[hr][h1][i][color=Dodgerblue]Lihua Vuhong[/color], & [color=Springgreen]Cindy Gabrielle Keagan[/color][/i].[/h1][hr]


"... Ms Vuhong?" Cindy asked as she hesitantly pushed open the door, and spotted the room - which had been converted into Lihua's bedroom of sorts (With a less than luxurious cot sprawled out on the floor - a crib not too far away) - and eventually Lihua herself by her desk. Standing tall, and holding the infant in her arms, the woman turned her head towards Cindy. Giving her a curious aside glance.

The first words to come out of the classy woman's woman's mouth, "... You should knock next time." She sternly said. "This [i]is[/i] my bedroom after all. You might see something you don't want to." She almost playfully said that to Cindy as she walked back to her chair, and sat at her desk. Holding Lijuan all the way.

"Oh, yeah - sorry." Cindy said, as she fully stepped into the room, and pushed the door shut behind her. "You called me up here?" She said, as she shifted her weight to one hip, and put a hand on it.

"Yes... I have some matters I wish to discuss with you." Lihua tapped her hand on her desk. "Here, have a seat." She then pointed at the chair in front of the desk. She was disappointed that someone else was using her office in her absence. Ugh... Utterly inexcusable.

Cindy hesitantly complied, and sat down on the chair, putting her legs together with her hands neatly on her lap.

Seeing as her babysitter was ready, Lihua figured it was time to cut to the chase. "As you know, I'll be heading out with Meifeng to try and track the Devil - and hopefully kill that bitch so we can get out of here."

Cindy nodded her head.

"That leaves very few people to watch over [i]her[/i]-" she looked down at Lijuan for a moment "-at least any that I trust enough." Lihua said, letting out a simple sigh. "On top of [i]that[/i], we heavily believe that the Changeling Unit are going to make their move soon."

"Yeah..." Cindy wasn't looking forward to [i]that[/i], it almost made her want to go along just so she can avoid those maniacs.

Lihua calmly closed her eyes, before a quiet sigh left her lips, a signal of how badly things had gotten. "Which is why I'm asking you, as Lijuan's babysitter, to stay behind and keep [i]her[/i] far away from the fight as possible...." She solemly said. "Those... [i]monsters[/i] are the utter peak of humanity depravity.... And I don't know what they'll do if they get their hands on Lijuan." 

Lihua looked down at her infant daughter.

"I'll... I'll stay behind." Cindy said, nodding her head. 

"So you understand?" Lihua said, getting up to her feet, she walked around her desk, over to Cindy. Holding out Lijuan for her to take. "Even though the circumstances have changed - you're still her babysitter. Please, just keep her safe. For me - and for her sake." 

Without a word escaping her lips, Cindy took Lijuan, and calmly nodded her head.

"Thank you. Everything she needs is in here." Lihua said as she started walking out the door. Right when she made it through the doors, she opened the door ajar somewhat, she then stuck her head through and said to Cindy, "I'm trusting you."

Cindy sat there.


[hr][h1][i][color=Dodgerblue]Lihua Vuhong[/color], [color=red]Meifeng Vuhong[/color], & [color=lawngreen]Sonya Summer Mayfield[/color][/i].[/h1][hr]


Just as ordered, Meifeng hopped into the back of the APC.

Which already had the accompanying RAVENs on board. Leon Vahan tapping his knee to a rhythm in his head, Adam sitting attentively with his arms crossed, Lihua looking at herself in a small mirror that she had brought along - and Sonya, of course, hanging from the top of the APC's interior.

The frog woman blinked at Meifeng, before a wide grin formed on her face. "You ready for your first mission?!" She enthusiastically said. She quickly looked around. "Looks like none of your friends came along." Following it up with a shrug. "[i]No matter![/i] You'll be with one of the best."

Earning some looks from her fellow RAVENs.

"... And some of the [i]not-so-best.[/i]" Sonya said, defended - almost like they weren't worth noting. "Sorry."

Lihua shook her head.  "Alright, have a seat - right here." She put her hand on the seat next to her, which was quickly occupied by Meifeng. "Alright, is everything ready?"

