Dante raised an eyebrow as Scarlet walked over with food and set it on the table. She cleared her throat and said “well…we are helping people tonight right? I’m sorry it took so long…it took time to get all the parts needed for the generator and the shield…”

She looked down, thinking Matais was mad with her. Iris sat up and said “true change takes time. We are only a handful, we can’t turn on each other” the boss nodded and said “we are acting at the third party once did. We are stepping in to right the wrongs of this city. But we first must have the love of the people. Or we shall fail.”

Bane nodded and went back to finish the prep work on the tools and weapons, cleaning them and checking they were working. The boss looked at Matais and silver eyes glowed thru the mask. “What is it you want to do, Matais?”

It took Matias a moment to notice the silver eyes peering down at him, but once he did he noticably shifted, and his own eyes widened slightly. He really had to get used to the strangeness of the party at this point, but...

"Listen," he began, "stop patronizing me, okay? I get it, I'm impatient, whatever, but that's only because I don't want these people taking advantage of the marginalized."

He sat up on the chair, staring straight at the boss. His hands fell onto his knees as he leaned forward.

"I'm going tonight, to help with the shields. Then to the capital tomorrow with Bane. Then whatever else you want me to do afterwards. Alright, boss?"

He raised an eyebrow.

Boss sighed and said “I am asking what your wanting to fix? What is your goal here?” Bane looked over as the boss spoke.

Scarlet said softly “I want to help those who can’t help themselves…” Dante nodded and said “I want to bring peace, better then how the cops do…”

Matias looked over as the others spoke, the dullness in his eyes still prevailing. With a pout, he pointed his thumb towards the two.

"What they said," he sighed, "I'm kinda hoping that's the motive for everyone else too, so I don't really know why you're asking."

His sight focused back on the boss. He could already feel that strong aura resonating from them. Or was that just the tension in the air? Maybe both? Who knows.

"Let's change the topic, boss. To one of actual importance."

He smirked for just a moment before frowning again.

"Listen. I think we have a spy on our tail. I saw them last night, and two nights before, just watching me. They have yet to do anything, but I want to get more proactive with our work before they do."

Another huff, his favorite thing to do at the moment it seemed.

"They shouldn't know about our plan tonight, I'm hoping. I think it should be important to know, anyhow."

Bane frowned and walked over. “You have a tail? That’s not good…” the boss held their hand and said “tonight my shadows will find them if they show up. If not, have Dante take you home and keep an eye out till they are seen”

Dante nodded and said “leave it to me boss. I’ll get them off your butt Matias”

Iris nodded and pulled the case file over to her to look over.

A genuine chuckle this time. Matias seemed fond of the idea.

"I'm sure they'll know to back off with five heads on the scene, but I appreciate the backup."

He eyed the file in Iris's hands. He caught a name, race, incident date, and location. Everything else was too long and jumbled for him to read from a distance. His hand reached for a random file, the closest to reach, and pulled it close. A name, incident date, and location were also there for his viewing.

"RIVERA. WATER ELEMENTAL. AUGUST 6, 3025. AUTHORITIES CONFIRMED NO SIGN OF STRUGGLE IN LIVING AREA. NO WITNESSES. SUSPECT(S) UNKNOWN..."

He put it down, grabbed another.

"VERA. FAWN. JULY 24, 3025. CONFIRMED NO SIGN OF STRUGGLE... SUSPECT(S) UNKNOWN..."

Down. Another.

"WEREWOLF. AUGUST 10... NO SIGN OF STRUGGLE... UNKNOWN..."

Down. That was enough. Matias sat back with a sigh. He now finally regretted begging for action.

The boss walked over and looked at the files when he put them down then said “we will end this…I promise that much…” there was fire in their words. The boss was done with the suffering.

Bane sighed and said “let’s get the van loaded up…”

Dusk was encroaching, and so was the hour of the plan. Matias took this moment to dig into the drawstring bag Scarlet had given to him earlier. His hand blindly shuffled around until it came into contact with something angular and cold. Pulling it out confirmed his hypothesis-- a handgun magazine, hopefully of the right make. It was hastily placed in its own special pocket on his holster.

