[hr][i][h2][color=dodgerblue]Lihua[/color] & [color=red]Meifeng[/color] [color=dodgerblue]Vuh[/color][color=red]ong[/color], [color=lawngreen]Sonya Mayfield[/color], [color=darkslateblue]Cass Taylor[/color], Task Force RAVEN, & PR-1.[/h2]
[sup]([@Mr Allen J] and [@Zombiedude101])[/sup][/i][hr]

"...Did we lose 'em?" Sonya asked as she looked over her shoulder towards the back of the APC. Currently, they were driving around the Isabella Isle after a high speed chase with the monsters. The [i]last[/i] thing they wanted to do was lead them back to the camp.

"That, or they gave up," Lihua said, stern as always. She glared over towards Meifeng, "...Good thing we didn't go with [i]her[/i] suggestion." 

"Hey, hey, hey." Meifeng put her hands up. "Fighting them would have worked [i]juuuust[/i] as well."

Lihua crossed her arms as she gave Meifeng a look that just screamed [i]bullshit[/i]. "...We would have been slaughtered."

"Well, at least we didn't do anything stupid like lead them straight back to base, right?" Leon said. 

Scoffing it off, Lihua cynically said, "Please." She started, "If the Devil wanted to, she could have them pop from right out in the middle of the base - our defenses be damned."

Everyone looked at Lihua. 

"She's just playing with us," Lihua started off. "She knows that, if she massacres us long as this shield is up---" Lihua pointed up above at the blue shield above them. "---High Command will just drop a nuke on her." She finished that statement with a shrug.

"...Heh, that's one way of looking at it." Sonya cheekily said. 

"Agent Vuhong, we have a problem," Dana said into their exclusive comms channel. "The Changelings---"

"I know," Lihua said, wondering why Dana was choosing [i]now[/i] to inform them of the Changeling's attack. "Is everyone okay?"

"No, more than that," Dana said. "They've liberated Heartbreaker and the others."

Lihua almost gritted her teeth. Letting out a deep sigh. She wasn't there, but she knew that RAVEN worked their ass off capturing Heartbreaker. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I repeat, is everyone okay?" she asked.

"Maximilian and Agent Taylor took a few hits," Dana said. "And a large chunk of the base was destroyed...and they killed a lot of people..."

"Those animals," Lihua hissed. "We'll get back fast as we can, you can debrief us then---"

"But we have [i]another[/i] problem: the Changelings released a lot of prisoners and they're currently wreaking havoc in the safe zone. Everyone else is currently exhausted, so it's up to you to help take care of them."

Lihua closed her eyes for a moment. [i]Everything[/i] was going to shit, but she needed to focus. Keep fighting. She was praying that Lijuan got out of here.

"...We're on our way."

[hr]
The convoy quickly returned and they saw the walls were knocked down, and the droves of escaping prisoners.

The APCs came to a skidding stop, and the APC gunners quickly took aim. The prisoners quickly scrambled - realizing this wasn't a fight they can win. They were promptly ignored by the NEST agents who were focusing on the escapees that were attacking people.

A pyrokinetic was raining flames upon a building - he saw the headlights closing in on him and turned his head, only to see the APC hit him at high speed and ram him into a wall. Lihua stepped out of the APC, holding her earpiece. "Focus on those who are causing damage," she ordered. "We can afford to let the small fry get away."

She saw a group of the prisoners running up, and she slammed her foot on the ground, and a slab of the street flipped over and created cover that she crouched down besides. Coming out of the APC was a storm of razor sharp arrow heads made out of ice. They penetrated the prisoners giving Lihua enough of a distraction to shoot the cover out and crush the three fighters.

Sonya hopped out of the APC, and shouted, "Get the walls back up, I'll cover you." She reached over her back and grabbed her Barrett. She quickly hopped to the highest building and knelt down. Getting in position to snipe some fools.

