman, then he yanked her over and slammed her, head first, into the side of a chair. Over, and over, again. Until there was a hole in her head. Luis was going crazy - he was running through the crowds of people, stabbing whoever was in his way - as he was going straight for the Priest. He jumped into the air, and the Priest screamed like a girl. "Lord help me!" "God can't help you now..." Luis said as he landed on the Priest, and drove his knives into his body, stabbing him over and over again. Once he was done with his bloody frenzy, Luis stood straight up, as everyone looked traumatized by what happened. "That's. [i]Enough[/i]," he spoke, and the Changeling Unit stopped. Luis reached down, and pulled the head of the Priest off. "Tell everyone what you saw here!" Luis shouted as he threw the head into the crowd. "Tell them that Verthaven is now [i]Changeling[/i] City!" He laughed as a portal opened, and the Changeling Unit retreated into it. [hr][i][h1][color=aqua]Jennifer Marissa Caspin[/color], and...[/h1] [sup]([@Mr Allen J])[/sup][/i] [hr] Jennifer was going through the crowds of the safe-zone as usual. Hoping to find her family before it was too late. She stopped when her phone buzzed when she received a text message. [code]I know how you can find your family. But we have to discuss it in private. Meet me on the second floor of the Galaxy Bar.[/code] Jennifer quickly went to her GPS App, and found that the Galaxy Bar was merely a jog away. She didn't waste a second when she head over there. Jen opened the doors, and looked around - it was one of the buildings they didn't use. Which was fortunate for her. She wondered what that girl (she didn't catch her name) knew that had to be discussed in private. Nonetheless, she was going to hear her out. Jennifer looked to the right, and walked up the stairs, and immediately saw the girl. "Hey, I just wanted to---" Without giving her a second, the Contessa came up and shoved Jen backwards - the blonde haired girl had no choice but to scream as a portal suddenly opened behind her, and then darkness. [hr] She felt a bit woozy. All she saw was darkness... She felt cold metal against her naked skin. "Wakey, wakey," Luis' voice sounded like a gun going off. "That drug should be wearing off quickly...now that the collar is off." Luis said, "You're a regenerator, just like me, Jennifer...only difference is that I've been around longer, and your time's about to come to an end..." he trailed off. "That is, if you don't follow my orders." Just as Luis said, Jennifer's regenerative factor was quickly cycling out any drugs that were in her system, and repairing any other damage it might have caused. In a few moments, she was good as new. The first thing she saw when she looked up was the grey shell of the Mannequin standing over her. "[b][i]Ah![/i][/b]" she screamed. "Sssssssssssssh." Luis pressed a finger to his lips. "Be quiet...he won't bite - besides, you'll miss our little announcement." Jen tried to move herself free - but she saw that she was restrained to a table. Though, she noticed that she wasn't wearing the hoodie she was previously wearing. She then looked down, and noticed that she was [i]naked[/i]. Her jaw dropped - these freaks undressed her. What's more, was that she felt [i]something[/i] inside of her. Like an object that shouldn't be in there. "Now, let me introduce myself," Luis said as he placed his behind down on a chair. "[i]Luis[i], the [i]Bloodsucker[/i]. Leader of the Changeling Unit." [i]Changeling Unit?[/i] Those words rung in her head as she looked around. She was [i]surrounded[/i] by them. "What - what do you want with me?!" Jennifer asked, struggling to get free. "Oh, that's an easy one." Luis swiped his hand downwards dismissively. "You have connections to NEST, you might not know it yet, but through your friends, you lead up to the very top brass of NEST!" He put both hands on his knees as he scooted up in his chair a bit. "Which is why I want you to do a little favor..." Luis explained what he wanted Jen to do. "...But, I won't," Jennifer said. "I don't care what you'll do to me, I just won't do that!" She was awaiting an infinite torture, but she didn't care. She'd regenerate, until Meifeng and the others found her. "Oh, okay. I know that, no matter what I do...it'll never hurt you. Because you're like me, you'll bounce back," Luis said, he snapped his fingers and portals opened, and revealed the Caspins, tied to chairs, and struggling. "...But can you say the same for them? Can [i]they[/i] recover from the wounds they'll receive on your behalf?" Jennifer's eyes shot wide open. "No! Please God, leave them alone!" she pleaded. "We don't want