Now for everything else. He slung the bag over his shoulder as he rose from his wireframe throne. He picked up a few medkits and walked out the warehouse where the van sat. It was a clunky old thing, grey as ash and dirty like it too, but it did its job. Before loading the back, Matias took a moment to look up and both ways, on every rooftop he could make out.

No one. Good.

Into the back the medkits went. Back and forth he went, carrying in whatever he could carry that he felt was necessary. Thankfully the sky was still orange with light so he could actually see each time. With everyone's help, the van was neatly decorated with supplies and weapons. Matias celebrated with a stretch that cracked the satisfaction out of his back.

"Alright," he said, "who's driving?"

Bane held up a hand and said “I am. I have the reflexes. The rest of you load in” scarlet jumped to the van and opened it up and jumped it in followed by Iris then Dante.

The boss said “I’ll meet you guys there. Don’t want to crowd the van” then the boss vanished into the shadows and Bane nodded.

“alright folks. Next stop the lower level to bring light to the darknessl

Matias was the one to close the doors behind everyone else. He settled himself in his own corner, legs folded up to give room to the others. The van purred to life, the rumbling resonating through Matias's body. It was enough to lull him to a nap, although the bumpiness of the ride made sure that he couldn't get too comfortable. The innards of the med kits rattled incessantly in their confines, contributing to most of the constant albeit soft noise. There was a single strip light going around the interior that proved somewhat effective as the darkness caught up. It still proved slightly difficult to make out faces at that point.

The medkits were finally silenced after about a half hour. The van and everything in it were currently still. Matias cracked his neck before peeking out the back window; it was too dark to make out a thing, but he was sure they had made it. With one hand, he popped one of the back doors open. The open air welcomed his skin with a gentle breeze.

"Finally," he said, pulling the rest of his body out. His boots crunched against what felt like dirt.

Bane parked and shut the engine off. He jumped out and said “we made it kids. Let’s get to the generators and get to work. Scarlet you ready?”

The pixie nodded and said “I have my tools and all the parts. Just give me time and I’ll have it up and running”

Dante walked over and said “and we have the barrier ready to go as well. Let’s do this”

Iris moved to the front of the van and said “I’ll be here ready to move if you need help” Bane nodded and grabbed the bigger bags and headed to the fence to start pulling it out of the way for the others.

It was then that Matias had realized that he'd forgotten a flashlight in his haste. Luckily, he was quick to retrieve one from the van while everyone was leaving. He quickly tied the lanyard to his belt loops before walking past Bane, but not too far from the group. A hand tapped against his thigh as he examined the area, or what he could of it at least. It was so dark that all he could make out was the ground and the vague outlines of something brick.

"Any idea where these generators are?" he asked. "Are they spread out or together?"

Scarlet blew into her hand and three fire wisps appeared and floated around them as they found the fence. Bane pulled it back and held it so they could climb thru. Bane answered the question saying “they are all grouped together in the middle of the compound. This place hasn’t been working for years. I don’t think any teams have been sent to look at it”

They all headed to the center of the plant, the wisps following them to light the way. Soon they came round a building and saw the huge machines sitting lifeless before them. Scarlet nodded and summoned her flame wings again and took off to get to work.

Dante pulled his pistol and asked “any sign of your tail yet?”

Matias allowed Scarlet some room to take off, the resulting heat making him back off just a little more.

"Nah," Matias replied, "this place is pretty closed off anyway, I kinda doubt anyone else would be here anywa– Oof."

His back came into contact with something solid. He felt a slight warmth, indicating that whatever this was was in fact alive.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he turned around, "I can only see so mu–"

When his eyes reopened, they became wide and unblinking. He paused all other movements, his throat growing a lump.