That'd be a good plan. Just close the breach and handle it from here...though Lihua worried that they'd be trapped in here with [i]them[/i]. Nonetheless, she was going to close this hole, and then focusing on eliminating the prisoners. She walked up to the breach and focused on the broken concrete wall. She raised her hands up into the air, and the broken pieces also began floating as well, filling the holes in the walls.

The rest of the APCs, and the agents within them, began pushing out to rectify the situation.

"We'll cover you!" Leon said as Adam and himself took position in front of Lihua. Leon drawing his weapon, and Adam summoned his Echo.

Meifeng created an orb of water, and froze some ice inside of it. "Ready and waiting!"

"You chaps won't have to worry much!" Sonya said as she aimed down the sights of her sniper rifle. She spotted some thugs running up on them, before she pulled the trigger to her sniper rifle and blew them away.

PR-1 paced on by them, earning looks from the RAVENs. "...Do you want me to engage?" he spoke in his robotic voice. 

"Yes, that'd be nice," Lihua said...it felt strange talking to Peter now. A few weeks ago, they were sworn enemies (and Lihua declared that she'd destroy everything he worked so hard to build) but now they're speaking casually as allies. [i]Hmph. For now that is.[/i]

Another prisoner who'd been skulking behind the scenes had grabbed for a dead agent's rifle and looked ready to take a potshot at Lihua and Meifeng from her their flank, until another gunshot rang out and the man slumped against the broken fragments of the wall, crimson red soaking his jumpsuit. From behind appeared an old, veteran cop wielding an Ithaca 37 - who quickly kicked the gun away from the man's slumped body and checked him for a pulse. 

Cass found none in this guy, yet just ahead were his nephew's colleagues - their APC having just pulled up at the broken ruins of the wall. Huddling close behind him were others: a few children, some with parents and some without along with a shivering teen clutching a snub-nosed revolver close to their body. If he'd not found these people trying to make a break for it, they might'd been slaughtered by the inmates or worse.

He recognized one of them for sure. "Agent Vuhong." Cass approached, bedraggled and bruised like the rest of them.

Lihua turned her head and looked at the retiree-aged cop. Cass Taylor. The man who helped them with the little predicament with Jen. "Cass, it is great to see you again but..." Lihua asked. "Are you okay? I can arrange for any medical attention if you need it."

"I'm fine, Vuhong." Cass added, "Had to stop a couple people from running out into No Man's Land. My nephews, you heard from either of them?" His tone suggested that the Taylor brothers were more on his mind than anything - which they were.

"No, not yet," Lihua replied. "[i]But[/i], I can get in contact with them." True to her word, Lihua pressed her earpiece and accessed the channel with Dana. "Ms. Alcott, what is the status on Quentin and Reed Taylor?"

"Um..." Dana asked, a tad unsure of how to explain it to Lihua - since it was a rather odd question to her. "Quentin was injured, and is currently being patched up by Trevor. Reed is here with me in the control room."

Lihua nodded her head. "Good." Before she faced Cass. "Your nephews are fine - Quentin has been injured apparently, however."

"Quentin?!" His heart sank for a moment, his face awash with fear for his eldest nephew. [i]Not again[/i], Cass thought. "Jesus, what happened out there?"

"...Believe me, I have the same question." Personally, Lihua wanted to know where Mika, Cindy, and Lijuan is.

PR-1 walked on. Going to engage the prisoners in battle.

"...He's helpful." Leon said as he pulled the trigger and a prisoner met his end at the hands of his revolver.

"He's lovely!" Sonya said into comms. "When, you know, he's not trying to kill us." She saw someone coming up on Lihua, and pulled the trigger. Ending him at the twitch of her finger!

Lihua ignored that comment as she assembled the wall. This should keep out any intruders. However, at this point, the roar of gunfire and screaming has finally ended.

"The wall has been repaired," Lihua said, somewhat tired from that task. "How is the situation?"

"The situation has been rectified," Dana said.

