Greetings, Cipher.

Over the past few months, there has been an increasing number of disappearances in New Haven, a city known for increasing levels of Variant-related crimes. All attempts by local law enforcement to solve these missing persons cases have turned up cold. Investigators who appear to be close to a solution end up disappearing themselves.

Infiltrate the city and investigate the matter as you best see fit. Use whatever methods and resources necessary to bring this mystery to light.

This message will degenerate in 5...4...3...2...




[ May 23, 2129 - 7:04 PM ]

The flames roared as the lab turned into an ever-increasing hell. A burglary gone awry had caused an entire floor of a large chemical research laboratory in Midtown to explode into a blazing inferno. The fire was spreading rapidly leaving several people trapped inside as firefighters outside struggled to extinguish the flames. The streets were littered with emergency and law enforcement personnel clamoring to get the situation under control.

It was soon discovered that the incident was caused by a few members associated with the group known as the Pariah Underground. Four Variants were spotted leaving the lab on foot with duffel bags that were assumed to contain stolen chemicals. Upon learning that they were being pursued by the law, they split into pairs and headed in different directions. Flea, an extremely short Variant with the ability to leap fifty times his height, and Noxia, a girl partially covered with reptilian scales who had the ability to spit acid, both headed toward Bywater. A bulky Variant, called Graffite, possessing stone skin that is near impenetrable, and a girl, Ruby, with the ability to construct blades and spears out of blood, were heading in the direction of Uptown. Each pair carried a bag and seemed to be very protective of their cargo. The chemicals weren't apparently volatile and were well secured within their duffels.

---

Manny had suited up as soon as the news update hit his notifications. He wasn't quite sure if he could handle a burning building but he sure as hell was good at catching people. He also wasn't sure what to expect so he mentally prepared for the worst.

After cruising the rooftops and following the sound of sirens, Inverse spotted a pair of Variants running down the street with a duffel bag. The police seemed to be closing in on them, but he had a feeling that they would not be easily subdued. Continuing on the rooftops, he landed on a building directly above the pair as they cut down an alley. Their path was impeded by a high chain link fence. Perching on the edge, he called down to the Variants.

"End of the line, I suppose. Guess you chose the wrong alley. A couple streets over and you might have made it."

Inverse smirked with his arms folded as a few police cars halted at the entrance to the alley, cutting off the runners' exit. Several officers exited the vehicles with weapons drawn.

"NHPD! Drop the bag and put your hands up!"

Flea and Noxia eyed their pursuers with mild annoyance. They nodded to each other as if silently agreeing to some sort of Plan B and Noxia tossed Flea the duffel which looked quite awkward for him to carry at his height. She then turned around and took a deep breath. When she released, she exhaled a spray of highly corrosive acid onto the fence. As the metal was quickly eaten away, Flea began to run straight toward the gathering of officers.

"Freeze!"

Flea simply smirked and took a single leap. He soared directly over the officers a good fifty feet and landed on the roof across the street from the alley. He gave a mocking salute and leapt once again toward the next rooftop. Meanwhile, Noxia took off through the large hole that now existed where her acid had melted the metal.

Inverse's head darted back and forth as he watched the two split up.

"Oh, hell…"

He made a quick assessment of the situation and decided his best bet was to stay on Flea. Ignoring the police now scrambling to continue their chase, Inverse headed in the direction of the small Variant.

---

As the fire at the lab blazed on, Incinera flew toward the building at breakneck speed. When she came within range, she hurled a fireball at a window directly in her path, shattering it enough for her to fly straight into the flames. She rolled as she landed nearly colliding with a collapsed support beam. She immediately regretted her impulsive entrance as she coughed and choked on the smoke in the air. Fire immunity didn't really equal smoke immunity. She decided it was too late to leave and covered her mouth as best as she could and continued on hoping to reach a pocket with better air quality.

Using her instincts, she made her way to a door leading to a stairwell and crashed through it. This part of the building had yet to catch flame and she was able to somewhat catch her breath. She stood for a moment, listening for cries for help. She heard several screams coming from the floor above and she immediately made her way up. Pushing through another door, she was instantly greeted by a wall of flames. She moved unfazed through the fire, shoving aside scorching and scalding debris to clear a path toward the victims. She found a group of what looked like college students trapped behind some fallen rubble. A couple had lost consciousness and the remaining few were on their way to the same fate, coughing and hacking at the smoke and heat exposure.

"Hey! I'm gonna help you, okay?!"

Incinera hurriedly cleared away as much of the debris as she could and made to move the students to safety.

---

Dante focused hard on his game as he looked to beat his own high score on the ninth machine in the arcade. This score was particularly high even for him...he must have really been in the zone at the time. He heard the sirens as they whirred in the distance and he continued his quest, ignoring what was a rather common sound in Midtown. It wasn't long before he failed his attempt to best himself.

"Dammit!"

He lightly slammed a disappointed fist on the machine and backed away. He pulled his phone out from his pocket and immediately saw the breaking story from the Privy Newstream. He knew as soon as he read the headline that Sierra and Manny would jump on it and try to play hero. It sounded like the incident wasn't too far from where he was, and he wondered if there was anything he should, or could, do to help. He didn't exactly try to ever put himself in harm's way, but he felt obligated at this moment to act.

As Dante stepped out of the arcade, he noticed that the sirens were growing increasingly louder. He figured that most likely meant that the chase was headed in his direction. Just then, a couple of people turned a corner in the distance running full speed toward where he was standing. He presumed they were the Variants trying to evade the authorities and he felt his adrenaline starting to pump.

Well, looks like I don't have much choice now...only question is whether or not I can stop them...

Relka/Shadowbroker
Midtown

Relka dug through the security firms. She had to hand it to them, the bastards were cautious, keeping theor more valuble clients data in a safe instead of a computer. Any attempts at using her hacking variant contact were impossible and forced her to come to the building. A tendril of smokey darkness lowered the flashlight so she could see better as she rifled through the numerous paperwork. After a few short minutes she found a file marked N.O.V.A. truck schematics. She smirked and walked out of the opened safe room, when suddenly police lights filled the office.

Relka took an instinctive step back from the light her eyes narrowing as her shadows played across her skin giving her a demonic shifting appearence. She rushed over to the window in time to see a Variant woman spit a substance at a fence melting it, as a small man carrying bags obviously to big for him jump up ontop of the building she was currently in. Even worse one of those Variant Vigilantes that she affectionately called Vi.Vis cashed the little guy.

"Damn fools, don't they have any professional curtesy?! I mean seriously Joe, kids these days with their basic snatch and grabs maoing it difficult for us refined thieves to stay under the radar. The idiot is only going to get caught, matter of time, he has all the loot and his partner is ganna get away from those moronic police. But moonboots has a Vi.Vi on his tail, no chance whatsoever, know what I mean?" She said as she turned to look at the body of a dead guard. She stepped over the corpse and into a hallway straight out of a horror scene, various bullet holes and deep scratches embedded in the walls, one light dnagling and flickering ominously, and enough blood to create a morbid slip and slide filled the hallway. The remains of three other personal litered the floor.

"I mean how is a girl ganna have any fun in this town if these children playing Robin Hood keep flocking to my hunting grounds?! Truly infuriating!" Relka bemoaned as she waded through the remains. As she opened the exit door she turned around to marvel at work with a lackadaisical smile when she noticed one operational camera left standing. She the blew the survalliance camera a kiss before throwing a shadowed blade breaking it. She laughed all the way back to the warehouse district as she imagined the sheer panic of the morning shift arriving the next day.

Warren/Allomancer

The music played at the venue that he was currently at as his art stood on display. The pieces he had done were only done two afternoons ago where as it should have taken him months. If it wasn't for his gifts of reshaping metal he couldn't have constructed the town foot solid bronze statue and the snake to go with it. The scene was of the Greek god apollo killing the snake Python. It had been easy enough but one thing gave him trouble. He was going to have to sell them. He already head bids but as his watch went off of a fire he knew he was going to have to leave. Walking out and leaving his contact info he took a side street found his stash. It was a large metal lump and as soon as he saw it the metal seemed to melt and then slide over to him and up his body forming to his clothes. "Guess it's time to go to work." Taking off he flew over the city and scanned so he could skim some metal once he had enough flew over and scooped up water. Closing the giant sphere holding the water he flew towards the scene of the fire.

Once he had arrived he noticed the fire department having a hard time. He couldn't avoid being spotted this time as he heard the crys from inside the building. Transforming the sphere into a square holding the water he extended out from the four corners legs the plunged just deep enough to keep the structure in the ground then opened holes into the bottom of the square so that the water could rain down steadily helping to choke the fire.