Leon looked at the container that contained the heart of the Changeling who was polite enough to donate. "Yup."

"Alright, then let's move." Lihua crossed her arms.

The APCs quickly went into motion, carrying the NEST Agents out of the safe zone.


[hr][i][h1][color=plum]Trevor Obott[/color], [color=springgreen]Cindy Keagan[/color], [color=aqua]Jennifer Caspin[/color], [color=salmon]Haruka Takashiro[/color], [color=DarkSlateBlue]Reed Taylor[/color], & Task Force RAVEN.[/h1]
[sup]([@Mr Allen J], [@tsukune] and [@Zombiedude101][/sup][/i][hr][hider=St. Vincent - The Party][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmk179ac-io[/youtube][/hider][hr]


Because he had opted out of going along with the big mission, Trevor got the equally important job of guard duty!

Mostly just giving him a position to watch, and telling them over comms if he sees any monsters running up. At least Trevor got his own sick armor - The standard NEST armor (though, he suspects that he got the [i]female[/i] armor) - and a bitchin' sniper rifle (A M24A2). All the years of living with rednecks ([i]scientific[/i] rednecks) was starting to pay off when he's the only one of his peers that knows his way around a gun.

Trevor - opting out of sitting in a soulless tower - was set up in the second floor of a row house that gave him a clear view of everything he has to watch. A small park - which was full of tents - surrounded by other houses, and the big concrete wall that Lihua erected to keep the monsters out! His goal was mostly just alerting NEST if any of the survivors got a little too rowdy - so they'd be put on timeout. So far, nobody really raised a fuss.

The boy shrugged. Guess they're just really scared. That's all. Trevor's scared too. With all the death, and dying, and murder going on in the city lately. But, that's just the way it is. They got no choice but to suck it up.

Though, it was a little lonely up here. All Trevor was doing was sitting at a window, with an apple in hand. He took a bite, as he looked through the scopes of the rifle. Just out of boredom.

He heard someone knocking on the door.

Trevor looked over his shoulder. "Ey, come on in!" He loudly shouted - hoping the person on the other side wasn't going to murder him!

Cindy stepped on through the door - wearing jeans, and a black hoodie with a pink heart on the back. She was holding a bottle in her hand - but Trevor had a hard time making it out. "Hey, Trevor." Cindy said, somewhat somber. "You're not goin' along with them?"

"Ah, nah." Trevor shrugged. "I'm the world's greatest hunter - but I think I'll sit this one out."

"Yeah, I can understand that." Cindy said as she knelt down, and sat down next to him. "Lihua asked that I stay behind anyway... she wanted me to babysit Lijuan." She sneered. "[i]Just like old times.[/i]" She almost had to laugh.

Trevor gave her a blank, aside, look, as he asked, "So, where's the kid?"

"Well..." Cindy shrugged, and looked off to the side. "I passed her off to Mika while I went and got some fresh air."

"Oooooooooh...." Trevor mouthed, pointing a finger at Cindy. "You're a [i]baaaaad[/i] babysitter."

"I know - but it's only for a [i]minute.[/i]" Cindy said. "You see Lucy around or anything? I haven't seen her since the evac."

Once again, Trevor shrugged. "Beats me." He calmly answered. "Hell, she probably realized that it's jungle law now. Heh... as old and true as the sky. She's probably off sneaking into people's houses, and sniffing panties to her heart's contents!" Trevor laughed.

Only earning a narrow glare from Cindy. "Trevor... let's stop for a second, and let's have a honest-to-God discussion now." Trevor stared at her, blankly - awaiting her answer. "Can you take things seriously for just a second? Like, god damn, you're always saying something [i]dumb.[/i]"

Trevor merely sighed. Looking directly at Cindy for a few moments rather wordlessly. "I [i]am[/i] taking things seriously." Trevor said, dead serious - sounding somewhat annoyed - as he didn't break eye contact with her. "Serious as I god damn can be." His accent was getting much more pronounced.

