[hr][h1][i]12:01 PM, The next day.[/i][/h1][hr]


[hr][i][h1][color=Lawngreen]Sonya[/color], [color=Dodgerblue]Lihua[/color], [color=Red]Meifeng[/color], [color=aqua]Jennifer[/color], [color=Springgreen]Cindy[/color], [color=Plum]Trevor[/color], [color=cornflowerblue]Shizuka[/color], [color=Gray]Quentin[/color], [color=DarkSlateBlue]Cass, Reed[/color], & Task Force RAVEN.[/h1][/i][hr]


"Alright, everyone take a seat," Lihua said, adjusting her glasses, as the group gathered into the meeting room, taking seats. "Because we have a lot to go over today. Maximilian has assigned me to discuss this plan."

While everyone was moving in, Jennifer got in the middle of the crowd. She was trying to stay out of sight as possible. People would have a problem with her being here... but all she needs to do is listen long enough to find something to tell the Changelings. She didn't know what the hell they were planning - all Luis asked her to do was tell her if something relevant crops up in NEST - but, from what she's hearing, NEST finally found the Devil. Jennifer found herself a seat out of the direct line of sight of Lihua and the others.

Though, she wasn't [i]that[/i] out of sight, as evidenced by Reed taking a spot not too far from her. Despite the outrageous nature of the accusation made against her by one of the twins, he couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. Cass had once told him to trust his gut and he sure as hell wasn't going to ignore it in a time like this. Especially if they only had so much time left. Glancing down, he recealled that his sling was gone now, though one could see the layer of bandages beneath the sleeve of his forearm as it rested against his lap and at Cass' insistence, he wore a kevlar vest for good measure.

The old man himself had slipped on a vest from the VPD's SWAT unit and kept that Ithaca 37 of his close by, having taken a seat next to his eldest nephew by the table. Both of them were on his mind, plaguing him with worry as he contemplated their future. Reed? Reed was a good kid, a great cop - if only he wasn't so damned stubborn to a fault, throwing himself into the fray without concern for his own wellbeing. He'd heard from a trustyworthy source that he'd taken a shot at the bastard running the Changelings, only for his gun to be snapped in half - what if it'd been [i]him[/i] they'd broken in two? And before, he'd thrown himself in front of Jen and took a nasty bite to the arm for his troubles - he felt responsible for it. Cass wished it was [i]his[/i] arm, not his nephew's.

And Quentin, he wondered how he was holding up as well. Half a year ago, he'd wondered what kind of path the oldest of Helena's two boys was headed towards. He'd had his suspicions that something was up and felt ashamed for not doing or saying something sooner, but at least whatever had happened to him had steered him onto the right path. Now, he just hoped that it wouldn't get him killed. NEST... it was still an odd thing to get used to calling this place HQ instead of the department, but VPD as of now was a fragmented mess, with those who mattered taking the reigns here. For that, he was grateful his nephew was on-hand - it made liasoning with some of these people a hell of a lot easier.

Quentin, on the other hand... his thoughts were all over. Elbow resting on the table, hand rubbing his jawline, a time like this made him think. Even when working for NEST, he still felt like he had a lot of loose ends to tie up. It felt like ancient history now, but he wondered what came after this, if anything. Funny thing was, he couldn't help but wonder what the hell had happened to that condo of his. For a moment, he pictured that [i]bitch[/i] trashing the place as she'd promised with that shit-eating look on her face, then... [i]oh no.[/i] It hadn't even occurred to him until now, but he then recalled how that one good photo of his mom was still at his place. It was just a photo, but still.. to him, it meant something. All he could do for now was just hope the place was somewhat intact, along with his stuff. If it wasn't, he planned on making whoever was responsible pay for it in equal measure.

Trevor was the last one through the door, and closed the door behind him as he took position next to Jennifer. Who waggled his eyebrows at her as he leaned back and put his hands behind his head. He knows that he's going on this mission and whatever... but maybe he can squeeze a little time to get to know Jen. In that way. Fighting the Devil of Verthaven is a plus, too. Trevor didn't want anything to die here.