Once he had done this he flew inside trying to locate anyone who might need assistance getting out. "Hello is anyone there!? I'm here to help get you out of here!" He absorbed several metal doors and tables baring his way into rooms. The heat would have gotten to him if he had dispersed and cool himself. Still quiet hot and no inhaling a but of smoke he called out again seeing if anyone was there.

"Like everyday people."

An apartment, somewhere in the Shanty...

The world is upside down.

Veronica was doing a handstand in her apartment. Across from her, was Bloodrose, also doing a handstand. They stared deep into each other's eyes, unflinching, unbreaking. Resilient as fortress gates, the two beacons of stability had been at it for six minutes.

Bloodrose spoke first. "biiitch"

Veronica narrowed her eyes.

Her nemesis continued: "you ugly. biiiitch."

Veronica raised an eyebrow. "I'm...I'm ugly?"

"yeah bitch. You ugly. biiitch."

"You might as well be looking into a mirror."

"the ugly mirror, maybe. bitch."

Veronica shook her head. "It's not gonna work, lady. I'm a champion. I've gotta will of iron."

"you look like someone hit you in the face with a tire iron. will of iron my ass, biiitch."

"We have the exact same face, dude!"

"you wish"

"Oh, my God!" Veronica laughed. "You're unbelievable."

"Unbelievably hot"

"Okay. That's enough. I have things to do, better things to do than to waste my tame with your ass."
"you wish you could waste time with my ass""That's really gross."

Bloodrose shrugged, still doing a handstand. "whatever you say. all i see is a bitch who can't do a handstand."

"I can do a handstand forever. I'm just choosing to leave."

"then leave, bitch"
Neither of them moved. Bloodrose looked on expectantly, her eyebrows raised. Veronica grinded her jaw and made a very angry face.

"No." And so it continued.

"You two are pathetic." Kilroy chastised. Standing up from her laptop she went over and push kicked Veronica in the back. Yelping, she fell forward and knocked into Bloodrose, who also fell over. The two were tangled up in limbs. Veronica looked up at Kilroy with a look of betrayal in her face.

Kilroy was unapologetic. "The Pariah are making their move on a chemical lab. Mary is there already. There's a fire, a police chase, and several Variants are on the scene." Kilroy sat back down at her laptop. She had a map of the area around the chemical lab, and a live feed from Mary's phone.

"i was about to win, you basic bitch"

Veronica stood up and leaned over Kilroy's shoulder. "How did Mary get there so fast?"

"Luck, really. Plus, she knows the streets better than any of us. Mary is mainly trying to get a profile down of some of the Variants in the area."

Veronica closed her eyes and concentrated. There you are, Mary. You okay, girl?

Yup, was the response. Succinct as usual, Mary.

-Midtown-

Mary had her phone out, recording the events of the fire. The fire fighters might try to keep her away, but there was a lot of fire to concetrate on. Several Variants arrived on the scene. A female variant seemed immune to flames. A male seemed capable of manipulating matter. Mary also earlier spotted a woman in the shadows, but it was hard to tell. There were of course, the thieves, who Mary had managed to catch a glimpse of. Either way, as more and more Variants arrived on the scene, Mary focused her phone on them, trying to learn as much about their powers as possible, and what they looked like. Saving people from the fire.

Hey, Mary. There's a security firm nearby, and there are signs of commotion. Radio chatter has stopped being output, and a lot more chatter is being input. Something might be going down. Besides, I'm sure there will be plenty of footage of the fire. That was Kilroy. Ok.

Mary pulled her dark grey hoodie over her head and began jogging over to the nearby security firm. It certainly looked quiet in there, all the lights were off which was unusual. Mary circled around the building, filming the whole thing. She turned the corner, hearing laughter and speech. Skidding to a stop, she saw a woman wading between shadows in an alleyway. Raising her phone, she zoomed in on the mysterious woman and crouched down to follow her.

Careful, Mary.

Always.

---

Johanna hadn't exactly been told much about the plan. All she knew from her "friends" in Pariah Underground was that somewhere, somehow, New Haven's police force was going to have its hands full. And when even the police force is busy, anything worth stealing is practically fair game. That's why she'd taken it upon herself to slip inside some poor, unassuming apartment building to do what she did best:

Break into some shit.

Of course, she had to get dressed for the occasion, cat mask and all. Putting on the Sabrecat persona wasn't something she was initially too fond of, but as time passed, she understood the necessity. She wanted people to know who she was, and what she was capable of. Knowing that a Variant committed a crime was, more often than not, the point of it all. Besides, it wasn't like she was sneaking past anyone; if anything, she'd just sneak through them. With careful, deliberate steps, she made her way down the alley until she came face-to-face with the back wall of her target. Holding her breath, Sabrecat phased through said wall, exhaling once she was on the other side; as it turns out, she found herself in a bathroom. This wasn't unexpected, given she had blueprints to the building, but still. Gross.

One short elevator ride and some people-dodging later, Sabrecat stood outside the apartment of one James Ballinger. He was at work, giving her plenty of time to find what she was looking for. Sure, he was just some no-name businessman, but he was also likely embezzling funds from his own company and donating them to anti-Variant hate groups. All she needed was proof. So, she stepped through the locked door, turning the light on as she did so. For the most part, the guy's place seemed pretty boring: black furniture, beige walls, simple decor. And yet, so many secrets. Funny enough, he left the TV on.

His bedroom wasn't much more interesting, though Mr. Ballinger definitely needed to clean the damn place. Sabrecat stepped over scattered items of clothing, approaching a safe tucked into the corner of the room. If someone was going to keep evidence of their crime-for whatever reason-surely they'd keep it in a safe, right? With no hesitation, the redhead phased her arms inside, dragging out wads of hundred-dollar bills, some maybe-important documents, and a whole lot of checks. Stolen checks that she was now taking photos of. Maybe he hadn't gotten around to cashing them just yet? Or maybe he was planning on altering them in some way? Regardless, she had her proof. Now, all she needed to do was talk to her contact in Pariah Underground, get a tip sent to the cops, and--

"BREAKING NEWS: A New Haven laboratory was set ablaze just minutes ago. Occupants of the lab are still trapped inside. The police have not made any statements, but four Variants were seen fleeing from law enforcement officers."

Johanna's head shot up, her body otherwise frozen in its place. She heard sirens wail off in the distance, likely making their way to the scene. Was that the "plan" she'd been hearing so much about? Setting a fucking lab on fire? She shuddered to think of the people still inside, and yet...what could she do? Johanna could think whatever she wanted, but Sabrecat had a job to do. Stuffing the checks and papers back through the front of the safe, she resolved to simply figure it out later. Sabrecat shoved the wads of cash into her hip pouch, then made her way to a nearby window. It was only the third story, so as long as she made herself as dense as possible, she'd survive the drop no problem. There'd be people around, but once again: that was the point. The cops are busy, and civilians rarely interfered. So, she took a running leap, phasing through the window, then solidifying herself as she fell to the sidewalk. She rolled as she landed, ignoring the gazes of the people around her while she jumped to her feet...

And found herself directly under a surveillance drone. Shit.

Scavenger nearly screamed as the monster jumped unexpectantly into view. She immediately closed the tab on the computer, pissed off and fuming. Her home base didn't have electricity, let alone Nexus-access, so she usually came to one of the Nexus-Cafes in midtown for her horror movie fix and to charge her phone. Unfortunately, 'Assault of the Variants' wasn't nearly as good as she expected from the reviews - the monsters were crap looking and the characters weren't realistic in the slightest. As if that wasn't enough, it had the audacity to use Jumpscares, something Scavenger only tolerated in the best of films. Whatever, it wasn't like Scavenger paid much for the cafe or movie. She just shifted into an employee for the former and stole the latter.

Scavenger decided that this visit was a bust, and went to her Vivify in order to talk about how shit the movie was. She had a loyal fanbase of nearly 60 people who read her blog! That was a pretty big number, and the higher it was, the sooner Scavenger could make her breakthrough onto the horror movie scene. 'This film is actual garbo - uses horrible CGI, plot is assinine, and characters are 2-dimensional. DON'T WATCH!!! Will make an in-depth review when I get home.'

Posting that in order to satiate her adoring fans, albeit temporarily, Scavenger saw that she had a Privy notification. She checked it absentmindedly, expecting something boring like a new burger joint being built, only to pause when she found that the incident was caused by Variants. The Underground asked her about a job tonight, but she was busy with movie night - now that she realized this movie was actual trash, she suddenly had some free time. Good thing too - if she was there the whole time, she'd have to help set the place on fire, and she HATED the stuff. M.A.D used it every damn time she showed up somewhere. And more importantly, she could hang with Graffite, who sometimes watched films with her and even followed her on Vivify.