to touch them," Luis said, walking over to Jennifer after he got off the chair. "That is, if you play along, there won't be a [i]single[/i] scratch on them - in fact, we could get you, and your family a one-way ticket out of here." Luis and the rest of the Changelings laughed. He walked over to Jennifer, and jammed his finger in her lower sides. He explained, "Oh yeah...the Mannequin put a little contingency in your tummy. If you survive [i]that[/i], then damn, you really [i]are[/i] immortal. But, I wouldn't be too close to anyone if you try." "Luis, aren't you forgetting something?" the Contessa said, leaning up against the wall. She pointed towards Flashbang. "Oh yeah, bring 'er in!" Luis said. A portal opened, and a girl in a wheelchair was pushed in, and Jennifer's eyes opened wide once she saw who it was. "[i]Alice!?[/i]" Jennifer loudly shouted. "Jen?!" Alice said. "Little broad was playing hero with her little projections. She thought that we wouldn't have tracked her to it..." Luis said as he drew a knife from the sheath. "Now, just to show you we [i]aren't[/i] playing around..." Luis raised the knife high up into the air above her head. "[i]Alice![/i]" Jen screamed in vain. "[i]No![/i]" Luis didn't listen, he brought the knife down on her skull, and the blade went right in. Alice's eyes died wide open, and when he pulled the knife out, her head fell over to the side, dead. Luis kicked the wheelchair and Alice's lifeless corpse fell out. He turned back towards Jennifer, and he smiled. "So, what's it gonna be?" There was an infinite stream of tears running down Jennifer's face. This man was a monster! He killed Alice just like she was nothing. She was sobbing. She couldn't disobey Luis - he'll will kill her whole family if she does. She didn't know what to do. All of this just felt like a nightmare like no other. "...I'm still waiting." Jennifer looked up at the man. [i]The dirty friend killer[/i], she would have spat in his face if that was a valid option. She had one choice... "...I'll do it," Jennifer said. "Splendid!" Luis put a wide smile on as he walked over to Jennifer and undid her restraints. "Now, put your clothes back on." Luis snapped his fingers, and the Contessa threw Jennifer's clothes at her. Jennifer reluctantly got off the table, and bent over to pick it up. As she was pulling her underwear up her legs...this felt like the beginning of the end. After she put her clothes on, Luis put his hand on her shoulder, and lead her to a portal that left her right where she came. Right before she walked in, Luis handed her a phone. "Make sure that you give me a call, okay?" He winked at her as he shoved through the portal. It closed behind her, and Jen was left standing there. Shocked, confused, and terrified. Jennifer dropped to her knees, and planted her face into her hands. Crying uncontrollably. "...What am I supposed to do?!" Jennifer screamed in between sobs. [hr][i][h1][color=cornflowerblue]Shizuka Takashiro[/color], and...[/h1][/i][hr] Instead of going straight for the rooms that NEST had prepared for the teens, Shizuka chose to take a detour, heading towards the area his aunt and brother were being kept. He needed some breathing space after leaving the tense meeting - he knew that it was mostly his own fault, but he's too much of a realist to be as optimistic as those people... Not with the chaotic shitstorm raging outside. He mulled over the series of events leading up to the current situation they were now trapped in: the unnaturally continuous rain, the sludge minions and later the Giant Slimeball, then the weird energy shield that had left this forsaken haven with the Devil to their tragic fate... He knew that those NEST agents weren't to blame - they couldn't have predicted the worst-case scenario to happen - but he still couldn't trust them, to have any faith in them. Damn, it was [i]NEST[/i] who activated the shield to trap all of them in here in the first place! He wouldn't be surprised if they decided to drop a nuke next to end this for good. He should have listened to Akemi to stay away from them. He let out a frustrated sigh and tucked his hands into his hoodie pocket. Was he regretting the decision to get himself killed with the rest of the suicide squad? He pulled out the comm-piece that Holly had lent to him for the battle against the Giant. The chloropath was the only NEST agent he felt he could truly rely on. [i]She's different from the other agents[/i], he tried to convince himself as he twiddled with the controls. "[i]---Shizu? Is that you?