_{@Izurich@Crusader Lord@SilverPaw}

First contact seemed to go without a hitch. Shortly after Breacher’s initial distraction, Valkyrie supplied covering fire. Su had considered remaining outside to help draw fire away from the sniper. But she would soon realize that further assistance was unnecessary. A shockwave further disoriented the gang. Breacher didn’t feel it herself, but she could see its effects. The gangsters stumbled, but also the glass in nearly every window cracked. Some even shattered, raining down glass in a glimmering hail. A few computer monitors in the offices detonated, spilling onto the desks they were placed on. It wasn’t hard to imagine the mirrors in nearby bathrooms shattering as well. This said nothing of the ceiling tiles that were shaken out of place and fell onto the floor, often along anything that had been affixed to the walls. A considerable amount of colladeral, but nothing as dire to Breacher as the condition of the alcohol. She was really looking forward to taking that bottle of Jack Daniels the gangster was drinking as a trophy. But she had doubts as to if even the shot glasses could have survived. The front of the building had sustained some damage, with most of it being done to the 2nd and 3rd floors.

It was not long before the Gemini agents' coms lit up with Vernoica’s voice.

”We’re trying to preserve the police station. Was that part of the briefing too difficult to understand, Leroux?” Fritzi growled. ”Mind your melodies, agent. You’re not a freelancer.”

The loss of the drinks aside, Su was okay with a distraction like this. If Valkyrie was safe, that just meant she could continue to assist Leroux inside. Maybe there were more bottles further in.

While her pick wielding ally made short work of the recovering gangsters, Su moved to place herself between Jacqueline and the other end of the hall. And it was a good thing she had, as an erratic spray of bullets ripped down the hall in their direction. More surprising was that it was the other squad rather than a gangster.

”Friendly! Friendly!” Su cried down the hall as she did everything in her power to keep the bullets from hitting Jacqueline or herself. Fortunately it seemed like their numbers were thinning. There couldn't have been many hostiles left.

But behind Su trouble was starting to stir. The staircase leading down into the jails was right before Jacqueline. At the base of the staircase was a mammoth of a man in an orange jumpsuit. He had just stepped out of the shadows to greet the espers. His size was comparable to Apollo, albeit shorter and fatter, and he had a single chain wrapped around one of his arms. He held a 5 foot length of it between his hands, and the fluorescent lights lit up his perfectly bald head.

”Don’t suppose you’re into bondage?”

In the blink of an eye, he whipped the chain over his head and slammed it downward. Were he in the corridor, there might not have been enough room to swing the chain like that. But the staircase shared the same ceiling as the first floor, and the criminal’s lower position on the staircase gave him the room to attack.

...

But the interior of the Police station wasn’t any more dangerous than the outside. While the gangsters were starting to draw away from the windows to focus on fighting inside, one of them had other ideas.

”Espers? Guess they’re getting desperate.”



From a window on the top floor, Valkyrie had just enough time to spot a tall man dressed head to toe in black. She could practically smell the hair gel from where she was standing, somehow overpowering the cigar he was chomping on. Despite it being quite dark out, he chose to wear shades. She might not have noticed him with the sun no longer in the sky, but his bare chest was far too pale and white to work as good camo. Even the ink black tattoos that ran all over his chest barely concealed this fact.

He was there just long enough to fling a handful of grenades at her. He didn’t stick around and instead retreated into the building. His aim was pretty good though. 2 out of the 3 grenades fell into the room with her while the 3rd one bounced off the side of the building and landed in the street below. Not bad for someone wearing shades. They would detonate any second now.

---

_{@FamishedPants@OwO@mantou@ERode}

Meanwhile, the Freelancer’s squad was already entering the building. The thugs were helpless against the pull of Protector’s shield, and were hardly a match for the combined efforts of Klava and Apollo. Before they could even attempt to break out of their icy prison, Apollo's spell struck them all with a burning radiance. The few that didn’t get burned to a crisp were knocked down the stairs. It was doubtful anyone caught in the blast would be fighting again soon. With all the erupting chaos it was hardly a problem for Silhouette to blend in unseen, picking off stranglers and anyone that might inconvenience the squad of freelancers.