Though, he earned himself a roll of the eyes from Cindy, who was sitting across from them. They found out where the bitch behind this is, and all that's on his mind is a whip of tail? Cindy would have chided him, but the only thing on [i]her[/i] mind was putting an end to this bloodbath so she can get out of here. Maybe find out where her Dad is. She was going to give it their all this time. To save herself from death, and redeem herself in the eyes of Lihua.

Meifeng was already in the meeting room, with her feet kicked up on the table - only to get swatted down by Lihua when she walked on by. She was already in her fancy dancy NEST armor and ready to kick some ass. The thing Meifeng wanted to do was help people. And she was going to help them get out of here. Though, she noticed that Jennifer was acting quite strange.

Instead of taking a seat, Sonya did what she usually did and cling herself to the ceiling. Her hair was hanging down as her large green eyes. She was listening very closely, the rest of RAVEN were sitting down - but Sonya prefered this way. Less people in the way! (And she could look down Maria's cleavage.)

As the rest of the seats were being filled up by the other RAVEN members, Shizuka simply leaned back against the cool wall in a corner of the meeting room. Well, he had never considered himself as part of this 'suicide squad'. This time, his twin wasn't present - not only was he just a normie with no superpowers, he wasn't like the cops who at least had some self-defense skills to still be able to put up a fight. He didn't like to be separated from his useless brother, especially not while this nightmare was still ongoing, but he knew that Haruka would just be a hindrance to everyone else.

[i]That idiot is better off with Akemi.[/i] It was a great relief for the twins that their aunt was still alive. She was on her way back from a toilet break when she heard a ruckus outside; she then hid behind a pillar and encased herself with her own force field, pouring all her concentration into strengthening it, allowing her to withstand the bombardments from the falling rubble and flying debris when the Berserker crashed through the hall. Those few who were quicker on their feet also managed to survive, but the rest were blown out of the way mercilessly from the Berserker's rampage.

His position gave him a pretty good view of the faces of all those seated around the table (even the Vuhong woman and frog lady dangling on the ceiling) except for Daphne, who was seated directly in front of him. He glanced at everyone - pausing longer on Jennifer - before returning his gaze to Lihua.

Seeing that everyone had assembled in the room she pulled out a remote and pressed a button. The lights in the room started dimming as the hologram projector on the center of the table brightly displayed a section of Verthaven's Iron District. Just a regular neighborhood in the rundown (Now more than ever) section of the city. A row house with a corner store at the end, and across from that was a warehouse, and a few now abandoned stores - Home Depot, a Walmart, and a restaurant or two - all within sight of the buildings. Behind the rowhouses were several more until the hologram cuts off.

"Due to my operation; we have data that pinpoints the Devil's hiding spot where she has been launching attacks from all over the city." Lihua started off, she pressed a button and the hologram "zoomed" in underneath the buildings and revealed a complex network of sewers that all lead to one large chamber. She grabbed a object that looked like an oversized stylus and pointed it at the chamber. "Here, right here." A red dot appeared in the center of the chamber.

"So, what's the plan, then?" Meifeng asked, shrugging.

"If you'd let me finish, I'd explain," Lihua said, giving her a sharp glare. "One of the goals of my operation was to poison the Devil - and if that didn't work we'd track her....." She trailed off for a moment. "... Far as I can tell, we've met both goals. After the tracker reached her base, all of her beasts and storms began behaving erratically. The beasts are much weaker now, and seemingly have gone wild. And the storms have been dipping in and out; stopping then starting again. Which is enough to suggest that the poison [i]has[/i] taken effect - but haven't killed her."

Trevor raised his hand up into the air, waving it, "Hey, what if she's actually dead and her monsters are just on autopilot or somethin'?" He asked, [i]expecting[/i] it to be ignored.

"... That's unlikely." Lihua answered him. "If she was dead, then the storms would have most likely stopped... the beasts, we've yet to confirm but it's likely that they, too, would die alongside her. If she's really dead, and they're still going..." Lihua paused for dramatic effect. "... We're going to have a [i]problem[/i]."