[/i]" He almost dropped the comm-piece at the familiar voice (what's more, in his native tongue) over the noise of static. "[i]Haru? How the hell---[/i]" "[i]Holly-san gave hers to me,[/i]" his twin cut him off. "[i]Anyway, I am guessing that the meeting did not go well - at least for you.[/i]" When Shizuka didn't respond, Haruka continued on, "[i]You agreed to help them because you knew you need them to keep us safe, but at the same time you still could not bring yourself to trust them. And that mouth of yours probably said something to make them all hoping that you were the first to die in their stead.[/i]" "[i]...What, did you start developing telepathic powers or something?[/i]" "[i]I wish,[/i]" was his brother's annoyed reply. "[i]And neither is the nonsense about twins possessing psychic links. We literally grew up together, so it isn't that hard to guess, idiot.[/i]" "[i]...[/i]" "[i]Look, I am not saying that you suddenly go and be best friends with those teens, or force yourself to trust those NEST agents,[/i]" Haruka's voice came out a little muffled over the increasing chatters in the background. "[i]Just start by being politely nice to them. You can't expect people to be kind to you when you aren't nice to them.[/i]" "[i]And then get my ass kicked like you always were back then?[/i]" "[i]Seriously Shizu,[/i]" Haruka sounded positively pissed now. "[i]It is because people stop caring for one another that we begin to hurt others all in the pretense of protecting oneself - when in actuality we are just afraid to get hurt also.[/i]" Then he sighed. "[i]You don't have to worry about us - Aunt Akemi is with me, and we can look after ourselves. When will you be deployed?[/i]" "[i]Tomorrow, I think.[/i]" "[i]Be careful.[/i]" And the line went dead. "...I will." [hr][i][h1][color=lawngreen]Sonya Mayfield[/color], [color=dodgerblue]Lihua Vuhong[/color], [color=gray]Quentin Taylor[/color], Task Force RAVEN, & Peter Brooke.[/h1] [sup]([@Mr Allen J] and [@Zombiedude101])[/sup][/i] [hr] Quentin, Lihua, Sonya, and Maximilian, walked up to the Apex cell - the soldiers stationed saluting them as the door opened. The moment they walked into the hall, they felt the counter Metahuman-energy barraging their bodies, sapping their powers away (save for Sonya, who's power was more or less permanent). They opened up the other door, and saw the metal man encased in containment foam, and a power suppressant collar (just as a backup plan). "Quentin, I suggest that you act quickly and take his power," Maximilian said, wanting to let Quentin do his thing before they try anything else. Nodding, Quentin took a few steps towards the sculpture-esque prisoner, leaning forwards and pressing both palms against his metallic surface. He closed his eyes, concentrated and then like that he felt a surge of electricity run up his arms as the transfer began. It was, least to say, quite an uncomfortable process for the both of them - moreso on Quentin's side of things - but within a few moments it was over. Quentin took a step back, breathing labored, and glanced down for a moment. "Gah, shit..." he muttered as he saw his finger tips briefly take on a metallic texture, before taking on their original appearance. "It's done." He finally nodded to Max, no worse for wear. With Quentin adding Peter's power to the NEST arsenal - it was time to get the actual PR-1 in on the battle. Maximilian took off the collar. The group stood before him, and in between each other. They pulled out containment foam sprayers, just in case. "We're ready," Maximilian said into the comms. "Disable the apex field." "Okay, disabling the field now..." Dana said. "Just be careful in there. If anything goes wrong, I'll have the field back up. Just hold out a few seconds for it to kick in." Lihua wasn't afraid. Not one bit. She put her hands on her hips (sprayer in hand), and stared as the metal man returned to consciousness. She could feel the electricity filling the air. "PR-1...or should I just call you Peter?" Lihua started off, giving the aberration a narrow look. "Now, before you even think of trying anything - if you so much as try anything like you did last time, we'll have the field back on, and you'll be dead." And Lihua meant that. She had a hatred for PR-1 like no other. "Agent..." Peter said, voice warbled and metallic. "What do I owe the occasion to?" The agents looked between each other, until Lihua and Sonya nodded at Maximilian, and he took a step forward. He was hesitant as the rest of them. "Alright, we have a deal for you, PR-1---" "Peter," Peter answered. "Right..." Maximilian's eyes shifted over towards Lihua. "As I was saying...we have a deal for you, and you better listen closely. The terms of our battle have changed, drastically. The target is no longer the Hands." "[i]Oh?