That wasn’t to say the freelancers hadn’t misstepped. Apollo had picked up a gun to fire down a hall filled with gangsters. While this was acceptable in most circumstances, the two Gemini agents on the other end of the hall were less appreciative of his wild bullet spraying. It was not long before the freelancers were contacted on their own com line. Binky had supplied them with earpieces while they rode into position, so that she could guide them once they got inside. ”Check your aim, Apollo! We’re not paying you to fire on our agents! Engage in melee or fire somewhere else!” Not long afterwards, Samuel would receive a transmission. Since Silhouette was a Gemini agent, he was set up with a separate private frequency that the other freelancers were oblivious to. ”Keep an eye on Apollo for me. we can’t let him jeopardize the other agents.” Binky let out an exhausted sigh before turning to look at Klava, who was using the APC for cover. ”I'm going to move, you should probably head inside. Looks like most of them gave up shooting out the windows.”

The first floor was starting to look pretty cleared out, but something massive was headed down the stairs. Each step it took shook the staircase. The “it” in this case was someone dressed head to toe in bomb disposal armor, with the word “Viper” hastily spray painted across their chest. Flanking them at either side were two guards covered in body armor and holding body length riot shields made of plexiglass in one hand and uzis in the other. They came to a stop at the first landing on the staircase, allowing them to look down at the first floor.

”Well I’ll be! If it isn’t the watchmen rejects!”

Viper pumped the shotgun he was carrying, and their 2 goons stood off to the side as soon as he had his gun up. With a guttural laugh, Viper fired a round of buckshot directly at Protector. His guards immediately stood in the way and prepared to fire around their shields while their boss reloaded.

---

_{@The World@Hammerman}

Five feet in radius, ten feet in diameter. If Regina had utilized a proper Rain note, perhaps the Huntress would have been able to bombard the Ape Gang in their entirety, but as it stood, only two apes were caught in the sudden shower of arrows. Letting out a hoot, the axe-ape beat his chest with greater ferocity before leaping up and covering for his dual-blade-ape brother, shouting out a manly “Team Sacrifice!” as arcane arrows embedded themselves into his body. They went deep, deep enough to puncture fur to get into the meat, but whatever this whole ‘Return to Monke’ chant was doing, it certainly seemed as if it was improving the entire Ape Gang’s physical capabilities.

But whether it was magical, or simply a measure of self-hypnosis that unlocked the human body’s latent potential for hysterical strength, it was hard to tell.

It was definitely easy to see though. With Regina spent, and Marrie hesitant, only Luna offered a continuous barrage, her playing cards machine-gunning everywhere. Inspired by his brother’s sacrifice, dual-blade-ape pushed in front of the vanguard now, his twin katanas spinning like helicopter blades while the others chanted and ran behind him. Magically enhanced paper shattered like shrapnel against steel, ripping his costume up and exposing human flesh underneath, but troubling enough for Luna, there looked like no indication that there was any skin underneath. A momentary trouble, truly, when the apes all reached cover behind another shipping container.

There was an instance of peace…until the shipping container began to rumble. It began to roar. It began to scrape! Metal screeched as it was pushed over rough concrete, sparks grinding out as the shipping container moved with ever increasing speed towards the container that Luna stood upon! Of course the Ape Gang was strong enough to push containers around. With no power tools and no one else incentivized to access the manhole of Bastion except for invaders, who else but the Apes could’ve moved a dozen shipping containers out of the way?!

A calamitous crash sounded, both containers crumbling into each other from the tremendous impact. Luna found herself without footing, her "rug" pulled out right under her feet, and as she tumbled through the air, a hammer-wielding ape vaulted off the hands and knees of his brothers to challenge her to an aerial duel. Meanwhile, the other four apes who were still perfectly healthy (brawler-ape, longsword-ape, whip-ape, and spear-ape), scrambled out from the wreckage as well, hooting like hooligans as they rushed for Marrie and Regina.