And of course, the Underground might hand out a few bucks for the help, which is always nice.

Scavenger exited the cafe and made her way to the car she stole an hour prior. She always tried to steal a car when she could and see if she could switch license plates later, but this seemed pretty urgent and she stored a few stolen ones back home. Quickly her appearance warped into that of a young blond woman, one of the various forms she kept for work. A hand sprouted from her neck and held the phone to her ear, and she left both hands on the wheel as she pulled away. She quickly dialed Graffite and started talking into the phone before he even picked up.

"Yoooo, Rocky Road! I know you're in this mission, where you at? It's Scavenger, I can give you guys a pickup!"

Thankfully she was already in midtown, in one of those nerd streets. That newsfeed was very recent, so Graffite and his guys couldn't be too far. That was the sole reason she wasn't already speeding down the street.

---

The Lake Vista shore in Bywater was not an uncommon place for Aria to disappear to after a challenging shift or when the morning sun yanked away her chance of daytime sleep. The absurdly colored buildings and never ceasing music spilling within their open doors made it easy for her to slip into an imaginative state far from her own life dealings. This was a community she would have thought up as a child, modeling it after the small towns she would construct on the living room floor out of knick knacks she had collected from around the house. A Tupperware shopping center, a coffee mug cafe, a jailhouse constructed from books. Today, however, she had found herself there, sitting criss cross at the water's edge, in an attempt to separate herself from her own thoughts.

It was cruel, the way The Apex had suggested that their own Ciphers should step in as local law enforcement fell short. If even they were losing numbers, why was The Apex tossing their own people in with nothing more than a “Do what you have to do and goodlu-”. Aria caught herself in this musing just as she would bite her tongue mid-sentence. She very deliberately brought her fingers to the back of her neck, tracing over the palpable lines of the tattoo there. Done with a sewing needle and ink from a supermarket in the bathroom of a fellow cipher when she was only sixteen, it was inevitable that the tattoo would scar. Aria never minded this, however, as physically feeling the markings there often grounded her and served as a reminder of the commitments she had made to herself and those within her cell. She knew the others would be gathering tonight to discuss the message they had received. They were aware of Aria’s work schedule, but they would leave a seat open despite her absence. They would update her on the discussions they had and still ask for her input. They would make a purposeful effort to still include her in their dealings. But they certainly would not doubt The Apex.

The commitment of the gulls as they dropped down into the shifting waters certainly deserved admiration. The trust in themselves and their wings to hold them just out of the swift current had to be innate instinct definitely encouraged by a fear of starvation. Aria’s eyes trailed along with them as she contemplated why these particular ones had settled near the river, rather than Lake Vista that wasn't far at all. Especially not to a bird. Probably little Variant birds. Aria snorted at her own nonsensical thoughts, glancing to her watch as she noticed the placement of the sun. 18:35. She silently praised herself for coming to the neighboring district already dressed in uniform as she rose to her feet, brushing grass and dirt from her pressed pants. She would have time to stop in for a coffee and quick bite at one of the local cafes before dragging herself to the station.

“Shit, are you kidding?” Aria was peering around the doorframe of the breakroom out into the station lounge, having just swiped her badge in front of the time clock. She was two minutes late and the universe was spiting her, she just knew it. She watched as her coworkers rose from where they rested at they sound of the callout tone, some shoving down recliner footrests, others piling in a few more bites of whatever they had reheated for dinner before they scrambled to their feet. Aria glanced momentarily to still hot cup of coffee in her hand, contemplating if the disposable cup would make it through the call. “10-70 Commercial structure fire. Engine 1. Engine 3. Engine 5. Water 4. Water 2. Rescue 1. Battalion 3. Battalion 2.” The speaker positioned in the center of the room continued to spew assignment after assignment, sending Aria rushing out of the door with coffee still in hand. Mercilessly, the radio hooked to her belt continued, “All EMS units respond.”

Girard Babcock/Tank
Uptown

Girard sighed contentedly as he was well into packing away dinner for an after job treat. He and his current crew had got on the good side of the restaurant owner for some work on the building done over the past week or so, turns out they had done a better job than they thought so this was a bit of a reward on top of the pay. The big guy had taken his time while the rest decided to move on to bars closer to home so it was just him in his own corner for the time being. Sometimes it just felt good to enjoy the little things that came from helping out people plus it seemed like a quiet night so far right up until his phone started vibrating. He had an alarm set for any interesting news that happened to pop up and it seemed like his relaxation time was have to get cut short tonight.

The big man took a minute to shovel up what was left of his food while the report played giving him and idea of the situation not to mention what he could do from his position. He figured the only chance he really had to assist in a pinch was trying to run down the Variants coming his direction, they had a heavy hitter in the pair so it could be kinda fun too. "Heavy work day or not a little community service is definitely in order." He mumbled while getting up from his table giving a quick wave on his way out to the owner. Given that it was a foot chase he was expecting some alley running to try and throw off the police so it was a good thing he had gotten practiced in it too.

Dufflebag in hand the nearest unoccupied alleyway gave him the couple moments he needed to throw on his costume sliding the helmet into place last with a smile. Tank took off running in the general direction of the chase picking up some speed as he went looking to cut the pair off as best he could or disrupt them, little bit of shock and awe never hurt anyone too much. He'd just find a spot to toss his bag on the way somewhat out of sight quick because business had just picked up as he booked it using the wonders of momentum to his advantage.

The big guy wasn't entirely sure he'd make it but hell it was better than just letting some assholes get away unscathed for making a mess of people's night.

---

Donovan Macmillian/Abomination
Bywater

The distant sound of sirens stirred a prone figure looming in one of the currently abandoned buildings nearby the Shanty. It was a decent place to hideout when vacant, living close to the slums wasn't a big attraction after all so it had openings once in awhile. Learning the cycle of the city is what had kept Donovan alive through the years though he very much wished it would be a silent one when he was trying to catch some winks in a relatively dry place. Of course this is city life after all and nothing can just be simple or easy.

"You have got to be kidding me...I swear these people can't keep trouble to themselves on decent night."

The host grumbled as he got himself up scanning about the dark room counting the small squirming lines of light around him somewhat pleased none had gotten any adventuring ideas while left to their own devices. A damn miracle in and of itself right there from his reckoning since the little ones were often quite curious but he usually managed to curb the worst of it so they stayed safe. He took a moment to focus his mind looking for one worm in particular who was probably already keeping tabs on what disturbed his sleep.

Well look who's got the perfect view up there Mr. Fly on the wall.

Don felt a wave of sarcasm followed by a note of urgency return as Anthrax panned around so his Host could get a better view of the flashing lights coming into Bywater from his perch on a roof a couple streets down.

Any idea who it is the blue brigade is chasing? Hope its just some normie punks who'll get caught soon.

Anthrax returned a mix of confirmation and negatory as well as a feeling of seriousness given the Variants running around lighting shit on fire which he transferred the newscast to Donovan to get him up to speed.

Abomination grunted in displeasure calling the rest of his nearby worms to him waiting for them to squeeze back in through he pores in his back, one feeling he doubted he would ever get used to, before getting his newest dark gray hoodie on to go have a look outside for himself. Who knows what with all the distraction he might be able to scrounge up an easy meal for himself depending on the situation. Could be Variants he knew or not which if they were and wanted help they knew the deal by now or if he didn't that was a new potential food source if he thought it would work out. Of course that was less likely but if anything it would make for a good show to make up for all the ruckus grating on his nerves.

On my way over, lets have us a look see at how this plays out.

---

Morris was checking out the local game store to see if they had the latest Ultra Nikolai Brothers game. He was a big fan of the game series and had collected most of the games except two of the more rare ones. After asking one of the employees if the game had been released yet, Morris was told that the shipment got delayed and wouldn't be in stock for another three days. Disappointed at the news, he walked out of the store and headed down the street with his hands in his pockets. After walking for nearly a whole block his attention was drawn to a T.V. screen in the window of a electronics store. People were gathered around and Morris went closure to get a look at what all the fuss was about.

He watched as the screen was giving a breaking news story and showed the images of a local lab catching on fire. The headline mentioned the location of the lab and Morris realized that it was not very far from his location.

"It looks like they could use help of Nightwolf" he said to himself as he quickly moved away from the crowd and found a an alleyway to hurry down. Once he was sure that he was out of sight Morris clinched his fists and growled as he began to transform. Every bone and muscle in his body ached as he felt it change and become more bestial. He grew dark gray fur and his mouth elongated into a canine snout with large fangs and his fingernails became long sharp claws.