She was hoping that everything would go well - but she knew that, with all these odds, that not everything would go as planned. They might take some losses - which is why Lihua wants to reduce them as much as possible.

Or make sure that it isn't [i]her[/i] loss.

"Which brings me to the next point; we believed that the Devil had some sort of long ranged ability to sense Metahumans, or a hivemind," Lihua started off, walking around the building. "But a few scouting runs have told us that the long ranged communication between them are no longer functional. Which means that we can sneak in without expecting an army."

The group before her was listening attentively awaiting the plan.

"With those factors in mind, time to discuss our plan to make sure she doesn't live long enough to terrorize us anymore. Me, Maximilian, and Dana have assembled a plan in the meantime." Lihua nodded her head as she had everyone's attention. "Going straight into the Devil's lair guns blazing is not the correct form of action as we have little information of her [i]exact[/i] capabilities, or if the poison is rendering it safe for us to move in. Which is why we're taking a less direct option."

Holding up the remote again, Lihua pressed the button and the sole red dot in the large chamber disappeared - and several other red dots appeared in the tunnels leading out of the chamber - and above it.

"We are going to set up explosives here, here, here, here, here, and [i]here.[/i]-" Lihua pointed the stylus at the tunnels one by one, "-and once they are all placed, we are going to detonate the tunnels until she has no exit." Lihua stated. "Another team will be placing powerful explosives above her which will destabilize the ground, and cause it to fall on top of her. [i]Hopefully[/i] crushing her underneath a few thousand pounds of rubble."

Lihua raised a hand up in the air. "However, during this whole operation; we [i]have[/i] to keep a few factors in mind." She looked between the group. She put one finger up. "First, we have to run under the assumption that the Devil may circulate the poison out of her system - if she's not poisoned at all." That was an idea that Lihua brought up... she'd prefer to be aware of any and all possibilities. She raised another finger up into the air. "Second, the Changeling Unit may appear to interfere with the operation... I don't know what they're after, but it's still a possibility."

This whole speech was coming to a close. "Before we do anything, we have to [i]confirm[/i] that our information is correct. If anything doesn't look right, the operation is going to be called off, and we are going to retreat back to headquarters to come up with a new plan."

"Any questions?"

"Two things: First, these Changeling assholes," Quentin leaned forward. "If it's not her screwing with us, it's them. I get she's the bigger threat and I don't have a problem with seeing her dealt with first, but what's the plan if Luis or his [i]bitch[/i] turn up? What if they're working with her?"

The Changelings... Lihua was hoping that those animals are too busy massacring anyone in sight and stay far away from the mission as possible. Because, even the slightest amount of interference from them can ruin the whole operation. She would need to think very carefully about her response to Quentin.

"Depends on how far we are in the operation - but we'll [i]have[/i] no other choice than to hold them off while the other teams set up the bombs," Lihua first explained. "And if it tuns out that they're working with her... then we'll have to remove them from the equation before focusing on the Devil."

Lihua kept her chin up as she said that. "Because, if they're acting as her shield... [i]then remove her shield[/i]. But, again, we'll have to confirm."

"May I also add something...?" Dana said, raising a finger up into the air. "It'll be unlikely the Changeling Unit gets the drop on us because all of the members we captured have been tagged... in addition to the Level-S prisoners." Dana nodded her head. "They aren't anywhere near where we're going - and if they show up, then I'll warn you."

"Two, what if crushing her doesn't work? Somehow, I don't get the feeling that the [i]brilliant[/i] minds in the government are going to give a shit about leaving us to the wolves if this goes south."

"If that doesn't work... it should throw her off enough to buy us some time to take the direct round... or just bomb the hole." Lihua shrugged. "She should have no other exits except up - which should draw her into the line of fire of our oh-so-talented snipers."

Sonya smiled widely like a fool, and pointed two thumbs back at herself.

"If that's all...." Lihua trailed off, while she was speaking she scanned the room with her eagle-like vision. Sitting in the corner of their little round table, she spotted a blonde head of hair that could only belong to; "Ms. Caspin?" She addressed the girl, raising an eyebrow and adjusting her glasses. 