Things were getting hot now, things were getting spicy!

And the Queen of Bees, the Mother of the Church of the Hive, fucking hated spicy food.

The manhole clanged like church bells as it was kicked open as neon yellow lights surged up. Rising up upon the backs of her worker drones, the bald Queen posed, bedecked in a dress made out of golden scales that hugged her bodacious curves. Her arms, bare and unadorned, were a mess of weeping sores, yellow puss leaking from dozens of holes within her flesh. And yet, there was not a single sign of pain upon her face as she glared at the rubes before her. Stretching out an arm towards the melee of Esper and Ape Gang, she called out, as her six most capable subordinates somersaulted out of the manhole in sync and landed at her sides, “You primitives dare step upon the hallowed combs of the new Queen of Pax Septimus? Arrogant mammals! Thine flesh shall be inlaid upon pools of liquid gold and feed our larvae!”

And in that same unnerving synchroneity, the six sub-bees pulled out two-handed Super Soakers from their Walmart discount Bee costumes, before pumping them rapidly to pressurize the contents. From the distance, it was clear that it was some sort of yellow liquid, but whether it be poison, piss, acid, or just flavoured water, it at least wasn't as bad as having to deal with assault rifles instead.

Maybe.

---

_{@Majoras End}

”Hah! It's alright! I could do to get out of my own head for a bit.“ Betty folded her arms on top of the table. ”I have an easier time dealing with other people's problems than my own. Though really, you were outside and you didn't realize the sun was setting? Not that I can really judge, I've been day dreaming all day." She lifted her cup to her lips and took a small sip. ”Wow, that's still really hot! I wonder if I could put ice in it? That's not taboo among coffee drinkers, is it?“

There were a few disadvantages to taking a seat so far back in the great escape. While it was quieter, it was kind of the worst place to sit by design. The entrance door was right there, which made it cold during the winter time and hot during the summer. Worse still was that the restrooms were located just a few feet away from the table they were seated at. The door to the men's room swung open and out stepped a regal if loudly dressed girl. Her outfit was pretty loud. Everything was so bombastic, from her huge flower accessories to her overly ornate outfit. She even had a massive puppet on one of her hands that looked like a creepy bunny. She couldn't have been any older than Fable, but Betty was never the best at guessing ages. She was more concerned with why a girl like that would be in the men's room. But she soon realized she was staring and decided it was best to just mind Fable for now.

”But yea!“ She swished her coffee around before taking another sip. ”If you aren't doing anything, maybe you could watch me play a few songs? I think I'm okay at it, but I get performance anxiety when my mother isn't watching.“ It felt a little weird to admit that to a stranger, but she was just talking. It did a lot to calm her nerves even when she didn't know who she was talking to. Though fable seemed like a good egg and probably wouldn't squeal on her. ”Also, Fable, right? Is that a stage name by any chance? You look like you'd be good at-“

Before betty could say another word, she fell into her chair. the violinist stumbled backwards into a bathroom stall where she landed on a toilet seat. Her surroundings had completely changed. Fable, the table they were sitting at, she couldn't see any of it. Did the past few minutes happen, or had she fallen asleep and was just waking up?

It is very uncommon for non-espers to encounter magic. What few times they are subjected to a spell they rationalize it away with one excuse or another. If magic does not exist, than what makes more sense: That Betty fell into a portal that placed her in a restroom, or that she simply woke up from a dream? Yes! she must have gone to the bathroom after that coffee went through her. And she must have been so tired that she just fell asleep right here. Perhaps it was decaf, but a good nap was probably all she needed anyway. But then why was she holding onto a hot cup of coffee? Shouldn't it have cooled by now? Regardless, If Betty fell asleep, then she really, really owed Elroy a big one. She took hold of the door to her stall and pushed it open. But then she froze in mortal horror.

There were people using the stand up urinals.

And they were guys.

Which was a given, but still!

Betty's face turned as pale as her hair as she shut the door. Had she really fallen asleep in the men's room? She couldn't just leave though. Not without getting noticed at least.