[/i]" Peter said - sounding almost like he was mocking them. "Tell me - what enemy has arisen that has made you desperate enough to come to me?" [i]You should shut up[/i], Lihua thought to herself, narrowing her eyes. [i]Stop acting like you're on top here. One button press, and you're going to get very comfy with a smelter.[/i] Maximilian couldn't help but admit that it damaged a bit of his pride having to come to this abomination, but he had no choice. "The Devil of Verthaven... Don't know who she is, but I know she's hellbent on killing everyone in this city. She unleashed an army of monsters on the city, and people are dying by the boatload. Which is why we need everyone on our side as possible. And you're one of the strongest Metahumans we've seen." "I see..." Peter said. "Well, Agent...what reason do I have to switch sides?" Smirking like a fool, Maximilian spoke, "Oh, I'll have you know we have something you're very interested in." He reached behind him, and pulled out stacks of paper - the same papers that contained the research Peter was working so hard on. "You can have your research back [i]if[/i] you agree to assist NEST in our counterattacks against the Devil." "And if I refuse and take my research back the hard way?" Peter said. The group looked in between each other, with Lihua laughing. "You're in the Apex cell, Peter. One flip of a button, and you'll be deactivated!" Lihua said. "Agent Vuhong is correct... If you go that route, it'll be proof that you cannot be reasoned with, and you will be deactivated, and destroyed. Because you are too much of a threat to keep around." "And...look at the bright side," Sonya said, her usual chipper tone virtually nonexistent. "You'll have an R&D room all to yourself to finish your research!" Peter contemplated the terms... His allegiance to the Hands was shaky at best, and the agents are driving a hard bargain. "Very well..." PR-1 said. "I have agreed to your terms." "I would shake your hand..." Maximilian said. "No," Peter retorted. "Direct me to my quarters, I'll be continuing my research until I am needed." [hr] Lihua let out a sigh. She stepped down the halls of the NEST Headquarters. Everything in this damn city was falling apart, and all she wanted was a long bath - but she knew that NEST Headquarters only had showers. Lihua narrowed her eyes. [i]Close enough.[/i] She thought to herself. This was going to be the longest week of her life, and it was obvious that not everyone was going to survive. So, she's going have to give it her all to make sure that they get out. Lihua had to sigh again. This...martyr attitude was going to kill her some day. For now, she was going to enjoy a shower, then she was going to head to bed... Well, her office. She was going to put up a cot there. It was going to be a pain in the ass not having access to all her outfits. Right when Lihua was about to approach the showers, her phone started ringing. She was wondering who the hell would be calling her [i]now[/i]. She quickly dove her hand into her pocket, and pulled out her phone, and immediately narrowed her eyes. [i]Jiao-Long Baozai.[/i] She wondered what her damn brother wanted, she hit answer, then pressed the phone against her ear. "[i]Hell---[/i]" Lihua couldn't even finish the sentence before Jiao-Long bombarded her. "[i]Lihua, sister, I am going to be brief. Me and the girls managed to get out of the city before the shield went up. I hope you are okay.[/i]" "[i]Jiao---[/i]" "[i]I need you to keep Mika safe for me. Do anything to get her out of the city. Please. I wish I could have came to get her too, but there was no time.[/i]" "[i]Listen, wait, you bas---[/i]" "[i]Goodbye, Qia--- Sister,[/i]" Jiao-long said farewell before he hung up the phone. Lihua was left, understandably, very confused. Why did Jiao-Long sound like he was in such a rush? It didn't make any sense that he'd leave Mika behind without a word. She knew that he wasn't that kind of person who'd leave his daughter in here without so much of a message. There was something wrong here. Lihua stared at her phone for a moment, rubbing her chin. Was he telling her that he got out safely? ...[i]Or was he telling her not to look for him?[/i] Looked like Lihua was going to find out. She quickly turned around and broke off into a sprint, heading right towards her office. Without wasting a second, she used her newly restored privileges to track Jiao-Long's number...but the phone mysteriously vanished. Very suspicious...even if the phone was from the outside world, she'd be able to trace it. Lihua narrowed her eyebrows. "...Jiao-Long," She said to herself, "Just [i]what[/i] are you doing?" [hr][i][h1]The Hands of Science.