The girl was hoping to stay quiet throughout the meeting, and by that extent, unnoticed. But there wasn't any dodging [i]those[/i] eyes. "Yes...?" Jennifer nervously responded. She had plenty to tell the Changeling Unit about what happened here... but maybe she'll leave out the part about their members having trackers in them. Just to give them a chance to save her family... and that plan relies on the Changeling not outright killing them.

"Why are you in here? You are not participating in this operation." Lihua said, feeling foolish that she didn't catch up on Jennifer earlier. "I've heard of your little ailment... and we can [i]not[/i] afford to have that on this mission."

"But, I want to-"

"You've been scheduled to see a NEST Doctor about what's happening to you."

"But-"

Lihua immediately pointed towards the door. "[i]Go.[/i]" She sternly said.

Jennifer sighed as she hung her head. She figured that she should just leave now before they raise anymore suspicion on herself. She pushed herself out of the room, with everyone staring at her as she walked.

"... Hey, we can have a word afterwards?" Trevor quickly said to Jennifer right before she walked out the door. 

Jennifer paused for a moment, wondering what did he want to talk about? Did he figure out what's wrong? God she could only hope so. She can't keep this whole facade going forever. "Yeah, sure." She said before she walked out.

Trevor fist pumped.

Shizuka narrowed his eyes as Jennifer's back disappeared beyond the door. Judging from her body language, she seemed pretty reluctant to leave; what's more, Lihua made it clear that she wasn't part of this operation, which made him more suspicious about why she wanted to join them so badly when she's useless other than healing her own self.

His gut feeling kept telling him that she's no doubt the traitor who worked with the Changelings and caused the Heartbreaker's escape, but the cop was right - until he could find concrete evidences to nail her down, he would have to lay low and not alert her that he's already on her tails.

How much the Vuhong woman knew about that blonde's 'illness', he wasn't sure, but if NEST got involved things would get complicated. He would have to tell Haruka to keep an eye on her for him before heading out on this goddamned mission. He then shifted his thoughts back to the meeting.

"Now, Maximilian and Ms. Alcott will explain everyone's roles." Lihua said as she finally took a seat.

Maximilian stood up and walked over to the center of the room, with everyone's eyes on him. "We're going to split up into teams of three to tackle this operation," He nodded his head. "Two teams are going to be the brave people who plant the bombs, while the third team is going to be focusing on keeping the Devil's monsters busy, and eventually planting the bombs above ground once they've been cleared."

Dana quickly rolled up until she was right next to Maximilian. "And if the Changeling Unit shows up, they're going to be the team that holds them off." Dana was quick to inject in Maximilian's plan. "Long as we're careful, they won't have any idea where they're being planted."

He nodded his head as he put his hands out. "As expected, the bomb squads are going to need to be agile, but also have some heavy hitters mixed in to deal with any possible threats. While the third squad is also going to need some firepower of their own since they're going to be doing the most potential fighting."

"So, we decided how the teams are going to be assembled." Dana quickly grabbed the remote off the table and pressed another button and the hologram changed. "The Interference Squad will be composed of Lihua, Sonya, Adam, Maximilian, PR-1, Cass, and various NEST Agents. Lead by Maximilian."

"Whaaaaaaaa?" Sonya complained. "I wanna be down there with the lads. I was made for this, you know?"

"We know, Mayfield, but we're going to need your sniping talents above all us." Dana answered.

"Fiiiine...." Sonya moaned.

"That group should be strong enough to draw them away from the main crowd."

"Bomb squad one will be-"

"Oh, oh, oh!" Trevor rudely interrupted Dana, raising his hand up into the air. All eyes were on him as he asked the question, "Ya'll keep saying "draw them monsters away from the bombers," but how are they going to do that?"

Maximilian crossed his arms. "You see, we've tested that her monsters seem to be receptive to light, sound, and movement," Maximilian said. "... We're going to make noise." He said with a pridely smile on his face.

"Which, hopefully, should be enough to draw most of the beasts underground above ground." Dana explained. "Once they're out of the way, there should only be stragglers left. More than enough for the groups."