Once the transformation was finished, Morris leapt up onto the wall and in an instant scaled the building and once on the roof he surveyed his surroundings. Morris' sensitive nose picked up on the smell of burning wood and smoke and began to leap from rooftop to rooftop in the direction of the lab. It didn't take him long to get the crime scene and once there he decided to try and rescue the people inside from the flames. It wasn't something his feral side wanted to do, but through strength of will Morris was able to win out and quickly smashed his way through one of the windows to get inside the burning building.

It was super hot inside, but he wasn't going to let a little detail like that stop him from doing some rescuing and quickly made his way to a room with several scientists all huddled into one corner. A few of them screamed loudly at the sight of him and Morris raised his paws to show them that they didn't have to worry about him and made motions with his big arms telling them that he was here to help them get out of the building to safety. It took a couple of moments until they started following him and this made Morris annoyed.

"They always scream and cower" he thought to himself as he looked for a safe way out of the lab.

"I'm telling you. The girl takes food stamps!" Mike exclaimed as his eyes peered widely into the rearview mirror of his vehicle at an older overweight gentleman seated in the rear passenger side seat. Mike was currently driving through Midtown to get to Uptown.

"Don't feed me that bullshit… You kids always try to sensationalize shit." The passenger spoke, not amused by Mike's somewhat playful tone. The man, Mr. Fiorillo spoke like he had smoked cigarettes while in diapers with how raspy his voice was. Mike just shook his head, as the situation couldn't be helped. Sure, Mike thought what he tried to explain to the passenger was funny, especially because this geezer was trying to solve a case of infidelity by his rather young girlfriend. Sure, she was using him for the money, sure he was upset that it was most likely true, but a bartender exchanging information for food stamps of all things was where the gold was.

"Cutting out the food stamp thing… I hear she's legit. I don't think she's a PI, but you're a pretty established guy, so someone must have seen or not seen something with your girl." Mike turned on some seriousness, though not genuine, it would work. The man paused as he stared out the window.

"Nah. Just too many eyes and ears in my private life. Info like that gets passed around and packaged as gossip. I'll ask her myself." Mike shook his head at this with a bit if a frown.

"So she has the chance to lie?" Mike knew it wasn't appropriate to say something like this, but he couldn't hold his tongue. Besides, he had grown to like Mr. Fiorillo. He was like a fatter discount Robert De Niro, and Mike was 90% sure the guy is a part of some sort of mob family. And that is exactly why Mike did not leave off with THAT question. "What if I could get you some solid info myself. I make a living driving around this whole city and I already know about the situation. I'm good for it. I can be… Oh fuck..." Mike let out as his attention was pulled towards the burning building several blocks ahead. "Nope! Fuck that." Mike immediately swerved his vehicle into an alley, so he could get around the wall of traffic that was ever growing ahead of him. Mike was not a hero nor a villain. He was a man trying to get paid.

Mike had the capability to save people like one of the many vigilante variants in New Haven or cause mayhem like the criminal ones, but he wasn't very interested. Mostly because he hated his ability. Who the fuck wants to be a roach? Who the fuck wants to be saved by a roach? He always thought. Doing bad would fit the profile, but he would just defer to the first question.

"Sorry for the quick turn. I gotta avoid this traffic." Mike explained and Mr. Fiorillo just waved his hand as if he were swiping away any assumed grievances floating in the air. Once Mike drove onto a main street, he swerved again, just missing several people being flung into the street. "Are you serious?!" Mike almost had the urge to stop, but it wasn't any of his business. He continued on his way to Uptown. Not this time, Murphy!

Mary and Relka
Side Alleyway

Epsilon

Relka flicked between the shadows, trying to avoid being accidentally spotted by some lucky witless uniform. As she rounded the corner she caught a small huddled figure following her. Relka melted into a pool of shadows and waited for the human to catch up. She wasn't a fan of being followed.

Mary saw the woman vanish around a corner. The others were watching her, through her phone and through her mind’s eye. Her heart begining to race, the woman picked up the pace and quietly moved along on her sneakers. Approaching the corner, she stealthily leaned up against it and peaked around. It seemed like she had unfortunately lost track of the mysterious figure. Sorry. I lost her, she thought.

Relka emerged from her unseen hiding place, slowly pressing a thin blade into the lower back of a girl. She leaned in close to the girl seeing her on some sort of video call with what appeared to be herself?

"If you want to see your family again, tell them you lost me and you will call them right back. I don't care what excuse you give them, but you have until I count to ten. I promise I won't make it to eleven. If you try and fight just know from here my blade will hit your kidney, I am told the pain is so terrible you will try and scream and no sound will come out." Relka whispered in the girls ear. She started counting down in her head.

Mary gasped and held her breathe as the sharp point indented her hoodie.

”I lost her. I’ll call you right back in a minute.” She obeyed the woman who somehow got around her. Probably some type of Variant. Her heart was racing a million miles a minute, and she was short of breath. Pressing the off button on the phone, she blinked. [color=bc8dbf][i]She’s behind me. Not sure if I’ll make it.[/color]

Stay calm, Mary. Do what you need to do to get out of there. Gulping, Mary raised her hands in the air, her phone still in her left palm.

Upset that the girl made it to eight, Relka pulled the shadows around her once more. Walking around to the front of the girl while using the knife to trace a path to under the girls chin Relka's now red eyes burned into the girl.

"You know little girl, it is dangerous to follow suspicious characters down a very dark alley. What if I was a villain?!" Relka said with some playful sarcasm. "Why were you following me? Don't you know that the police are out looking for criminals?"

Mary tipped her head up as the black knife ran gently across her skin. The blade looked supernatural, but it was hard to tell in the darkness.Gulping, she spoke, her voice cracking. ”Just curious.” Mary’s raised hands were trembling slightly. It was a half-truth. She was curious, but Mary was gathering as much intel as possible on anything that was going on, especially all things Variant related. Still, this woman didn’t need to know that, did she?

"Curiosity will get the unprepared more than killed in this town you know? What if I was a sociopath, you were talking to your sisters and I am sure you foolish child have an I.D. on you, simple really to use that to locate your precious family and they too would be dead for your…. Curiosity. It would be so simple to do given my line of work really. So now the question I pose to my curious little cat is, what to do with you?" Relka said the last part mostly to herself.

Mary spoke quietly. ”Please don’t do that.” While this woman did not have the full story, she didn’t want to send anything after the other Epsilons. Her phone was autolocked, and Mary didn’t actually have a personal ID. But clearly this woman was dangerous. Naturally, Mary also feared for her life. Sweat began to condense on her features.

”I won’t tell anyone else that I saw you.” Another half-truth, and would most likely end up being a lie at some point. Still, if Mary or any of the other Epsilons could meet this woman under more positive circumstances, they might be able to make an arrangement. But Mary was too terrified to do anything but try to live.

This might be an opportunity, Mary. In addition, piquing her curiosity might increase your chances of survival.

”You rob that security firm? I think, maybe, you and I should meet again sometime. We might have things to tell each other.” It implied that Mary was more than just a random, curious girl chasing shadows. Perhaps proving herself useful would help.

"Why is it you people always go to bargaining? It is predictable, it is boring! Trying to appeal to some part of me that makes me think you could be a potential ally! Like the fly could convince the spider not to eat it! My web courses through this city, but I am in an entertaining mood. Tell me right now, what it is you think the fly could give the spider to spare its life?"

Mary swallowed. She had nothing to say, she was never very good at this kind of thing. The black knife could split her neck in an instant, and it was all she could concentrate on. Spider? Flies? What to say?

follow enough people down spooky alleyways you start learning shit, biiitch. she’s super hot, make out with her. Thanks, Bloodrose.

”Follow enough people down dark alleyways and you learn a few things. I’m a very curious person. ” Mary echoed the advice of the other Epsilon.
Her words were not very confident.

Relka put her face right up to the scared girls, their breath mingling in the small space. Her eyes scrutinizing every inch of her face. And just as suddenly as she appeared, she was gone. Leaving behind only a business card gently floating towards the ground.

Mary flinched when the woman disappeared. She exhaled and started breathing heavily, looking around for where she went. Then, carefully, she knelt down over the card.

Hope to play again xo. Shadowbroker.She tucked the card into the back pocket of her jeans.

Good job, Mary. You did well. Mary nodded and wiped the sweat of her forehead. The Shadowbroker’s face was burned into her memory. Turning, she ran back the way she came.

Rent a motel. She might be following you. Lay low for a while, send us a picture of that card. Mary still felt like the knife was under her chin, and she cupped her neck as she made her way far away from that alley.

Hiding herself in the girl's shadow Relka was pulled along for the ride. She was going to gather some info on the ballsy shy girl. She had nothing better to do tonight anyways. A new game was just beginning.