"Oh shit, by her closing the wall up like that?" Meifeng answered in the comms, getting looks from Lihua for using the comms like that.

"Well, no," Dana answered. "Everyone escaped." She sighed. 

"Oh."

"Get back to Headquarters for your debriefing," Dana said.

"Affirmative," Lihua said. "We're on our way."

[hr][i][h1][color=darkslateblue]Cassius[/color], [color=darkslateblue]Reed[/color] & [color=gray]Quentin[/color] [color=darkslateblue]Tay[/color][color=gray]lor[/color].[/h1]
[sup]([@Zombiedude101])[/sup][/i][hr]

The sight of a familiar face brought relief to the Taylor brothers as they spoke outside the meeting room. Quentin had felt that he was the guilty party for allowing the old man to take off as he did.

"Are you boys alright?" Cass' focus shifted towards Quentin, searching his nephew for some sign of injury, then did the same to Reed. "What happened out there?" he asked, turning back to Quentin, "Vuhong said you were injured."

"Me? It's nothing, all things considered. What about you?" Quentin's attention was shifted towards the well-being of his family more than himself.

"It didn't sound like it. And..." Cass' inquisitive gaze shifted to the puncture in Quentin's vest, where the spike had entered earlier. His eyes widened at the sight of the dried blood soaked into the area around the puncture, yet he was even more surprised to see his nephew stood there, almost as if nothing had happened. "That doesn't look like nothing."

He wasn't the only one who'd noticed. Reed had seen his brother while that spike was still in there, yet here he was - standing and unharmed. "Yeah, I saw it too."

"It's fine. Look, see?" Quentin jabbed a finger through the hole in his clothes made by the spike. It still felt surreal, walking away from it as easy as he did. "Not even a scratch now." But then, these past months had been surreal.

"Quent, when I last saw you, you had a god-damned [i]spike[/i] lodged in your side. That's not 'fine' by any measure," Reed argued. Even now, it was hard for either of them to get used to the notion of Quentin being something more - and he realized that.

"It's fine. Just take my word for it."

"What? No, if you think---"

Reed's voice was quickly cut off. "You two, don't start," Cass interjected, sensing a storm brewing between the two brothers, well-intentioned as Reed was. "What's good is that you're both alright. Beat up, sure, but beat up is better than nothing."

Both Taylors shared a look, before relenting. "Sorry if I had you worried," Quentin apologized. "How's that been?" he asked, gaze shifting to Reed's slung arm.

Reed flexed its fingers. "Better than before. Probably don't need this now." he fingered the fabric of the slung arm. "Whatever stuff that guy gave me, I think it's doing its job."

"Trevor?" Quentin arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's what he gave me for it."

"I won't ask how it worked faster on you," Reed answered, having figured it out already but not admitting it. He'd not forgotten how Jen had survived being impaled on that wreckage when he'd seen others killed by less. It almost made him envious of his elder brother, if only for a second, yet he wondered just [i]what[i] Quentin might'd been through and come out so unscathed.

"Come on, I think they're starting in there." Cass thumbed towards the meeting room, where the others had already set off inside. Nodding, Quentin went in to join his colleagues whilst Cass and Reed followed suit.

[hr][i][h2][color=dodgerblue]Lihua[/color] & [color=Red]Meifeng[/color] [color=dodgerblue]Vuh[/color][color=red]ong[/color], [color=lawngreen]Sonya Mayfield[/color], [color=plum]Trevor Obott[/color], [color=springgreen]Cindy Keagan[/color], [color=gray]Quentin Taylor[/color], & Task Force RAVEN.[/h2]
[sup]([@Mr Allen J] and [@Zombiedude101])[/sup][/i][hr]

Once again, everyone was gathered for one awkward meeting in RAVEN's favorite meeting room! 

"That was a disaster," Lihua started off, shaking her head. "That was a total loss against the Changeling Unit..." she trailed off.