"Now, as it's been said before, you'll be split up into teams of two," Maximilian said as he pointed at the tunnels underneath the city. "Bomb Squad one will compose of Shizuka, Cindy, Reed, Scarlet, Nikki, lead by Maria."

Cindy rolled her eyes. She's going to be on the team with [i]that[/i] piece of work. Cindy couldn't help but leer in his direction. Seeing him standing in the corner really made her question how her opinion of him could go from "alright," to "sour." Maybe it's just the fact that everyone's stressed and she should give him a second chance.

[i]Maybe.[/i]

As for Shizuka, he cursed inwardly at being sorted into the bombing team (talk about a literal suicide squad! On the bright side he didn't have to deal with that Vuhong woman as his direct commander), at the same time he was feeling uneasy about how everything had been going down the shithole...and it's just going to get even worse from hereon.

The hostile look that Cindy threw at him made him raised an eyebrow (oh yeah, he would be in the same group as that [i]glass cannon[/i]), but he simply ignored her and turned his attention to Reed instead. Out of all the people in his team, the normie cop was the only one he had to watch out for. How could he let him die without solving the case of the betrayer first?

Reed was surprised to find himself on the team; especially when he was being placed amidst a bunch of metahumans with abilities that could probably put him in the dirt with the flick of a wrist. Then again, these people needed every man that they could get - and he sure hell wasn't sitting out of it whilst people like his uncle and brother were putting themselves at risk. Only thing was, he needed to figure out what was going on with Jen, sooner than later.

Dana raised a finger up into the air as she said, "Squad two will be composed of Helena, Savannah, Meifeng, Leon, Trevor, lead by Quentin."

That certainly raised an eyebrow, from Quentin himself no less. Lead by him? He wondered how Lihua would feel about that, especially given her daughter - who he'd come to realise she guarded with a certain ferocity - was under his watch. Whatever the case, he planned on getting this done and getting them out of there in one piece - enough people had already died because of this bitch or the [i]other[/i].

Meifeng raised her fists up into the air hearing that she has at least [i]two[/i] familar faces on this thread of hers. "Can we name our team the All-Star Squad?" She asked.

"No." Lihua was quick to respond. She sighed. She was hoping that Quentin, regardless of why Maximilian put him in charge, keeps Meifeng safe. If it was up to Lihua, she'd keep that troublesome child above ground with her. She was going to trust Maximilian's judgement on this one, because, according to him, she was needed down there more.

"So, is everyone clear on the plan?"

"One thing," Lihua said, raising a finger up into the air. "Before we do anything, we need to get Leon in range so he can at least [i]confirm[/i] that the Devil is down there."

"Gotcha," Maximilian said. "I believe there's nothing more to go over, meeting adjorned. Everyone assemble in the armory to get ready for the mission. Make sure you bring your A-game."

"And I'll be in Headquarters, directing operations." Dana nodded.

Everyone said their piece and went throughout the NEST Headquarters to gather all their equipment.


[hr][h1][i][color=aqua]Jennifer Marissa Caspin[/color], [color=Dodgerblue]Lihua Vuhong[/color], & [color=salmon]Haruka Takashiro[/color].[/i][/h1][hr]


Now, Jennifer wasn't sure about all of this anymore.

Anything.

She was so confused. Who's side did she stand on? Who's friend was she really? And more importantly, what was she going to do? As she dragged her feet through the halls of the NEST Headquarters, Jen wondered if she should just run back into the meeting, admit what happened, and beg for forgiveness. They know where Heartbreaker is, right? Maybe... but it's unlikely any of them would go out of their way to help her when they have to kill the Devil.

Tears started welling in her eyes as she knelt forward, using the wall as a brance. How can she be so [i]weak?[/i] Anyone else could just stand up to the Changelings - but her? She couldn't do anything but cry as they took advantage of her like it was nothing. It was the worst feeling in the world knowing that she had to betray her friends like this. She told herself it was for [i]them,[/i] and that they were forcing her to do all of this. That didn't make it any better knowing that they hurt people (Including her friends).

And it hurts too much.