"Then-"

Before Cindy could finish that train of thought, Trevor cut her off, and slung that rifle over his shoulder as he stepped up to Cindy. "In fact, I'm fuckin [i]terrified[/i]." He hissed at Cindy. "I'm so god damn scared [i]scared[/i] right now, I feel like I'll just fall apart at any second now." He shook his head. "Everything's just so damn overwhelming right now. I just... damn it. I just don't wanna think too hard about it. I just want to fool around like I used to - just for a second, just one. That too much...? Actually."

Trevor stopped himself there, realizing how much of a whiny bitch he was sounding like. "Sorry if I sound like I'm not giving a shit. I just... I just want to get my mind off things."

"Trevor..." Cindy trailed off for a second. "I...didn't see it like that. I'm sorry for getting on your case like that."

"Well," Trevor shrugged. "It just happens, I guess. So, how about we just forget about this, yeah?" He asked as he walked back over to the window, and peeked out of it with his sniper rifle.

"Agreed." Cindy said. She choose to drop the matter just to respect Trevor, and maybe just see things from his perspective for a change. Cindy shrugged, remembering that there was a matter that she wished to discuss with Trevor. "But take a look at what I snuck out of Lihua's room."

She presented the bottle she was bringing around with her - a giant bottle of whiskey that she got out of Lihua's office (Or, more accurately, the Vuhong family bedroom). Holding a few shot glasses in the other.

Trevor looked over his shoulder, and smiled. "Naughty girl," Trevor said. "What in the world made you want to snatch that, of all things? You know we a little underaged for that."

Cindy sat down, opening up the bottle, and pouring it into her glass. "Be quiet, Trev. This ain't the [i]first[/i] time I had some alcohol."

"Yeah," Trevor said, "[i]That's[/i] all over your Instagram." He joked, shrugging. "And pictures of you smoking weed."

"Shut up, Trevor." Cindy rolled her eyes.

"Whaaaaaa?" Trevor said, feigning shock.

"Do you want some, or not?" Cindy said to Trevor, sounding a little annoyed, she took a sip of it herself, and immediately felt the buzz of whiskey.

"Sure," Trevor leaned up against the wall - Cindy poured him a glass, and handed it to him. He looked down at it, before he calmly said, "...But you know that'll do nothing to me."

Cindy rolled her eyes up into her head. "Then why'd you - know what, never mind." She would never get this white boy - which is why she's not even going to try. "Just drink up before I make that glass explode."

"Oh, spicy," Trevor said - in regards to Cindy.

Someone started knocking on the door.

"Aw, shit, hide the booze!" Trevor shouted, as he immediately downed the glass like it was nothing (due to his biological alterations, it [i]was[/i] nothing).

"Are you stupid?! They gonna [i]know[/i] that if you shout about it!" Cindy yelled in response as she quickly put the bottle inside a interior pocket on her hoodie.

"Stop talkin', and start hidin'!" Trevor shouted as he stuck the shot glass in one of the compartments on his utility belt.

The door opened, and Jennifer stuck her head in - briefly wondering if she should just turn around. "... Is it a bad time?" Jennifer asked.

"Hey, it's never a bad time!" Trevor jovially said, waving a hand. "Come on in!"

Jennifer stepped into the room, looking around. Standing there awkwardly. Creating an awkward silence. With everyone looking at each other.

Awkwardly.

Haruka followed in after Jennifer - he gave the teens a nervous half-smile but dropped it almost immediately, and simply shrugged. He glanced from Trevor - pausing longer when his eyes were on Cindy - before finally looking away.

"So," Trevor broke the silence. "What brings you 'round these parts?"

"Oh you know..." Jennifer trailed off, scratching the back of her neck as she walked up. "With the others gone, I decided to just...stick with one of you. And, you know, chill."

Haruka nodded in agreement; he continued to keep his mouth shut, unsure if they might direct their displeasure towards his brother at him instead...just like the old times when he was often a convenient bullying target. He shrank further into the shadow of the blond girl, hoping that they would ignore his existence and pretend that he wasn't here.