"Well," Sonya chimed in, her frog mouth opening wide. "At least we got Heartbreaker tagged!"

"...But the Changeling Unit tore NEST Headquarters apart, killed lots of civilians, and has potentially recruited some of our [i]worst[/i] prisoners," Lihua explained. "And we only eliminated two of them? Two irrelevant members...and they got three of their psychopaths - plus at [i]least[/i] ten more."

Everyone listened.

"And that isn't the [i]only[/i] thing we have to worry about," Lihua started off, raising her finger in the air. "A lot of the prisoners they released were REAPERS and HOS scientists...who will certainly fall back into their hands. Not to mention the psychopaths and gang members making the streets even [i]more[/i] dangerous."

Lihua didn't want to be the - as the Americans would say it - 'Negative Nancy', but it was her job to [i]inform[/i] the field agents of the threats. And the problems just kept stacking up.

"And..." Dana started off. "I feel like the Changelings were going for a psychological angle during their attack," she theorized.

"Hm?" Lihua said.

"Now what do you mean by [i]that?[/i]" Meifeng started off, who was leaning back in her chair with her hands behind her head.

"It's like...they were trying to make the civilians lose hope in us, too." Dana said. "They were trying to prove that [i]we[/i] can't protect them from threats like them. Just think about it; they proved that they can knock down the walls like it's nothing, massacre them for little reason, and take whatever they want - unobstructed." Dana shook her head. "...I've received a few reports that people have been venturing out - rather taking their chances out there than stay here."

Dana looked around at the group. "After all, we [i]can't[/i] protect them from the Changelings."

Maximilian - fully healed by Trevor's drug - sunk his head into his hands for a moment, shaking them. Before his just put one hand over a fist. "That isn't good...especially now of all times," Maximilian started off. "At this rate, the Devil won't have to lift a finger," Maximilian said.

"Fine, jeez, we get it," Leon said, raising both hands up into the air. "Shit's fucked, give me the good news for a change. Like God damn," he stated, annoyed as all hell that all of this went down while they were gone.

Dana sighed. "...Fortunately," she said, and everyone got all excited. "Agent Vuhong's mission was a success."

"Of course," Lihua arrogantly said. "It was lead by [i]me[/i] after all."

Dana turned herself in her wheelchair until she was facing the center of the meeting room. She grabbed a remote that was resting on her lap and pressed the button. Suddenly, the lights in the room dimmed, and the hologram projector in the center of the table activated. Showing a map of Verthaven.

With another press of a button a red dot appeared on the outskirts of Verthaven...in the Estella isle, quickly heading southward.

"The heart has been taken by the monsters as planned," Dana said with an affirmative nod. "It won't be long until it leads us right to the Devil. Maybe a few hours I estimate."

"Great," Maximilian said. "Then we're one step closer to ending this, once and for long."

"Yo," Cindy said to catch everyone's attention, raising her hand up into the air. She had a few things to say...not everyone would like it. "After all that, shouldn't we just go after those Changeling assholes and get 'em back for everything they did here?" Cindy suggested it.

The room went empty, everyone was hoping that someone else addresses the elephant in the room.

Before long, it was up to Maximilian. Who first sighed, "...I know they did some damage here," Maximilian said. "And I hate to say this, but we're going have to let them go. [i]For now.[/i]"

Quentin placed a hand over his side, where the spike had once been. To say the least, he didn't look too happy about that fact, but kept quiet about it. Cindy was silent too for a moment, before she exploded with, "Why?"

"The Devil grows stronger with each day," Lihua beat Maximilian to the answer. "She's the more dangerous opponent - because she's keeping us in here with her."

"If we can confirm the Devil dead, then we can convince High Command to let us out of here," Maximilian said. "[i]Then[/i], we can worry about the Changeling Unit when we get support...possibly lead us right back to their base."