[/h1][/i] [hr] "Go, go, go!" a REAPER shouted, as a line of REAPERS wearing the red and black armor charged down the tunnel in the sewers armed to the teeth. Ignatius and Dr. Cross walked alongside them, and the second the REAPERS got into position, the two turned down another hall, and continued down it. "Here they come!" the REAPER shouted, before the wave of monsters charged down the hall. They did the first thing that came to mind - fill the hallway with hot lead. They managed to suppress the horde. They turned into sludge that filled the hallway. REAPERS in the back opened up a metal case that had the glowing syringes that contained Mutagen. Each of them took one, and injected it into her wrists. They ran back to the line, and threw her hands up, and the stone that formed the tunnel warped, and quickly sealed up. "This area's sealed! All entrances have been sealed!" the REAPER spoke into the comms. The two leaders made it to the door at the end of the tunnel - Ignatius walked up and opened the door, and let Dr. Cross in, and the two immediately were assaulted by the hectic lab. This was in fact their final lab. The other labs were destroyed by RAVEN, or overrun by the monsters. So, they fell back to the last major lab they had with all the scientists, REAPERS, and test subjects they could, and mounted a defense here. Fortunately, like NEST Headquarters, they managed to form a defensive position. Dr. Cross walked through the halls of the lab with her hands behind her back. Eagle eyes examining everything - from the injured scientists getting rushed off to receive medical attention, to REAPERS sitting idly by and chatting - she saw all of it. It felt like she was waging her own war now. The two eventually made it to a conference room, with a large metal round-table that was fixed to the floor. Hands of Science chairmen were seated down on various parts of the table. All that was missing was Dr. Cross. She sat down at the table, and neatly folded her hands on the table. "...Some meeting this turned out to be," Eliza mouthed off to Dr. Cross. "Not only does our extremely important meeting get crashed, but we get trapped in a shield with a monster. Do all your ideas end up like this, Cross?" "Silence, Eliza," Dr. Cross said. "[i]No one[/i] could have predicted this." Suan-Ni nodded his head. "I agree with Dr. Cross... This was out of our hands. However, we have to make the most of the situation." Nathaniel leaned in on the table. "So, Dr. Cross, what are the Hands going to do to address this situation?" "Our best bet..." Dr. Cross looked over to her wheelchair bound assistant. "...Is [i]Project Scythe.[/i]" "...It's not even close to being test capable," Eliza said. "But, it's the only thing we have...since we're essentially cut off from the outside work," Dr. Cross said. "I don't see you presenting any options, either, Eliza." She narrowed her eyes at Eliza. "So, here's what I suggest we do: we hunker down and accelerate production of Project Scythe while we let NEST go to war with the Devil." "They have PR-1," Ignatius said, tapping his finger on the metal table. "So?" Dr. Cross said. "I doubt he'd be worth the trouble of breaking out while we're under siege." Her expression was unchanging. "We know that NEST is going to have their hands full with the Devil - they're not stupid enough to target us in the middle of all this - so we basically have free reign to do whatever we please. If they don't take out the Devil for us - in which case, we'll simply just evacuate - then we'll use Project Scythe on the Devil ourselves." Eliza tilted her head. "Are you sure you want to use a weapon that [i]could[/i] wipe out a chunk of Verthaven?" "At this point - to ensure our own survival - we have little choice," Dr. Cross explained. "Thousands of people are dead already, destroying Verthaven to eliminate one target that could destroy the [i]world[/i] is worth the risk." "Hell, they might call us [i]heroes[/i] when all of this is over!" Ignatius laughed loudly, and earned himself looks from the other chairmen. When his jackal-like laughter subsided, the smile was wiped off his face. He asked, "...And what about the Changelings?" "Let them do as they please," Dr. Cross said. "They're going after NEST for Heartbreaker - who is the least of our concern at the moment." "I have a feeling that our friend Luis is going to do something stupid," Ignatius sighed. "That man is hard to predict..." Dr. Cross tapped her fingers on the table. "...But, best case, he gets himself and his Changelings killed, and he's out of our hair." Ignatius stared at her blankly for a moment. "...You and I both know it won't be [i]that[/i] simple."