"Well, you came to the right place!" Trevor triumphantly said as he walked over to Cindy. "Cindy here snatched some booze! Want some!?" He quickly snatched Cindy's hand, and raised it, and the bottle, up into the air.

"...You know that'll do nothing to me." Jennifer pointed at it. With Trevor giving Cindy a cocky look, before he faced Jen again.

"Hey, we have another thing in common now!" Trevor said, chuckling a little bit. "So, wanna have a sip anyway? Won't hurt anyone but our alcoholic friend Cindy!"

"Well..." Jennifer said, about to say no, but catching herself at the last second. With the whole Changeling nonsense going on, she barely cared at this point. "Okay." 

Cindy poured Jennifer a glass, and something inside the girl just went "fuck it" and downed it all in one shot.

"Daaaaaaaamn, girl, regeneration or not, you better watch it." Cindy warned.

"...[i]Doesn't matter anyway.[/i]" Jennifer mouthed the words underneath her breath - outside the earshot of Trevor and Cindy.

Haruka, who was watching the exchange from a corner, widened his eyes at the sight of the whiskey bottle; he was even more troubled when the teens - he was pretty sure that all of them were underaged - were drinking the alcohol. He opened his mouth, thinking about trying to stop Jennifer (she was vomiting [i]blood[/i] in front of him not long ago!) but he closed it in the end, determined not to draw attention to himself.

Jen's little statement under her breath didn't go unnoticed by the other two occupants - most importantly, they were a tad worried about Jen. Given strange she was acting after they got back. They were both wondering what was with her (Especially Cindy).

Cindy was very suspicious of Jen - but, above all else, wanted to help the girl out, even if she wasn't close to her. The girl walked over to Jen with the whiskey in hand, and poured her some more, looking down at the glass, then back up at her. Making eye contact just to ask,  "Jen..." Cindy trailed off. "You're acting a little strange, you okay?"

"Yeah... perfectly fine." Jennifer said. 

"Do sudden coughing fits sound alright with you, Trev?" Cindy turned over to Trevor.

"Nope, not one bit." Trevor said, rather cheerfully. "Hell, with the way you've been acting - maybe you do need some alcohol!"

"Can you just drop it?" Jennifer asked.

"Nope." Trevor said. "This is what friends do, gal. Friends help each other."

Jennifer didn't want them pressing on about this. So she did the first thing that came to mind; divert attention. She looked down at her glass of alcohol, and before she downed it - it came to her. "Haruka!" Jennifer shouted, trying to get his attention.

"Oh shit, when'd you get here?" Trevor asked.

"Want to try some? It's really good!" Jennifer tried to force the best enthusiastic tone she could. Ironic, given how there wasn't that much left in her after everything she's been through. She presented the glass to Haruka, "Here, take some of mine."

Haruka jumped when Jennifer yelled his name; his eyes traveled from the girl's face down to the glass of liquor she was holding out to him. He raised his hands, with the palms facing her. "N-No," he blurted out, taking a step back - and his back was now pretty much pinned to the wall behind him. "I-I don't drink. Um, we shouldn't be having this...stuff..."

Cindy could just [i]smell[/i] the bullshit. She just crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Hey, now," Trevor said, getting up off the wall. "The world's ending, friend! Why does it even matter if we drink? At least cut loose for a second - it'll feel great!"

"Trevor's right." Jennifer agreed, glad that she got Trevor off her case - but not Cindy, she could see her stare going right through her.

Haruka wished that he could have his twin's power now - simply letting the wall to swallow him whole, away from the intoxicating temptation that was advancing towards him. [i]That's a freaking whiskey![/i] He stole a quick look at Cindy - who seemed to be still fixated at Jennifer - and he thought back about whatever the blonde had been trying to hide from him.

Did he want to risk babbling about Jennifer's blood incident to her?

The idea of betraying someone - even if she wasn't exactly a friend - didn't sit well with the boy. He chewed his lower lip - he wasn't like Shizuka, who could care less about morality as long as it was something he could take advantage of, to protect his own interest. On the other hand, he knew that his weak decline would probably egg Trevor into pushing him further instead...