Wonderland Bar, Bywater District
7:12 pm

Alice checks her watch. The floors have been swept, the chairs dropped from small tables and wiped clean. Liqour has been stocked and accounted for. Lights are on and the music is playing softly; the smoky tones of Skye Townsend's "noreg" flowing freely through the speakers scattered through the building. The music would transform as the patrons came through becoming more dance heavy but for now the piano filled the room. Alice ponders how much it would be to fit a small stage and a piano for Live entertainment. She would have to see if she could convince someone to "gift" her a piano; she hasn't played in so many years. She spaces out for a second longer, remembering her lesons when she was younger before focusing back on her checklist. Bar accoutrements have been thoroughly sanitized, the ice machine is up and running, the minifridge is open... wait, what!?

"Either there's a Bug problem here or a Bird problem, which is it?" Alice steps slowly behind the countertop. The vague sounds of sirens can be heard as the song fades out to silence before picking up again with another soft melody. Alice shoots a panicked glance to the front doors of the bar, checking that they are still shut before casting her gaze to the stairwell door leading to her apartment above. Seeing the door slightly ajar, she calls out again.

"Jessie? Wren?"

Silence answers her, and the hair on the back of her neck starts to prickle. They have found you, you can never escape, there is no place to hide why did you think you even could why why why A whimper draws Alice from her internal struggle and she follows the sound to find a small child huddled at the floor of the bar, wrapped in a blanket and holding a juicebox. Her eyes are wide and fearful, and Alice takes only a second to kick her internal voice back into the hole it belongs as she slides to the floor to come to rest at the child's socked feet.

"Baby Bird you startled me, aren't you supposed to be upstairs?" She motions to her lap, and the child clambers into it with minimal juice spillage. "Couldn't sleep. huh? What's the matter?"

As she speaks a Firetruck speeds loudly along the street outside, throwing its redblue glare across the walls of the bar. The child whimpers again and buries her head into the crook of Alice's arm. "Bad dream and loud noises" is the muffled reply. Alice adjusts her small cargo, placing the blanket just over the top of the toddlers ears to help muffle the noise as the truck speeds onward towards it's destination. "It's okay, little one. Just a truck. Like the ones we see on the way to your school. Just a firetruck." She rubs the small ones back, singing along softly with the current music and slowly absorbing all the child's anxiety and fear as she stands and makes for the stairwell. As she climbs, she continues to console the child. "It's alright, there is no fire here so those trucks won't make noise for long, and then you can get back to bed". Padding through the living room and only stubbing her toe on the couch once Alice reaches the master bedroom and looks at the bundle of feet and blanket she is carrying. "Alright, Captain Wrenly. Ready for takeoff?" The child squeaks an assent before being tossed onto the queen sized bed, bouncing once as she lands in a heap. Giggling madly, she holds her arms up for a second go round. Alice picks up the bundle and spins in a circle before dropping the child onto the mattress again. She starts to tuck the small one in, placing the covers over her and dropping a kiss to the top of the child's forehead. As she tucks the little one in to the bed she hums a little, letting her mind relax and her thoughts drift towards sleep. She then turns that leaden feeling upon the toddler, watching as the giggling slows and the ywans begin. "Okay, kiddo. Bedtime for Birds. If you need anything, you know where the button is, okay? Goodnight, Wren." She points to the baby monitor on the nightstand and grins at the slightly breathless "goodnight Allie!" She turns to leave, stopping at the doorway to close the door almost all the way. As she makes her way back towards the stairwell to finish opening up for the night, alice knocks sharply on the other apartment door across the hall.

"Jessie, you in there? What's with all the firetrucks? What's the status looking like?"

What time was it? The sun was no help, the blackout curtains were closed and nothing was peeking through. The room was dark, aside from the LED paneling on the wall she had left on. Stabby was (Check the corners, make sure he's not hiding)... Not in the room, so it was after 2ish then. Amy was in her charging dock, but with the indicator LEDs taped over because seriously that is an annoying shade of blue, she couldn't tell where in her charging cycle the drone was. Where was...? Oh. Leigh and the boys were gone, must be on a delivery. After sundown then, and if Amy was still charging, it must be... 7ish?

"I need to fix my sleep schedule." Jessie muttered to herself, with absolutely no plan to fix it anytime soon. Caffeine and spite would keep her going until it didn't, then she'd sleep for 16 hours and start the cycle again. That was the way of the mad genius. Though, she had only passed out ten hours ago, why was she awake now...?

The second fire truck blaring its siren as it passed answered her question. Cursing the cities efficient public response system, Jessie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sent a mental command to her Matrix (Her proud pet name for her custom computer, built from the ground up to be perfectly compatible with her brain in every way.) to wake up and check for client emails, drone updates, and breaking news. Only a moment went by as Jessie dug through her minifridge looking for leftover takeout before a story from the latter popped up on her homepage.

"A fire? I don't care about... Of course it's Variants. Damn Underground. Amy, remind me to blacklist the Underground after I finish their current orders!" Jessie snapped to the still sleeping pink drone. "But what do those jerks want out of this lab so badly they're willing to give us an even worse name to the media...?" She wondered out loud, sinking into her plush computer chair.

Lightning Bug didn't need to wonder about things like that for long. Within a few minutes, she had opened up the public Nexus page for the lab, scouring its information like a sponge. One would be shocked at how much information secretive organizations would just leave in the open this way. Looked like whoever was in charge of monitoring the Nexus page was smarter than that though. Only some vague references to genetic testing. Maybe they were one of the labs NOVA used to test for Variant genes? Why would the Underground hit them though? It's not like NOVA doesn't keep a record of all that stuff, and use multiple labs regardless. There was more hiding here.

Fingers flashing across they keyboard, her mind beginning to run more on instinct than logical thought, Jessie reached out into the deeper pathways of the site. Login portals, that would be her way in. Brute-forcing a username and password would be nearly impossible, even for her, but there were other ways. She could, for instance, tell the security server that she had already given her credentials, but the password was wrong and she needed it reset. Using her technopathic powers to intercept the security email, Jessie copied the credentials into the portal, and was in. A slow eyebrow raised as Jessie began to scroll through the new information, looking for anything that would interest the pseudo-terrorists.

M.A.D. Jessie's eyes widened As she suddenly realized that this wasn't even close to the last layer of security. This was like... The fake permissions they would give to interns for data entry. There was so much more here to find, so much more to uncover, but all of it was buried under layers of advanced governmental security, state of the art stuff. Not that Jessie wouldn't be able to get through it, but what the hell was this lab doing with this type of security. They had to be associated with M.A.D. They were doing something crazy in there. Something they didn't want anyone to know about.

"Miss Jessie!"

"Jesus!" Jessie cried, nearly jumping out of her chair. Turning to see who was talking to her, she noticed the now-empty docking station for Amy, her personal drone assistant. She must have come out of her charge cycle at some point and Jessie hadn't noticed. "Right, sorry Amy. What is it? I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"Miss Alice is knocking! She is asking if you know what is going on? I presume she is talking about the fire trucks that have been passing by."

Jessie rubbed her eyes and nodded, pushing back from her desk and standing up. "That sounds about right... Thanks Amy. Try and get in touch with Leigh, make sure they're on their way back. I'll talk to Alice." Stepping through her messy kitchen, Jessie approached and unbolted her door, keying in the code to turn off her security system before she opened it up to see Alice, looking concerned.

"Hey Alice. We're all fine here, everything's good. Looks like there's a lab some Variants set fire to in Mid, I'm looking into it now. Reports said a couple of them were headed in roughly this direction, so... Maybe not a bad idea to open later tonight?"



Whistling a few notes to herself, Monika Graves began packing up her tools for the night. The nice thing about being an independent contractor was that she could make her own hours, so long as the job came in under budget and on time. Both things that this job had going for them so far. A few peaceful nights had been all Nik had needed to get ahead of schedule, and it really helped being an electrician who couldn't physically get electrocuted. So, when the news had broken over her radio, interrupting the custom playlist of niche metal that she had been listening to, and informed her of Variant activity heading towards her in Bywater, Nik had decided to call it a night an dhead out to her 'other' job.

Kicking her toolbox and radio behind some loose paneling, Nik zipped up her hoodie and tied her signature bandanna around her face. A quick check of her pockets revealed her stock of rubber bands to be full, and she slipped out the front facade of the currently-gutted cafe, locking the door quickly behind her before dashing off into the darkness. Absorbing every bit of wasted energy as her feet hit the pavement, Overcharge sprinted down the streets, following parallel to he sounds of sirens and trying to figure out where the thief would be heading. Ducking through alleys and jumping fences, Overcharge felt that she was getting close. She could see the flashing lights in the distance and head the distorted voices of officers through their loudspeakers and radios nearby. She'd have to stay out of sight if she wanted any action, Overcharge was still a vigilante at large after all. Ducking down another alley, she froze solid as she saw in front of her a woman covered in green scales. Obviously a Variant, and obviously trying to lose the cops. This was her. Silently wishing she had stocked up on some energy before diving headfirst into this situation, Overcharge grasped the small cylinder of her collapsed cane and stepped forward.