Maybe she should just give in and become a fulltime Changeling. Maybe she should just... get some resolution. That's all Jennifer wanted - was for this to end one way or another. The guilt, shame, and every other negative emotion.

She hated Luis with every fiber of her existence.

And she hated herself more for being too weak to stop him.

Is this the meaning of being a Metahuman? Or is this what it means to [i]really[/i] live in this world of theirs? The weak were nothing but a plaything of the strong, and if you didn't have strength, you're screwed. It's unlikely that Jennifer would manisfest a second power of some sort that'd allow her to destroy Luis and solve all her problems.

Letting out one more sob, Jennifer wiped the tears from her eyes. [i]Anything[/i] can come apart if you find the strand - and Luis had hers. Slowly pulling it and pulling it. She didn't know how (or if) she would get out of this.

Her phone buzzed with another text message - obviously from him. Jennifer grabbed her phone and saw it was a text from - you guessed it.

[pre]I haven't heard from you my little hummingbird, call me and share all the details![/pre]

Every word she read filled her with hatred. Jennifer didn't want to call him, she wanted to kill him slowly for making her go through all of this. She was about to just put the phone away, but he [i]called[/i] her. When she heard her ringtone, she was immediately filled with rage as she looked down and saw his number. Quickly scanning the room, Jennifer charged into the nearest janitor's closet and answered it, pressing the phone against her ear.

"Oh? So you do have your phone on you?" Luis asked, somewhat sarcastic. "I was wondering just [i]why[/i] you didn't answer my text."

He was stalking her... He only wanted control of her. She was nothing to him but an obedient dog that she can make do anything he wants. No... She was going to die on her own two feet, on her own terms. She was practically shaking as she spat out what had to be her last words,

"[i]Go. To-[/i]" 

"... Ms. Caspin?" Jennifer heard the words of Lihua Vuhong - the mighty matriarch standing in the doorway behind her. Giving her a strange look as Jennifer slowly turned around. "Just [i]who[/i] are you talking to? You should be getting to the medical wing."

"I'm... I'm..." Jennifer tried to yip out the words.

Lihua just rolled her eyes up into her head as she took long steps towards the eldest Caspin child. She grabbed her by the ponytail and started pulling her off. "Ugh, I'll sort this out later - just get to that damn doctor and get out of the way." Lihua hissed as she pulled Jennifer off.

Jennifer didn't know what to think of this. Maybe she was relieved that Lihua interrupted her and stopped her from doing something stupid. What was worst was that she was going to see a doctor. They're going to definitely know about the bomb [i]now[/i].

Haruka had to hid around the corner the moment he spotted Lihua. He had set off to get to Jennifer as fast as he could after the comm coversation (or rather, it was almost a shouting match) with his twin. He could hear their exchange from where he was - the hallway was quiet except for the three of them.

Part of him felt relieved that at least the poor girl was going to get some medical attention for her sickness, but Shizuka's instruction had been clear: the last thing they wanted was to get NEST involved, and things would get more complicated - which wouldn't do much good for Jennifer.

He pulled out his phone and took in a deep breath - then he stepped out of his hiding place. "Jennifer! Um..." He put a strained smile on his face and gritted his teeth to prevent them from chattering. Who wouldn't be nervous to see that Chinese lady who radiated such powerful, authoritative aura? "W-What's going on here? You cut off the call suddenly..."

Lihua paused for a moment, and turned her head to him, raising her eyebrow. This boy was nothing but an insect to her - just like that annoying older brother (or whatever he is) of his. She didn't know why he was stepping out. Giving her that odd smile. "... Child, wipe that smile off your face - you look mentally [i]disturbed[/i]." Was the first thing Lihua said to him she started taking steps. "I'm just taking Ms. Caspin here to the doctor. Nothing to worry about." She said to him.

Jennifer looked up at him - and was horrified that he knew that she was in the middle of a call. Which meant she wasn't as subtle as she hoped... people were catching onto her. She kept her mouth shut purely out of fear.