There was only one way he could think of to wriggle himself out of this.

He sucked in a deep breath, then slowly extended a hand for the glass in Jennifer's hand. He threw the hardest look he could muster at the blonde (well, he couldn't help feeling betrayed that she's using him to avoid attention when he had been keeping quiet about her blood-spitting episodes the whole time) and his fingers brushed against the glass...

Instead of taking the glass from Jennifer, he fumbled with it - it slipped through his trembling fingers and dropped onto the ground, where it broke; the strong smell of the spilled liquor made his nose twitched in disgust.

"Ah..." He tried to act surprised, shrugging at the mess. "...I'm sorry about that."

"Hey!" Trevor put his hand up to shield his eyes when he felt a broken fragment hit him in the face. "Be careful, man!" Trevor shouted. "Shit almost got into my pretty old eyes!"

Cindy shook her head. "God damn," She moaned in a slight irritation as she looked down at the broken glass. "I gotta put these back, you know." This boy just dropped the glass - just like that. She swiped this from Lihua's room - she gotta put it back (Less she knows, the better). She rolled her eyes up into her head as she pointed her hand at the shattered mess of glass. Suddenly, all the broken glass funneled into one point, and quickly reformed into the same glass it was before Haruka dropped. "Need me to glue it to your hand?" She snarkily asked. 

Haruka would have been intrigued at the glass manipulation power that Cindy displayed before him (he had only heard scattered descriptions from Shizuka previously) - if it wasn't for her snide comment. He frowned at her, but chose not to make any retort back at the black girl, then he ignored her. His impression of Cindy was going downhill - nothing extreme to the point of hate, but at the very least he would love to keep his distance from her as much as possible.

He didn't want to have to deal with another smart mouth, especially someone he didn't feel close with - he already had his hands full with Shizuka.

He bowed his head at Trevor. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I...I'm not good with alcohol," he finished lamely.

"I can see that!" Trevor said with mock-shock, but he kept that cheerful smile on his face that told them. "Glad you didn't even get a sip of that - you would have been passed out face-down in a ditch."

Jennifer clenched her fists - she hated putting Haruka on the spot like this (His opinion of her was probably spiraling).

At that moment, the door handle twisted yet again and after a moment's pause, in stepped Reed; a pair of binoculars hanging off a lanyard around his neck, a pistol holstered at his  and his arm still rested in a sling.

"Everything alright? I heard something smash."

"Oh!"  Trevor yipped as the new person - recognizing him as that cop he's seen around these parts (and healed) - stormed into the room. All because Haruka dropped the glass. Damn, he was starting to think that he [i]should[/i] glue that glass to his hand. He pulled on his collar.

For Cindy, this didn't look any good. Because she was the one holding the whiskey. It wouldn't take a detective to figure out that she's the ring leader.

Jen kept her mouth shut. Looks like this works out for everyone (Except Cindy and Trevor). Now the spotlight is off herself, and Haruka.

Haruka let out a small sigh of relief at the sight of an adult figure to finally shift the attention away from him (and Jennifer, which was good for her). He didn't feel sorry about the other two...though part of him hoped all they'd get was just a little warning and forget about the alcohol.

His eyes darted around the room for a moment, recognizing Jen, Trevor and that girl from the beach - the one who could mess with glass - before he saw the bottle of whiskey and arched an eyebrow.

"You don't look twenty-one to me."

"Well, you see..." Trevor trailed off, putting both hands up. "She got that one disease that makes you look really young." Trevor shook his head, with an odd smile on his face.

"Yeah!" Cindy agreed. "I got whatever the hell that is!"

"I'm sure," Reed waved them off, "Can hardly call your folks now, can I?" He found a place to drop down and grabbed a seat by the window.

Both Cindy and Trevor looked at Reed. Surprised that he isn't freaking out about the alcohol (Or the half assed excuse didn't at least make him laugh).

"So, wait..." Trevor asked, raising an eyebrow. "We ain't busted?"

"No, you're good." He waved them off again with a slight chuckle, rubbing his shoulder. "Though frankly, if you've got any left I could use a little myself."