---

Fable would surely notice the regal-looking esper had placed a hand on Betty's chair, causing a portal to spread across its surface. As Soon as Betty fell inside, she banished it and took her place.

"Of course my order isn't ready yet, but what do you expect when a white cisgender male runs everything?" The girl(?) seemed to be talking to herself, but was doing so loud enough that Fable couldn't ignore it if he tried. "No respect for demi-boys, had I kept my mouth shut he'd have treated me like one of his white princesses." With a huff, she propped her head up with her elbow. "Suppose I should thank that 'actual' white princess for keeping my seat warm."

The regal girl made no attempt to acknowledge Fable's existence. But her puppet seemed a bit more interested in him. It looked just a regal as the person who's hand it sat on, and had an oddly spooky vibe. But it's melted face was more kid spooky than R-rated body horror film spooky. "Well hey there handsome!" The bunny waved its mitten at Fable. "I'm Denny! Denny the fantastic! And my master here is Mary!" He(?) gestured to the girl(?) that his torso was attached to. "Mary has been having kind of a rough day, I think ze would really appreciate it if you tried to talk to zir. Just make sure to use zir correct pronouns!"

"Pardon my french but what the fuck."
Current Location: The Great Escape

"Eheh, it's...a long story." Fable nervously chuckled. He did want to explain, but did Betty know what espers were? How would she take it? Or really, how would she react to him having a mechanical second form? When asked if she could put ice with her coffee, the boy only shrugged. "I-It isn't really. Some people prefer iced coffee. Haven't exactly tried any but who knows." He explained.

Like Betty, the boy caught glimpse of a young girl(?)...exiting the men's restroom. Okay, as confused as he was, there had to be an explanation for it. Though some weren't exactly good, they didn't seem to have drugs or any sign of conflict. Were they an esper too? From what he gathered some esper forms can be drastic enough to change their age and gender. Seemed like the most likely case, but it didn't reassure Fable completely. Probably was some creep as far as he was concerned... He turned his attention back to Betty.

The white-haired girl had offered to let him watch a bit of her performance. Guess his theory about her being the violin player was correct! Fable tilted his head when she mentioned having stage anxiety, and her mother. "Hey, stage fright is normal. I'm not judging on the other part too, just means you got a supportive mom. Er, not that I'm assuming anything!" He quickly clarified. Then she asked of his moniker. Before Fable could answer, he noticed the same feminine fellow they spotted approachingthemandgrabbingBetty'schair-

"Eek-?!" Fable quickly reached out to stop Betty from going through the sudden portal, or to stop the other youth from portaling her away. A moment too slow. His eyes were left widened. Where the hell did they put her. Without moving a muscle he looked the the...duo?? That sat down in Betty's place. Mary didn't seem to acknowledge his presence or the fact that they put Betty between a rock and a hard place. Instead they spouted out some confusing stuff revolving gender and color. What.

But for the far former, the puppet did. The puppet was alive. Atleast it seemed to be. But still. What.

Despite his unamusement at Denny calling him handsome, he listened to their request. _{"Ze, Zir...?"} Despite his subtle confusion, atleast that cleared something up. But why would ze turn to him? Was it cause he was the only other kid in the diner? Or...

Gah, whatever! The sooner this passes, the sooner he can go look for Betty! Fable looked back to Mary, figuring out what to say to zir. "Guess we're all having rough days, hm? You wanna talk about it?" He politely asked.

However the boy casually stuffed a hand into his hoodie's pocket, where he carefully held his pocketwatch. Just in case. He couldn't let his guard down yet.

@BrokenPromise@The World


"Tch! Only two!"

Regina cursed under her breath. That was the problem with her exploding arrows. They weren't explosive enough.

Realizing that the apes would perform a counter-attack, she jumped backwards, letting her more melee-oriented comrades take the front. She then took cover behind the nearest container.

Luna took the first move. She barraged the apes with her cards, revealing that behind their suits, there was indeed human flesh underneath.

Only, there was no skin at all. Just flesh.