"Tonight hasn't gone great for you, has it?" Overcharge asked sarcastically, keeping some distance between her and the reptilian girl. "Set fire to a lab, I assume you got separated from your partners, looks like you don't have anything to show for it, the cops are still on you, and now... You have to deal with me. Of course, it could be much more simple than that. You walk out there, hands up, and everyone walks away from tonight with their faces intact. Otherwise, we start dancing here and now." She said, a gleam in her eye. With a flick of her wrist, the cane unfolded, clicking into place as Overcharge prepared for a fight.

Uptown

It had been several minutes since Mike had been trying to leave Midtown. He had delivered Mr. Fiorillo to his destination who agreed to tale Mike's offer of confirming whether or not his young girlfriend was cheating on him. It would be a quick paycheck. He had parked his car at a small park in Uptown. The scenery was nice, and he wanted to avoid going to Midtown until things settled down there. For now, he decided to keep himself updated on what had actually happened.

Mike leaned on outside of his car facing the street with his shades on as he took a look at Privy on his phone. He was in simple business professional attire, wearing a black suit over a white dress shirt without a tie. Though he hated driving in them, he wore black leather oxfords. Night was starting to creep up, but knowing the sun was beginning to set was bittersweet to him. He always felt better at night since discovering his abilities as it was in the nature of them, it was just… that it was also when they came out. Just thinking about them made him shudder in discomfort.

Few people knew of Mike's abilities. Almost no one knew of his relation to the roaches, and he liked it that way. Sure, N.O.V.A knew after Mike had requested to be cured of his abilities, but the only person that knew everything was one of his favorite clients, Camilla Burke. The woman had always made him feel comfortable and at times confident in his abilities. The feeling never stuck though. Mike didn't want to be confident in his powers, he just wanted them gone.

"Fuck," Mike whispered to himself as he felt and heard the tiny vibrations coming from the disease covered critters. It was starting. Their attempts to communicate… with him. The roaches never communicated with each other much, but Mike was like the only piece of hot ass at a bar to them. They never shut up unless he told them to, which was annoying to continuously do. There was at least some sort of upside. It was the fact that the nasty pests always listened to Mike. It never seemed to matter what he ordered the roaches to do or how he ordered, they complied.

The news was focused on the lab fire and the variants suspected of causing it. Pariah Underground was to blame according to sources. I remember when those guys were basically a humanitarian group for Variants. Then there was the mentíon of the vigilantes arriving on the scene. Mike sighed. I can't believe N.O.V.A just let these weirdos make them look bad. Mike did not dislike vigilantes, but he didn't understand them much except for the fact that they usually helped when and where N.O.V.A failed to.

"Duffle bags?" Mike let out as he thought about the prospect. Pariah wouldn't do this if those bags weren't of value and they're headed this way… And then there are the vigilantes... Mike smirked more to being surprised to his desire than to the opportunity of earning some extra cash. The only problem was…

Mike looked at his surroundings and then at his clothes. There was no way he could strip without being seen. The sun was still out and if he waited for night it might be too late to act. Mike took as much as he could out of his pockets and placed them in the trunk of his vehicle. He also slipped off his shoes and jacket to place in the trunk as well. Mike tossed his car keys into a bush before darting from the vehicle and in the direction of Midtown already breaking 100 miles per hour.


Bayou

"Greetings, Cipher.

Over the past few months, there has been an increasing number of disappearances in New Haven, a city known for increasing levels of Variant-related crimes. All attempts by local law enforcement to solve these missing persons cases have turned up cold. Investigators who appear to be close to a solution end up disappearing themselves.

Infiltrate the city and investigate the matter as you best see fit. Use whatever methods and resources necessary to bring this mystery to light.

This message will degenerate in 5...4...3...2…"

Camilla didn't even wait for the countdown, before shifting her attention to a 4'x12' Holographic screen on the wall of the large brightly lit room she now stood in the center of.

The aesthetics of the room itself were dull. Gray walls with a black matted floor. However, inventory was quite nice besides the simple full sized bed in the furthest corner. The wall opposite of the holographic screen was adorned with tactical equipment and firearms. To her left was a kitchenette along the wall and two doors on either side. One door led to a bathroom, and the other was to stairs leading up. The side of the room where her bed was a wardrobe, dresser, and even a workspace. In between the center of the room to that side of the room was a personal gym that had pull-up bars, a cable machine, an adjustable barbell rack, and a dumbbell rack.

"Display the link analysis diagram for New Haven," Camilla said as she approached the holographic screen. The screen that had originally been blank filled up with a diagram of names of people and locations throughout the city. "Two major information hubs. Wonderland in Bywater and the Shadowbroker… Display Wonderland and the Shadowbroker side by side." The holographic screen did just that, showing both profiles side by side. Wonderland had plenty of background info, while the Shadowbroker profile was a bit skeletal. "They both have their pros and cons…"

Camilla placed her right hand against the screen over the name Alice Corbett on the Wonderland profile. There were mostly candid photos of the woman bartending. The woman seemed approachable enough to Camilla.

"Her information doesn't come cheap, but it's affordable. And who doesn't want to get juicy intel over a few drinks?" Camilla smirked before her eyes looked to the Shadowbroker profile. All she could do was cross her arms and sigh. "Now you probably have the information I want, but how do I get to you?" Camilla bit her lower lip in frustration. I just need time to think, or maybe I should just contact another Cypher in the city. Ugh, I hate playing with other Cyphers though.

Camilla looked to her personal gym while easing off of the stressful look on her face. She figured she might as well think on it after a workout.

"Cue the music!"

"Alibi incarnate."

Kilroy closed the laptop and her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "That was too close." She sighed. Mary had sent them a text of a card tocontact this so called Shadowbroker.

"Nah," Veronica said, waving away the issue dismissively. "She's fine! Good old Mary. Can always count on her to talk her way out of something."

"she has the charisma of an offwhite plasterboard wall."

Veronica tsked and look down at Bloodrose who was still laying on the floor. "She's more useful than you are."

"i could be really useful. you just don't let me use my talents." She struck a seductive pose. Veronica made a disgusted face. She didn't know how she felt about the idea of her Epsilons pursuing romantic interests. Or being some sort of erotic entertainer like Bloodrose. It made her feel gross.

"That's...no. Not...not yet."

"let me fly!"
Veronica shook her head and thought for a moment. "You really want to do this?"

"yes! oh my god, yes. i'd be so good at it. you don't even know. you don't even know! i'm way sexier than you are so you wouldn't know. no offense. i could be so good at anything. something serious."

"Okay, okay. Fine! Fine. No weird stuff. Hit a night club or something. Chat some people up and see what you can learn. Okay? Does that sound good?"

"yes ma'am." With that she confidently and excitedly popped to her feet and strutted out the door. As it was about to close, she popped her head back in and smirked, tilting her head back. "They won't know what hit 'em." The door shut behind her, and she was gone. Veronica exhaled and turned to Kilroy, who shook her head and looked back at her laptop.

"What?"

"She is a rogue element."

"I can reel her in if she gets out of control."

"I certainly hope so. Speaking of out of control, how are the Twins doing?"

"I think they are getting dragged into some gang war. Trying to make a profit. I haven't check in in a while." She blinked. "Woah. Looks like things are really heating up. I'm gonna need to sit down for this." She plopped down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, concetrating on her shared vision.

-An abandoned warehouse, somewhere else in the Shanty-

"You ready for this? Shit's about to get real. In and out, real quick." A young, tense, but eager man wearing a balaclava.

"I've never been more ready for anything in my life." Jassaliah said. She was wearing a black, tight high collar sweater and cargo pants. She was wearing a similar balaclava that left her eyes and mouth open. "What about you, sis?" She said, glancing over at her "sister".

Phoebe was bouncing nervously on her feet. "Oh, yeah. So ready. So, so ready. I was born for this." She was wearing an identical outfit to the woman she was pretending was her twin sister. The both of them wished they had Abi with them, but the leader of this operation who went by Jericho wasn't trusting of outsiders. He had four of his men with him, plus the Twins, and himself, making for a seven person operation. Mary had discovered the location of a rival gangs place of operations. There were drugs and money to be found, and with the element of surprise on their side and the numbers advantage, they should be able to get inside and take out the competition and get the money and resources for themselves. Jericho is an ambitious man, and so has hired the Twins as mercenaries which is something they have a reputation for.