"Point being, we're not exactly in the best position right now..." Lihua said placing her finger on the table. She then elaborated, "It's true that if we go after the Devil, we leave ourselves open to the Changelings...but the inverse is also likely. We could be playing into the Devil's hands by targeting the Changelings."

Lihua paused for a moment, as she decided to catch her bearings. "What I'm [i]trying[/i] to say is that we have to run under the assumption that other threat will target us the moment we go after the other," Lihua quickly said. She gently placed her hands on top of the table. "Our best chance is to deal as big of a blow to one threat before we move onto the others."

"At least we'll have some forewarning if the Changelings attack us." Leon raised a finger in the air.

"That is current," Lihua said. Before letting out a sigh. "But, we're pretty much going in circles now." She shook her head. "Me, Maximilian, Ms. Alcott, and Ms. Hope will be compiling information and formulating a plan." She looked at everyone else. "Everyone else...just get some rest. You'll all need it."

"Alright, meeting adjourned." Maximilian said.

[hr][i][h1][color=salmon]Haruka[/color] & [color=cornflowerblue]Shizuka[/color] [color=fa8072]T[/color][color=e78381]a[/color][color=d58591]k[/color][color=c288a0]a[/color][color=af8bb0]s[/color][color=9c8dbf]h[/color][color=8a90ce]i[/color][color=7792de]r[/color][color=6495ed]o[/color], & [color=darkslateblue]Reed Taylor[/color].[/h1]
[sup]([@tsukune] and [@Zombiedude101])[/sup][/i][hr][hider=Kara no Kyoukai 5 OST - 10-M11][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqpzDJpXLnc[/youtube][/hider][hr]

Shizuka wasn't paying much attention to the meeting - not due to his rather low opinion of the Vuhong woman (as if he would want to waste his time on someone so insignificant in his life). Besides, from the random snippets that had managed to reach his bored brain, it seemed like RAVEN had the Devil problem under control - for now (the mission was a success, obvious from the boastful tone in that ladydude's voice).

Hmph, so she wasn't that dense like a stubborn rock as he had originally thought.

He straightened up slightly when Cindy mentioned the Changelings. He did expect the agents to prioritize the Devil rather than those wacko terrorists - every single person, whether a Meta or normie, good or bad, were trapped together within the blue energy shield. All that's left was to have some mass-destruction bomb dropped right on top of their little heads. [i]Who wants to perish with those bloody psychopaths just like that?[/i]

Worse, the recent fights with them so far had thinned out the NEST forces quite drastically - they would need to focus whatever remaining manpower they had to eliminate one threat at a time.

While Shizuka knew that RAVEN made the right decision, his gut feeling was telling him otherwise...that now was merely the calm before another storm. He tried to brush it off and push it behind his mind, but it only made him mull over the series of events with the Changelings more.

He had ruled out the possibility of them having a telepath or clairvoyant when he replayed Heartbreaker's escape in his head - their leader might be a bloodthirsty madman, but he didn't strike him as the kind who was stupid enough to charge headfirst into Max's team and sacrifice his own comrades pointlessly; or even the need to go one big round to reach the cell where Heartbreaker was being kept---

"[i]...That's it![/i]" the silver-haired teen hissed under his breath. "[i]Hate to disappoint you, Haru, but we do have a mole among us.[/i]"

"[i]Huh?[/i]" Haruka glanced at his brother with disbelief. "[i]It can't be - why would anyone here want to work with those terrorists? Aren't we supposed to fight against them in the first place?[/i]"

"[i]Try to remember: Trevor asked for Heartbreaker's location, and Dana provided the info,[/i]" Shizuka said with a rush. "[i]Who else was there in the room who had heard that? Not counting the other operatives in the control room, of course,[/i]" he added hastily, tapping on the comm still in his ear.