Haruka could understand why his brother didn't like this woman, but he could also see a shadow of Shizuka's personality in her. Her rudeness aside, his priority was to get Jennifer out of her clutches to his side. He dropped the weird smile as told. "Oh, to the doctor. I can do that, take her to the medical wing." His eyes traveled from Lihua to Jennifer. "I have been trying to convince her to seek medical help, and it's good that she is finally listening." He was surprised that his voice came out normally facing this arrogant agent, but he guessed it was that strange familarity with someone whom he had to deal with through his childhood days that helped to calm him down.

Lihua raised an eyebrow again at the boy. It was odd - but Lihua obviously didn't know enough about the boy. Which also caused a conflict within the woman. She didn't trust him enough to get the job done - but at the same time, she didn't have time to be dragging Ms. Caspin throughout the NEST building. Then she realized just [i]who[/i] she was talking to. Essentially the same person as Ms. Caspin here; spineless, weak of character, and deadweight. If he can't walk a girl to the medical wing, then he might as well throw himself down an elevator shaft.

Releasing her grip of Jennifer, Lihua nodded her head. "... Only reason why I'm not seeing this through myself is because I'm busy," Lihua started off. "Haruka's your name? Just take her to the medical wing, it's not that far away from here. Just follow the arrows." Lihua nodded her head as she walked off. "When I get back here, not only will we be carting the Devil's body in - but I'll also have a word with you, Ms. Caspin." Lihua said to Jennifer. "Good day." She quickly walked off towards the armory.

Jennifer knew what Haruka was up to... or at least had a strong feeling, and felt relieved as to what happened. She let out a sigh. Though, a strong feeling wasn't enough. She had to at least confirm. "... Are you [i]actually[/i] taking me to the doctor?"

Once Lihua was gone, Haruka exhaled, feeling a little drained from the tension. "Of course not. You are obviously reluctant about that - I believe you have your own reasons, but as you can see for yourself, I think it's a matter of time before someone is going to force it out of you, whether you like it or not." He scratched the back of his head. "I don't expect you to tell me the truth since we aren't close and all, but I really want to help you."

Every word that Haruka said made Jennifer clench her fists in anger. Not at him, or anyone else, but herself. She was hurting the people who cared about her so much. No. She can't take this anymore. She has to give in.

"Haruka..." Jennifer trailed off as tears ran down her cheeks. "There's something I have to tell you... but promise me... please... promise me that you won't [i]hate[/i] me."

That surprised Haruka - he knew something bad must have happened to her, but seeing her like this made him even more convinced that whatever it was is probably worse than what he could have imagined. "I think I would hate my own brother first before anyone else," he tried to joke, but shrugged in the end. "I can promise you that I won't hate you."

"Thank you..." Jennifer trailed off. "But... I can't talk about it here... too many cameras... too many [i]people[/i]." She looked around nervously. "We... need some privacy."

"Sure. Where do you suggest we should go now, then?" Haruka asked - he wasn't that familiar with the layout of this building like the rest (including Shizuka, who pretty much abused his power to peek around the place like it's his new home).

"Just..." Jennifer scratched the back of her neck. "Let's just head out of the building... they should be gone by now."


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


"... Doctors?" Luis said to himself as he heard what Lihua said. "They'll find out about the bomb..." He said to himself as he stared at the cellphone.

With a cigarette hanging from her lips, Heartbreaker walked up, twirling her revolvers. "Who gives a shit about that bitch?" Heartbreaker said. "Just set off the bomb, she [i]ain't[/i] useful to us anymore." She shrugged.

"Natalie..." Luis said, giving her a disappointed look. "I see a use in [i]everyone[/i]." He said, getting a look from Heartbreaker that just screamed "bullshit." He looked at her with a grin on his face, "Be[i]sides,[/i] blowing up a bunch of irrelevant doctors isn't what I intended... I want to take out at least [i]one[/i] RAVEN."

Natalie, the Heartbreaker, shook her head with her hands on her hips. "Fine, we'll bail the bitch out. Just this once." She sharply raised one finger up into the air. "And this [i]better[/i] pay off or I'm putting twelve rounds in your regenerating dick."

Grinning deviously, Luis said, 

"Oh... it [i]will.[/i]"