Towering over him was a shadow that peered down at him with huge red eyes that almost seemed to glow with the wisp's light. The light allowed Matias to see part of its face but not much else: it was dark and metallic, only a few red accents decorating a long proboscis that came out of where its mouth should be. It seemed to heave with every breath it took.

Matias reached for his pistol with a very, very shaky hand. He had the "benefit" of being close to this thing, so if he could manage a shot...

Which he wouldn't. Because the thing shoved him back and proceeded to scurry into the darkness.

"Shit!" he barked as his scrambled footing threw him straight onto the concrete, earning him a nice bump in the back of the head. It took him a hot minute to crawl back to his feet, hand on head.

"I... take it back."

Dante turned and had his blade out in moments when he saw the creature. He whistled and a shadow shot out after it, vanishing as it followed.

“Boss is around here somewhere. Let’s see what the shadows bring back.” He moved over and helped Matias up and brushed some of the dirt off his back. “Nice reflexes…” he was watching where the creature had vanished.

Bane ran over and said “what’s up? Scarlet is about half way done so we can start setting up the barrier”

Matias had to hold on to Dante for a short moment to regain his balance. His legs felt like jelly, as did his arms, so he clung for dear life. Adrenaline surged through his body, and his heart was about to beat out of his chest.

"Someone's here," he snarled, "and I don't think they wanted to play nice."

There was a sudden cacophony of clattering and clicking in the distance that drew Matias's attention. Still trying to catch his breath, he pointed a shaky finger towards where he heard the noise.

"Boss nabbed the bastard, it looks like..."

A rapid succession of loud beeping signalled that the shadow was returning with a catch. The enemy was brought to the light. This creature, or a person dressed as one anyway, struggled in its confines like a bug trapped in a spider's web. Appropriate, considering it looked the part. Long, bug-like wings clicked and flicked behind it, and its antennae swished this way and that. The beeping seemed to come from its face, now clear to Matias that it was in fact a metal gas mask that was vespine in appearance.

"Well," Matias huffed, "Bet you feel pretty stupid right now, cabron."

The creature huffed right back, a blue steam-like gas escaping through the sides of its head.

The boss walked after the mass and said “put up a good fight. Everyone alright?”

Bane nodded and said “Scarlet is about half way done. Matias do you know this thing?” Dante had his blade at the ready.

The boss moved forward and saw the mask coming off.

Matias folded his arms and wide-eyed Dante, his anxiety stabilized to a tolerable level.

"Pretty sure that's the tail," he said, staring the bug in the face. "I recognize their eyes."

The beeping came to a halt at that point, but not the squirming. The bug managed to hold up its one free hand and move it around, gesturing quickly.

"LET GO." a harsh robotic voice blared from the helmet. "DO NOT REMOVE. LET GO."

"So you can stalk me some more?" Matias growled. "Please. Just put a bullet in its brain or something. I came here for one thing, and it wasn't pest control."

Bane pulled the pistol out and was about to fire but the boss held up a hand.

They moved in front of the bug and said “why are you following one of my friends? What purpose do you have here?”

Dante didn’t move as he slid his blade out more.

An angry huff was thrown Bane's way as the bug was seemingly going to try to defend itself, but that specific tension ceased with the boss's approach. Both eyes focused on the void in front of it. The lenses of the bug's mask began to flicker and gleam, a soft series of beeps and scan-like noises accompanying this. After a few seconds, the bug tiled its head. It managed to yank its other arm from the shadow's grip, as much as it made them wince. With both hands in front of its face, it began to gesture.

"I REFUSE TO DISCLOSE MY MOTIVATION," it signed, the robotic voice serving as direct translation. "BUT. I NEED SUPPLIES. THAT IS WHY I AM HERE."

"Either you tell us," Matias growled, pulling out his pistol, "or I'll take you out myself."

Matias's vision filled with blue smoke as the bug growled at him.

"I WILL NOT SUBMIT TO THE THEROAN GOVERNMENT OR PATRIOTS LIKE YOU."