When Haruka didn't speak, his twin continued on, "[i]Ink Lady went back to the fight after she brought us, the injured cop and Jennifer into the room - so we can rule her out. Trevor and his sister came in shortly after, with two female agents... Among these people, one of them is a traitor who passed Heartbreaker's location to the Changelings, which was supposed to be 'classifed'.[/i]

"[i]Anyway, technically we're not part of NEST or RAVEN - or whatever the hell they call themselves - so I decide to be nice to do them a little favor.[/i]" A smirk appeared on Shizuka's face. "[i]Screw their military bullshit. We're gonna investigate this on our own.[/i]"

"[i]Are you insane?[/i]" Haruka exclaimed in a low voice. "[i]There is no guarantee that we will still be alive if we cross paths with the Changelings again![/i]"

Shizuka considered for a moment. "[i]I guess we'd need to get a few more reliable people on board, huh?[/i]"

"[i]How about Jen---[/i]" Haruka began, but Shizuka shook his head. "[i]I don't care if you're her 'boyfriend' or whatever - and you still owe me a good explanation about all those dramatic blood episodes - but there's no way I'm gonna put my trust in a shameless liar in this shitstorm.[/i]"

Haruka didn't like how his brother was still mocking his relationship with Jennifer (and also the way he's perceiving her), but now wasn't the time to be petty over such trivial matters. "[i]Right... Then Trevor? How about Cindy? Or Meifeng?[/i]"

That made Shizuka roll his eyes. "[i]Him? He isn't gay enough to go along with a couple of Asian boys like us when he can tag behind those bootylicious agents. As for glass chick and gorilla girl, I think they would rather kill us outsiders than suspecting their own kind.[/i]" 

Haruka frowned at the sarcasm, but chose not to comment on it. He sighed and went on, "[i]Who do you suggest then?[/i]"

"[i]The sling cop. He's in a neutral position - and before you start about his broken arm and being as powerless as you are, we both have seen that he's capable of handling firearms...single-handedly.[/i]"

By then the meeting was over. As everyone began to leave the room, Shizuka pulled his twin with him and brisked towards Reed Taylor, raising his free hand to tap on his shoulder. "Hey mister, there's something we want to talk to you about..."

"Huh?" Reed glanced over his shoulder, eyebrow arched. The two kids from earlier who'd been with them when Jen and the agent, Maria, were trying to get away from that madness. He felt his slung arm itch as they approached.

Once the last person was out of the room, Shizuka slammed the door shut, making sure that it was locked properly before turning around to face the one-arm cop. "We - fine, I mean just me," he changed mid-sentence, shrugging at his brother's glare. "I've a suspicion that there's a traitor among us who's been working secretly with the Changelings - that's how they know where [i]exactly[/i] Heartbreaker was being kept, and also keep tabs on our every move." He stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets before continuing on, "While the big-shots - the RAVENs - are concentrating on the Devil, we'll need to remove this mole, ASAP. Because either way we're still playing right into the hands of these nutters."

Reed flexed a couple of fingers and habitually glanced over his shoulder once again, then shifted his gaze back towards them. "First things first, have you got anything concrete here?" he asked, despite having his own reservations on the matter. He'd seen from the security room that those bastards had known just where to go, where to hit - it was a little too convenient. Hard to notice then, but now? Something stank, but things had to be done the right way. "If what you're saying's true," he began. "You need something to work with before you start pointing the finger around."

The cop was right - they would need some hard evidences before they could pin down the damned betrayer who had led to all this. "No, I don't have anything concrete yet, but I know where to start."

He sat down on the table, kicking away the two chairs before him, gesturing at the man and his twin to sit. "First clue: Dana was the one who revealed the [i]top-secret[/i] info when Trevor asked her where Heartbreaker was; and right after we heard the location, the Changelings, who had been blindly thrashing around the Headquarters and causing random damage, suddenly changed their tactic and started going straight to their friend's cell. The timing is too coincidental." Sure, they tried to hide that by releasing the other supervillians along the way, but still not good enough to throw someone with a sharp mind off the track completely.