Once again, Cindy and Trevor looked in between each other. Wondering how they got off so easy - then reminded of the fact, just as Trevor said, the world's ending around them. Stupid things like "underaged drinking", and "legal age" were all but irrelevant!

Cindy, of course, knew not to push her luck in this situation (Especially since she jacked this alcohol out [i]Lihua's[/i] room). The best thing to do was give the guy some alcohol, just to save them from a headache later. "Oh, here's some." She quickly poured some out of the bottle into a glass she was levitating, and sent it over to Reed. Mostly as a way of saying "please don't rat on us," and because if Reed's cool with it, so is she.

"So, how's that shoulder, Reed?" Trevor had to ask. "It should-"

A massive crash interrupted their conversation as Trevor dropped his glass out of sheer surprise. Cindy couldn't even get mad now. Trevor rolled over to the window, and looked out the scope of his sniper rifle. He saw the giant Berserker standing tall - with a horde of monsters coming in from behind her - and before he could take a shot, she started running again.

"Oooooooooooh..." Trevor reeled back. "[i]That[/i] ain't good."

"What?" Cindy charged over to the window. "Oh shit."  She said.

Reed lurched forward and had to steady himself against the glass, hand snapping for his holstered pistol as he saw it.

Jennifer crawled over to the window, putting her hands on the windowsill, and her heart nearly skipped a beat. [i]Oh no...[/i] Jen trailed off. They're [i]here.[/i]

The old Haruka would have frozen on the spot until his weak knees gave way from the shock, or he would have fainted from frying his own brain running through the 'Fear Program'... (Or, as Shizuka would simply call them: shitting his own pants.)

After all that his family had done trying to stay alive in the midst of the bloody massacre - and still fighting even knowing that they had been forsaken to die, trapped in the Shield - he no longer had the luxury to cower in a corner and pray that everything was going to be alright...

As if he had the power to manipulate his feeble luck.

Sure, though he was only a weak human who didn't have any abilities like Jennifer and her friends, there must be something that he could do.

But what?

He remembered Holly's comm-piece still in his pocket. Not to contact Shizuka, but to the control center; not really to seek backups, but at the very least to alert them.

He pulled it out of the pocket and put the comm into his ear. Once it was connected, Holly's calming voice drawled out from the device, "Haruka? What's the matter?"

"The Changelings," his voice shook a little as he spoke into the comm. "They are here."

"Can you describe---" Holly began, but Haruka cut her off and said in a rush, "A woman - blond, and like, [i]huge[/i]. With a throng of monsters behind her." [i]The Changelings are working together with the Devil[/i], he thought in realization. Then he continued, "Um, there's only Jennifer, Trevor, Cindy...and some, uh, injured cop---" He tilted his head at Reed. "---with me here."

"Grue." Holly's voice became further away, probably turning to talk to someone else. "Should we...?"

"We need to get Maximilian and the others out there at once." Dana was quick to answer. "They're killing everyone." She moaned. She quickly typed a few things on the computer. "Maximilian-"

"The Changelings?" Maximilian cut her off.

"Just as we predicted." Dana said.

"We're on our way."

Which leaves one loose end. "Haruka, Trevor," Dana stated their names, "You two need to get your group, and fall back to NEST Headquarters..." She trailed off. "You are not ready to engage the Changeling Unit."

Informing someone about it had helped Haruka to calm his nerves (well, he would be lying to himself if he didn't feel one bit scared at the sight of that monstrous freak). Exhaling slowly, he spoke into the comm again, "Understood. We--- [i]Oh no.[/i]"

He gasped in horror as the Berserker had hit a wall, sending shock waves through the building. Frightened screams broke out from the safe zone. [i]Akemi[/i], he called out for his aunt in a silent cry. He wasn't sure if her force field would be enough to save herself from the Berserker's unstoppable, destructive momentum.

"You kids, keep your heads down," Reed urged them, before he headed o to the door, pistol in-hand.