"Okay then," Jericho muttered. "Remember, we don't give a shit about any of these assholes." He braced up against the wall. He had supplied them all with Uzi's and shotguns, the Twins taking a pair of the smaller submachine guns.

Damn, girls. You really going through with this? Veronica's voice apparated in the pairs head. Yeah we are. We're gonna kick some ass. Just you wait- we're gonna get a lot of fuckin' money for this. More than we've ever had. The Twins are making a name for themselves.

No response. They felt Veronica and Kilroy watching through their eyes. Plinko might be there aswell, it was hard to tell.

"Okay. Three...two...one...let's go!" Jericho kicked down the door and ducked inside. The masked twins followed behind. Phoebe's heart was racing and Jassaliah was hopped up on adrenaline, a grin plastered across her face. It was a brief gunfight. Everything faded into a muffled cacophany as shots rang out. The four gang members inside were taken completely by surprise. Two of them were gunned down in a hail of gunfire as they fumbled for their pistols laying on the table. Phoebe and Jassaliah focused fire on a young woman who's gun fired off as she hit the floor. One of the men got a shot off but missed. It whissed underneath Phoebe's arm, and she returned fire and he crumpled to the ground. Breathing heavily, she smiled and looked over at Jassaliah, who gave her a thumbs up. It was so hard to believe. Her right ribs stung and ached, as if that bullet had struck her. Phoebe felt that area, and all was well. Her hearing was still recovering and her hands were shaking.

Okay, then. Color me impressed.

Jassaliah scooped Phoebe up in her arms and gave her a huge hug. Their idenity as Twins was a fascade, but the two clearly thought of each other as sisters and had the closest bond out of anyone.

"Fuck yes! Nice work, everyone." Jericho said, kicking at a corpse. He was standing at a large wooden table. There were cardboard boxes of cocaine, and stacks of cash scattered about. Phoebe picked up a clipboard, her fingers trembling. "Looks like there's about twenty five grand worth of stuff here. Think the cops will show up?"

Jassaliah shook her head. "Nah, they rarely come round here anymore. Especially in this warehouse, this place was chosen for a reason. Clean kills." Jericho agreed.

"Alright. That's about eight thousand for you ladies." He said, counting the bills out. "Let's get this cleaned up and ready to go."

Veronica's thoughts wandered away from the Twins. Sweat had appeared on her foreheads and her palms as the pure adrenaline of combat bled over into her own body. "Wow. That was intense." Kilroy nodded and began looking back at her laptop. Her corner of the room was barren. Unlike the clothes strewn about Bloodrose's bedroll, or the books, magazines, video game console and TV Veronica claimed, all Kilroy had was a little laptop.

"You ever look away from that laptop?" Veronica asked, incredulous. Kilroy shrugged.

"It has everything I need."

-Midtown-

Mary leaned her forehead against the wall of the bathtub and let the water run down her back. Closing her eyes, she saw the image of that woman's face right up infront of her. She was all she could think about. Unbeknownst the rest of the Identia, the Shadowbroker had gotten beneath Mary's skin. The motel was okay. The wallpaper curled and the lights were dim, and the TV was curved, but all in all it was just fine. At least she was safe and alone.

Hey. Are you- oh, sorry.

Don't worry about it. Mary's clothes were crumpled in a pile on the floor of the bathroom. Her phone was sitting on a desk next to the bed in the other room. The door into the bathroom was open, and Mary could see her phone if she looked at it but was preoccupied with washing herself.

Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to take point on meeting this Shadowbroker woman you ran into last night. Mary tensed up. Shadowbroker, Shadowbroker, Shadowbroker. Mary would be fine if she never saw her face or heard that name in her life. Was that all Mary was? The Epsilon who met Shadowbroker? Fortunately, Mary thought, thinking like this is different from thinking aloud. Thinking aloud?

I don't know.

You know her best.

Couldn't someone else go?

Maybe. But you know her best. And you know the streets best.

She almost killed me, V.

You were fine! Come on. You really gonna ask Plinko to do it?

Plinko doesn't have to do anything. What about Abi?

What about Abi? She's even worse at talking than you are. If that's even possible.
Mary sighed and closed her eyes. Fine. Whatever.

Don't be like that.

I'm not. Can you back off? I'm trying to take a shower.

Whatever. Chill out. I'm gone.

Mary could feel the difference. It was like Veronica had entered the room with her. It felt odd, to have someone else in her head. Veronica tried to push in 'maximum effeciency' and have the Epsilons talk back and forth without ever saying anything. The silence, despite the room being filled with chatter, was unbearable. And no one knew whether to look each other in the eyes or not. Or when someone was paying attention. It was like anyone could call her up at any moment and she would have no choice but to answer. Veronica doesn't get it. She can just block us out. Maybe we can talk to her about it.

Mary turned off the shower and the water dripped down to the floor in erratic taps. After a few moments she gathered up her clothes and wrapped a towel around herself, not bothering to do anything to spare her hair that dangled at her shoulders, and laid down on the bed, soaking it in the process. She grabbed the remote and turned on some garbage to watch.

Relka
Mary's hotel room

Relka hid in Mary's shadow as the girl swiftly made her way through the streets. Eventually she stopped in a hotelcand secured a room for the night. Mary went up to her room and Relka jumped from Mary's shadow to a shadow alone the wall.

I see she is at least smart enough to return to whoever she sent that picture on her phone. She thought to herself.

As Mary went to the bathroom Relka left her hiding spot behind the and rummaged through Marys few belongings she had in the room. She opened the mini fridge and grabbed a few small bottles of Crown Royal and drank them as she loked at Mary's phone. Sadly she couldn't unlock it, but she could live with that. As she finished the last shot her phone buzzed, she pulled out three separate burners and grabbed the correct one pocketing the others.

She opened up and saw that she had an email from an other information gatherer.

FROM: FireflyInfoBug.Nexus@IBuiltMyOwnSecureServerSuckOnThat
TO: LekrasNightinfo.Nexus@SecureServers
SUBJECT: Lab fire?
BODY: Hey Shadowbroker, it's Lightning Bug. How's it going and all that jazz? Pleasantries aside, I'm looking for some info. Nothing major, as far as I can tell, I'm just rounding out my sources. A research lab got hit in New Haven tonight, Variants were involved in setting fires and stealing some stuff. I'm working out what they were doing there, and it looks like there's some M.A.D. activity at the lab behind the scenes. If you could find out anything about that, that'd be great, but really I'm interested to find out if you can get any info on what the Variants took and why the Pariah Underground would be interested in the first place. I would find out myself, but I'm in the process of burning some Underground bridges right now, and trying not to push my luck.

I don't think the job should be too extensive, this is mostly out of curiosity. Let me know the rate, you know I'm good for it. I also took a look at your server pro bono, and shored up a couple weak points in your firewall. Looks like nothing's gotten through, but better safe than sorry. You're welcome!

--XOXO Bug

Relka casually read the file and put the phone away after sending a short reply promising to look into it. She pocketed her phones and the empty bottles, she made sure to put the room back exactly as she found it, it wouldn't do for her new toy to realize she was being watched. Relka had just melted back in the shadow under the door when Mary stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around her head. The girl plopped onto the bed and started watching some boring tv show.

After a while Relka figured no one was coming to check on the young lady and slipped out under the door materializing back to normal. She had an other job to do, and she would get that information. Though why this Lightning Bug needed to update Relka's servers, she hardly did any hacking, she enjoyed her hands on approach. Though making sure all bases were covered were still nice, she left the hotel whistling My Medicine by The Pretty Reckless as she walked into the night.

Police cars swerved and twisted to dodge traffic as they struggled to keep up with the two Variants traversing the rooftops. Eventually, after a few sharp directional changes, Flea was able to shake the cops off of his tail. Inverse, however, was another problem entirely. No matter how suddenly Flea would cut in another direction or how far he would leap, Inverse stuck to him like glue.

Damn, this dude is fast...I mean, I'm keeping up, but barely. Time to switch things up…

After the closing the gap a little with a few well timed maneuvers, Inverse concentrated on Flea's jump path, trying to predict his next landing spot. Gotcha. He pinpointed an area on the rooftop in front of Flea and increased the gravity. Once the short man landed, he immediately tumbled, flinging his duffel out in front of him. His entire body suddenly felt heavier, like he had just been dunked in lead.

"Aaaaah...what the hell!"

Inverse landed on the roof near the little guy.

"End of the line...wait, I already used that one…...I need some more material..."

"Let me up, asshole!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…language, little guy."

"I'll show you little!"

"Well...I'm waiting..."