"So you're saying it could be Trevor?" The detective asked, a skeptical expression adorned across his face. They'd made a good case - but he knew that timing wasn't the only thing they needed. "Alright, just consider that there were other people in that room. We [i]all[/i] heard it, any one of us could've passed that on somehow - assuming it was someone in there with us. From a legal perspective - assuming we had evidence of an informant, we're all suspects. It could've been either of you two, maybe both, or even me." He gave them a firm look after that last note.

Shizuka let out a short laugh at the man's serious expression. "Of course. Which brings me to the next clue: before Ink Lady brought us to the control room, the Changelings came for us. Why would they do that - what's more, even leading Max's team [i]on purpose[/i] to us to save us from them? I mean, he was hellbent on shredding Inky with his nasty blades even though he knew it's useless against her power, and he sacrificed some of his own people for nothing."

Again, Reed thought they'd made a good point - it wasn't something he'd picked up on first off but in retrospect they had gotten off easy. Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it was more. "Aside from that, did either of you pick up on anything suspicious?"

"Adding on to my second point, the only possible reason I could come up with at the mo' was that the Changelings paid us a visit for a certain someone in our group - which narrows the suspect list down even further." Shizuka sneered at his twin.

"Hold on a minute! Why would you---"

"[i]Not you[/i], idiot." The white-haired boy rolled his eyes at him. Then it dawned upon the older teen who his brother was referring to. "No way. Why would [i]she[/i]---"

"Look, why would the Changelings be interested in the three of us?" Shizuka pointed at Haruka. "You, and---" He then jerked his finger to the cop, "---him have no superpowers. What's more, he's got only one arm now, and you're a total wimp. They have no need for me either - to them, my power is pretty much useless. No fancy offensive stuns as far as they're concerned...and no fun for them if they wanna try torturing me. That blonde is different - she even said so herself that her regenerative power is something worth killing for."

"But why would Jennifer do that? Selling us out?"

While he couldn't help but feel an inclination towards Haruka's skepticism here, something else had occurred to Reed; she [i]had[/i] been behaving strangely back there, even remembering when he'd gone over to check on her when she looked like she was in pain. [i]Maybe...[/i] Something wasn't right, but he wasn't about go and start pointing the finger just yet. "Look, as I said - have you got anything else to back that hunch up?" he finally asked.

Shizuka raised both hands in defeat. Well, that's what they were going to find out! "That's the problem - all the warning signs are pointing to her, which is why I'm asking for your help with this little detective work...if we truly want to clear her of any suspicion. Also," he directed his attention to his brother. "It's about time you tell us the 'secret' you've been trying to hide for that girl. It's obviously not some diarrhea crap."

[i]Secret?[/i] Reed shifted his gaze towards Haruka.

Now it was the older twin's turn to cave in. "Alright," he began slowly. "I will be honest that I did find her 'illness'...strange. She told me that her power could heal her from anything, but that contradicted with how she kept coughing blood out from her mouth. Like there is something stuck inside her that her power could not work on and her body was trying to get it out... And it's trying to kill her." He shook his head at Shizuka's questioning look. "She refused to tell me - I knew that something bad must have happened to her because she had cried before we saw each other at the hall, but I felt that she probably wouldn't tell me no matter how much I press her about it... Since we weren't close at all."

"Seriously?" Shizuka facepalmed. "And you call yourself her 'boyfriend'?" While he was pissed at his twin's stupidity for not trying to get more out of that little liar's mouth, at least the part about having something inside of her was worth looking into.

"Jennifer," Haruka shot back at him through gritted teeth. "Is [i]not[/i] my girlfriend."

"Shut up already, will you?" The detective had grown tired of their bickering over something so trivial.

That did shut the twins up - and gained their full attention towards the cop.