For a moment, Trevor contemplated whether or not they should even get out there. He watched the destruction - [i]then[/i] realized that it'd probably be safer out there, than in here if that brute turned her attention towards this house. It was time for Agent Trevor to do his thing, and save the day. "You heard the lady!" Trevor grabbed onto Haruka's shoulder. "Let's go!" He started running out the door.

"Um, what?" Cindy asked, confused, before simply resigning to follow. Along with Jen.


[hr][h1][i][color=Gray]Quentin[/color] and [color=DarkSlateBlue]Cassius[/color] [color=Gray]Tay[/color][color=DarkSlateBlue]lor[/color][/i].[/h1][hr]

Quentin found his uncle in one of the tents at the edge of the refugee camp, where a couple of others from the city's public services, VPD, VFD, VEMS, from firefighters to city Councillors, to paramedics - all had come together to try and figure things out whilst NEST did their thing. By the time he'd shown up, the old man was by himself, elbow resting on a table with a marked map on it, his Ithaca 37 resting beside him . Arching an eyebrow, Quentin asked "Say Cass, you seen where that baby brother of mine is?"

"Well, he was helping out some of these refugees. I told him to catch some rest, but you know what that one's like."

"Stubborn, you mean?" Quentin arched an eyebrow, "Wonder who that reminds me of." He cracked a wry grin.

"Yeah, but I'm [i]old[/i], too, so I won out this time. Thing is, even though you two are both grown adults - I'm still gonna keep a..."

Quentin interrupted him. "You know, I don't think I ever thanked you for taking us in. I know it wasn't easy; between the bills and the job, you never had time for anything else. I'm sorry about that."

"Don't start there," Cass interjected, furrowing his brow. "You two were family, always were and always will be - I did what anyone else [i]should've[/i] done in that situation, so don't you [i]dare[/i] apologize for that."

"Besides, don't you remember?" Cass inquired, reminiscing on better times with a  lighthearted tone. "Your mom had a hell of a mean streak, wouldn't want her haunting me now because her boys got sent off somewhere."

The two of them could both recall how Helena Taylor certainly had a temper when she wanted to show it, at least in her better days. As sad as it was to think about her now, Quentin could just about remember when she damn-near glassed one of her earlier boyfriends when she'd found out that, in addition to skimping out on the rent, he'd been seeing someone else  behind her back. If Cass hadn't actually shown up at the right time, she  probably would've been arrested for brandishing a deadly weapon. Yet, strangely enough, it was one of the last times he'd seen her so capable and strong, before the booze had fully taken a hold of her.

It was sad, in a way, yet Quentin had to chuckle at Cass' remark. "Wouldn't have wanted to be in your shoes if that was the case."

"Nope. Besides, I think the two of you probably did me a favor, anyways. I never was that good with women; too high maintenance, and too picky, wouldn't be able to appreciate my... personal taste in culture." Cass added, knowing that his nephew would understand.

Quentin couldn't help but smirk. "By culture, you mean those film posters and statuettes? Yeah, can really see how Schwarzenegger's face slapped all  over the place is is a magnet for the fairer sex."

"Exactly. Bachelor's life for me is the best way to go, so I'll take that as gratitude." Cass chuckled.

"Speaking of which, you think the house is still intact in all this?"

"It better be, or I'm introducing a little more firepower to some monster's face. [i]Too old[/i] to let anyone screw with my posters." The old man was [i]dead[/i] serious.

"Yeah, you're definitely better off as a bachel-" The shaking of the ground, followed by the sound of nearby screams, gunfire and a loud, resonant crash cut him off. As he pulled his 870 from its sling, he felt his comms earpiece come to life as people tried to explain just [i]what[/i] was happening out there, when he picked out something else from the frantic chatter.

"...and some, uh, injured cop -- with me here."

[i]Reed.[/i] It had to be. And just outside was a threat that endangered the both of them. Quentin glanced back over his shoulder to find Cass, armed and ready. "Cass, g-"

Before he could start, the old man cut him off and hesitantly nodded, "Yeah, don't worry about me. I'll get people to safety and keep an eye out for [i]both[/i] my nephews, now [i]go[/i]." 