Inverse opened his posture as a challenge to the extremely aggravated Variant. Flea grumbled profusely as he struggled to lift himself off the ground. Inverse gave a sly smirk and snickered out loud.

I could watch this all night...huh…?

Inverse's banter was interrupted by the subtle hum of electric motors. As he turned toward the direction of the noise, a M.A.D surveillance drone headed straight for him and his tiny hostage.

Sigma-881 has visual on two male Variants. Green Level Agile. Alias: Flea. Red Level Distortionist. Gravity Manipulation. Alias: Inverse. Proceeding with detainment.

He already knew it was his cue to go. When the drone came within range, a pair of launchers protruded from underneath its body, each equipped with a round of shock darts. Without hesitation, the darts fired toward the pair. Inverse was able to use his powers to dodge the projectile altogether while Flea, of course, wasn't as fortunate. He took a direct hit and was instantly subjected to a few thousand volts of electricity. Inverse released his hold on Flea and made for the duffel bag, scooping it up before sprinting at top speed toward the edge of the roof as the drone tried in vain to hit him with another dart.

One Variant, Flea, has been detained. Sigma-881 in pursuit of Inverse.

Inverse continued to traverse the high ground. As the buildings got taller, he ran along the sides of them, maintaining his distance from the M.A.D. drone. He spotted an open window ahead of him and saw an opportunity to lose his pursuer. He dropped into a baseball slide and 'fell' into the open window, launching himself into what appeared to be a bedroom. He was immediately met with a startled scream from a woman standing in front of a large mirror in nothing but a towel, seemingly about to get dressed. As he stood, she clutched the towel to her body.

"Oh! Sorry!...wait, why would you be doing that with window op-?"

The drone appeared in the window and fired another dart, which lodged in the wall as Inverse evaded it and bolted from the room. He made his way out of the apartment and into the hallway. Gotta go up. He found the entrance to the emergency stairwell and discovered he was several stories from the top floor.

Lost immediate visual, switching to thermal optics...Variant has entered emergency stairwell, likely heading for the roof. Proceeding to roof for intercept.

Inverse hopped over the railing into the open space and 'fell' upward toward the ceiling. He grabbed the railing at the top floor and flung himself over, landing directly in front of the roof exit.

Yeah, that drone is probably right outside…but I got something for him...

He manifested a small black orb that hovered over his palm. As he burst through the door, he threw the orb out in front of him while tumbling to dodge yet another dart. Both the drone and the dart, along with some loose debris, were forcibly pulled toward the orb that was now hovering in the air.

Losing control of movement. Variant's escape is imminent.

"Well, it's been fun," Inverse mocked as he shot the drone a bird and launched himself into the air, leaving the drone pinned in midair.

---

Incinera met a group of firefighters in the stairwell as she moved the group of young scientists to safety. The rescue team seemed to pause when they noticed she had been walking through the flames in barely any clothing and emerged completely unscathed.

"Help them! Get 'em out of here!"

The firefighters snapped back into action and lead the scientists downstairs. One of the rescuers offered Incinera an oxygen tank, which she was actually quite grateful for. The fire seemed to be getting under control as others pitched in to help, including a...werewolf? When the remaining occupants were shuttled out of the lab, Incinera decided not to stay for any longer than she needed to and made her way to the roof. There was a giant metal contraption that was cascading water onto the building.

The hell did this thing come from?

She walked over to the edge of the roof and peered down at the chaotic scene below. More rescue vehicles and workers than she could count swarmed the streets and she noted to herself that some of the more professional-looking types were most likely with N.O.V.A. She really hated dealing with the agency in general and definitely didn't feel bothered to at the moment. She backed away from the edge and sat down, leaning against one of the legs of the metal-water-thingy. She removed her mask and coughed a few times while she brushed debris and ashes from her hair.

This had to be Underground…they're always doing the stupid shit…but why burn down a chem lab? What would the Underground gain from something like that? Seems extreme even for them...there's gotta be more to it...

---

"Yoooo, Rocky Road! I know you're in this mission, where you at? It's Scavenger, I can give you guys a pickup!"

Graffite nodded as he received the call. "We're heading towards Tech Alley. The cops are gaining on us, so move your ass!"

"Who the hell is this guy?" Ruby said when she noticed Dante looking like he was preparing to engage them.

"Who cares? Wreck him!"

Dante pulled a pair of shades from his pocket and donned them as a countermeasure against being identified. He conjured up a blue knife and hurled it in the direction of the pair of Variants, then immediately followed it with two red knives. The action was so quick that Ruby and Graffite had no time to react. The blue knife precisely cut the strap of the duffel Graffite carried causing it to fall to the ground, and the red knives exploded at each of the Variants' feet, sending them flying in different directions. Graffite slammed into the wall of a nearby building while Ruby tumbled and rolled in the street. As the pair struggled to get to their feet, the police screeched to a stop behind them and drew their pistols.

"NHPD! Remain on the ground and place your hands behind your head!"

"Fuck that," Graffite huffed as he got to his feet.

"Hey! Get down or we will open fire!"

Of course...shoot first, ask questions later…

Graffite broke into a run directly toward the officers.

"Stop!"

As the police fired at the Variant, he simply shrugged off every bullet and continued his sprint unfazed. When he reached the first officer, he knocked the pistol from his hand and knocked him unconscious with a fist to the jaw. He then continued to make his way through the ranks, disposing of each officer in kind. Meanwhile, Ruby got to her feet and spat a bit of blood onto the ground.

"Alright, you little shit, you wanna play?!" Ruby shouted in Dante's direction. She then conjured a large blade made of crystalized blood in each hand and dashed toward Dante.

Here we go…

Dante created two more blue knives as Ruby took a swing towards his upper body. He ducked under the blade and deflected her second attempt with the other blade with a knife. The battle continued in a wild flurry of motion.

Girard Babcock/Tank
Midtown

Girard could really pound the pavement once he got moving so the run to catch up didn't take particularly long, though he may have left a few cracks here or there on sharpish turns. It was pretty easy to figure out where he was going once he could hear the sirens and cruisers speeding after the criminals but he still had to close the distance. He had a feeling if anything the police might need some backup because as confident or trigger happy as they could be the wrong Variant(s) could wipe them out quick enough. Not a pleasant sight from his experience and also a reason he as actually willing to intervene to help them occasionally because the less casualties on both sides the better. It was the least he could do to maintain some civility around the city and keep something of a good image for his persona.

Tank heard what sounded like a small blast coming from a nearby alley entrance just ahead and figured he should take a second to scope out the situation. He peeked his helmeted head around the corner to see what looked like a knife against sword fight between a woman and a younger man who seemed to be holding his own for the moment. However his sights quickly focused on the rock man beating the snot out of a couple police officers.

Well guess I know where I'm needed for the moment. He chuckled before walking out to the street cracking his knuckles loudly.

"Hey Pebbles don't suppose your up for a real opponent huh? These officers have better things to do than deal with some nameless street thugs."

With that Girard jogged over towards Graffite planning to give him a proper shoulder charge to get him off and way from the police, last thing he needed was to step on one of them or something mid-fight.

---

Donovan Macmillian/Abomination
Bywater

Donovan quietly grumbled every time he saw red and blue flashes from the streets or heard sirens from the cars moving about Bywater. They sure were making quite the appearance tonight over some robbery so it must be something important or valuable, well that was his guess anyway. At least since they hadn't pulled out the big guns yet so that meant it wasn't life or death for whatever people lost it though it might make the blues look bad if they lost it. Either way he was at least intrigued to see who one of the culprits was and if it was actually Underground or just media bull crap spewing everywhere and both options were entirely possible but knowing for sure would be an advantage.

It took a little bit to pick through this part of the district without getting spotted but he had gotten good at doing it safely an most importantly silently. As he got closer to where he assumed the police were searching a bit closer, Bywater had plenty of places to hide though so it would take them time to find exactly where, Don had Anthrax ascend up a building while he dropped a couple larger worms off in useful positions to cover his exit or help in a fight. Never being alone in the city was something he liked about his power and this sort of situation was a perfect use of his little comms network all linked to his mind. His suspicions were right though as he stuck to a darkened spot watching as one Variant...Nox something? The scaled woman looked vaguely familiar though he was freshly woken up so that didn't mean much. It was the other one giving a mini speech that he didn't know for certain but was probably a vigilante though powered or not wasn't obvious.

And give that probably hasn't been at this for too long, not real costume to speak of. Don thought it was kind of funny and felt the equivalent of a mental snap from Anthrax who wanted him to stay focused.

You are no fun at all some times.

While his five worms adjusted position he decided to see how this would play out from out of sight. If he needed or wanted to intervene he was ready to do so though he wasn't sure what to expect from the confrontation.