Satisfied, Reed carried on. "There's someone possibly endangered here and you two are acting like---" [i]High-schoolers[/i]...which he realized they were, cutting himself off before continuing, "For all we know there could be something wrong, suspect or not. And I noticed that she was in pain. I would've said more if we weren't in immediate danger."

Shizuka clapped his hands together before hopping off the table. "Awesome! Now that we're all on the same page, shall we get started with the sleuth work? Of course...this is to be kept among just the three of us. Not a word to anyone else - especially NEST."

"This isn't Hollywood," Reed pointed out. The last thing he needed was two kids running around thinking they were deputized, though he suspected they were smarter than that. "I'll check up on her, make sure everything's alright. You two, just do what you normally do - but if you want to help then keep an ear out. If you hear anything that might be worthwhile, then say it. But don't put yourself or anyone else in danger."

"[i]Yes sir![/i]" Shizuka gave the cop a mock salute; Haruka simply responded with a nod.

"Let's go, team - commencing Operation Molehunt!"

The older teen groaned - his twin might be a pretty shrewd guy (maybe even too sharp for his own good), but his naming skill was cringe-worthy. Reed shared the same sentiment, but simply shook his head and hoped that this wouldn't end up backfiring somehow.

[hr][i][h1][color=aqua]Jennifer Marissa Caspin[/color].[/h1]
[sup]([@Mr Allen J])[/sup][/i][hr]

There, she did it. She betrayed all of her friends, and made those psychopaths even stronger.

Jennifer was in her bed, wrapped around the blankets. After the meeting, she couldn't even risk to look anyone in the eye. Just because of the guilt, and shame. But, at least Jennifer ended their little rampage through NEST Headquarters.

Only down side that they'd just go on [i]more[/i] rampages with the new members in their ranks. There was so much guilt and shame coursing through her bones. While she did it to save her family, betraying her friends like this to their utter worst enemies. No matter how many times she told herself [i]it was for them[/i], that didn't make it any better. For the rest of her life...she'd have to live with the shame of these actions for the rest of her life.

If she made it.

Tears ran down Jennifer's eyes and soaked the sofa. She was willing to do anything to get out of this, but she was trapped. Being that monster's plaything. Hell, Jennifer knew that he could blow her into a million tiny parts now that she had [i]served her purpose[/i]. Or, he might not want to break his toy too quickly. Not when she had purpose.

The only thing stopping her from killing herself is the fact that it would guarantee the deaths of everyone she called a family.

Her phone started ringing once again, the screen glowing brightly through the sheets, and she knew that it could only be [i]him[/i].

Her hand reluctantly drifted over to the phone and dug it out from underneath the covers and pressed answer and heard his horrific voice speak to her oh-so-casually.

"Jen, Jen, [i]Jen[/i]," Luis said rather grandiosely. Like Jen did a [i]good[/i] thing today. "Thanks to you, we got Heartbreaker out safely and made [i]lots[/i] of new friends..."

Jen was silent...every word hammered regret and sorrow into her head.

"...You can join us whenever, you know," Luis said.

"Oh-oh, no...no thank you." Jennifer answered, the first time she has ever said anything back to the maniac. She was clenching her fists. He killed Alice at the drop of a hat - who's to say he wouldn't do the rest to the rest of her family? 

"Okay, maybe another time then?" Luis spoke again with that usual level of casualness. "You'll change your mind at some point." 

The words hung in the air for a moment, before Luis went straight to the point. "Now, I'm going have to ask you to lay low...I know that they're tossing around the idea of a traitor in their ranks as we speak!" Yeah, Jennifer knew that they were on to her. "Hold out for long as you can...and if you get found out, give me a call and I'll get you right out of there."

That took Jennifer aback a bit, before she was given little time to react when Luis said.

"Alright, xoxo my favorite hummingbird!" Luis loudly said. "You're almost out - just hold on for just a [i]little[/i] while longer." 

He then hung up the phone.

Why would he bail her out if she's nothing more than a puppet to him?

What [i]was[/i] that bastard planning?