[hr][i][h1]The Changeling Unit.[/h1][/i][hr]


Luis stood on a rooftop not too far away from the Safe Zone. Staring at it, outside their line of sight, as the rain hit him. 

He didn't dare approach the base - even with his regeneration, those 50. caliber machine guns would tear him a new one. So he'd be content with observing from a distance. Today was the day they were going to get Heartbreaker out of there. He wondered if he could get Jennifer to cause a distraction, but he'd rather not put suspicion on her - at least not when she's just getting useful! Besides, it didn't matter which way they came from, because once they actually hit, [i]they're[/i] going to feel it.

Luis put his fingers up to his earpiece, "Is the Berserker ready?"

From an alleyway not too far away - stood a massive figure obscured by shadow. Humanoid, and very muscular. It's body was rough, and rugged, like it's body was made of rock. It was an armor. However, it's body was vaguely feminine - with hips, and large breasts that were static due to the materials she was comprised of (She lacked any visible sexual features, however). The beast slammed her hands together, loudly growling, and let out a thick jet of steam from it's nose.

The Contessa stood in front of the alleyway, turning her body forward as she a answered Luis on comms, "Yup, she's good to go. What about the Mannequin and his team?"

A few blocks away, and the Mannequin was on the rooftop - he squinted his single eye. A giant, hulking, beast hopped from the street to the roof. Roaring incessantly, as the rest of it's brood started following. 

"They are in pursuit." Mannequin spoke into comms.

"Excellent, excellent, [i]excellent![/i]" Luis said, "Alright, once the Berserker breaches the base, go in and cause as much trouble as possible. Make it so that RAVEN has no [i]choice[/i] but to come in and-" he finger quoted "-[i]stop us.[/i]"

"Got it." The Changeling Unit collectively said (Save for the Mannequin).

"Alright, then..." Luis grinned lustfully at the mere prospect of all the death and destruction that is going to ensue. "... Berserker, would you do the honors?"

The Contessa grinned, as she stepped out of the way.

[hr][hider=Anarchy Reigns OST - We Play][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhhcTcD_gyM[/youtube][/hider][hr]

The Berserker charged out of the alleyway - her body was revealed underneath the sunlight, coarse, and hard - every step the beast took shook the ground, and left behind holes in the street. It came to a sliding stop in the middle of the street before charging down the street towards the safe zone. Gradually picking up speed until she was fast as a speeding car. The rain splattered when it hit her flesh. Kicking up a storm of dust in her wake.

The NEST Agents mounted on the wall looked through binoculars. They saw the gigantic humanoid beast charging headlong into the safe zone. It didn't look like any of the other monsters - but it didn't look friendly. She got up, and raised her hand in the air as the 50. cal gunners aimed right for the Berserker. "Open fire!"

The maddening boom of each shot signaled the high-powered rounds going straight for the monster. The NEST Agents were fully expecting it to get shredded to bits - but to their surprise, the rounds bounced off the beast as if they were shooting cotton balls, doing nothing to pause the Berserker's charge. They had to stop shooting.

"The fuck?" The NEST Agent shouted - before her eyes opened wide when they realized the monster was going to hit the wall. "[i]EVERYONE, [b]CLEAR OUT![/b][/i]" She shouted as the Agents abandoned the post - hopping down from the wall.

The Berserker hit the wall, creating a massive boom that could be heard from all over the base. Massive chunks of stone went flying in all directions (One hit Audrey in the head, killing her instantly), as the Berserker came to a skidding stop. Everyone looked at the Berserker in fear. It wasn't long before the horde of purple-eyed monsters the Mannequin was baiting came right through the breach - with little to stop them.

Screams filled the air as all the civilians turned around and fled. Followed by bullets as NEST Agents started shooting at the monsters.

Letting out a massive roar, the Berserker started charging again. She ran through a building, and nearly crashed it.

A portal opened on top of one of the buildings that had a great view of the chaos. Luis and the rest of the Changeling Unit stepped through the portal. Luis grinned widely, "Let's get this party started..." He said, maliciously.