A look of disgust flashed onto the huntress's face. Just what were these creatures?

Regina followed suit, firing arrows one by one to any apes that Luna's attacks did not cover.

"Hey! Stop gawking and fight!" She yelled at Marrie, who didn't seem to be doing anything at all. She couldn't believe she was stuck with such an incompetent teammate! "If you don't want to kill, then what are you doing taking this job in the first place?!"

The situation quickly descended into chaos. The apes pushed a container, crashing them into the one Regina was hiding behind in. She quickly reacted by rolling out of her cover and firing another arrow to the nearest ape she could find.

It wasn't enough. The apes were approaching fast at their position.

Tch, guess it's time for me to use that.

She released her right hand from her bow. And then, using her ability, she transformed said hand into a paw of a bear.

Ironic, considering it was a giant bear that killed her parents in the first place.

The moment one of the apes charged in (the brawler ape), she retaliated by swiping her claw towards its stomach. The claw would be able to slice through the suit and flesh with ease, as well as injecting poison into its body immediately.

---

After the eight-feet tall humanoid mech barged through the other side of the building, the spitroast maneuver was initiated. However, this also meant that freelancers joined the fray, all mixed up with official agents, something Silmeria didn't look forward to, yet she could do naught but hope for the best, especially when Veronica warned them about keeping collateral damage to a minimum.

Then much to her surprise, the one who would grossly violate that instruction wasn't any of the freelancers, but Jacqueline instead. "..." Sil's eyes went half-closed and her lips pursed into an emotionless flat line as she watched the plate-clad esper's localized earthquake made short work of the windows, furniture, and amenities of the precinct's first floor. The brunette had half the mind to say something, but fortunately Veronica beat her to it. Good, she could focus on squeezing the last bit of advantage provided by Jackie's seismic blunder, make it worth something.

Volley after volley of sabots launched off the coiled barrel like miniaturized versions of a certain American superhero, most - if not all - of them striking true the disoriented gangsters. They were deliberately aimed at vital organs too, either the skull or heart, minimizing the need for double tapping, efficient neutralization was key to good marksmanship, something Apollo should take note about, but that might be expecting too much from the skinsuited hunk.

...tre ...fire ...fem... The brunette marksman kept a mental tally, make things easier to assess her contribution to the group.

The combination of Klava's cryo casket and Apollo's holy hand grenade managed to outright shatter a gangster into million icy pieces and the resulting frozen shrapnel struck any mobsters unfortunate enough to be close to him. Due to their position at the staircase, some mobs got knocked off balance, providing Valkyrie with ample opportunities to make sure they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon... or ever. ...seks ...syv. There we go. Well, well, perhaps she had been a little too judgmental about the freelancers after all, or at least this particular group of freelancers.

Then, as if things weren't dire enough for the mobsters, Malice Incarnate himself finally arrived. As Valkyrie was the furthest esper away from Silhouette, she didn't get the brunt of his dreadful presence, but it wouldn't have mattered much if she had anyway due to their familiarity as fellow agents. Indeed as he announced, Samuel wasted no time in striking the remaining first-floor mobsters, making great use of the element of surprise.



They said the universe would always try to balance itself, Newton's third law of motion, for every action there's an equal opposite reaction. The mobsters that the agents and freelancers faced so far were mere fries of the organization, the drones, and now the nest had been stirred, the praetorians started to emerge to equalize the opposition. A bundle of fat and muscle with a chain fetish and a riot police gangster squad. Huh... guess the espers weren't the only colorful group here. Sil was about to take aim on the chain sumo's perfectly bald head when she spotted something ominous at the corner of her eyes. "...?!" She could only get a glimpse of the figure, but his looks were so distinctive from the typical small fry mobsters that she knew by instinct that he was either a higher-up or an unauthorized individual.

She spoke into her earpiece using the group's shared frequency, "Valkyrie here, there's a tango at the top flo-... Three ominous thuds cut her off, two from the floor underneath her sneakers and one from the concrete wall just outside the window. The first two were of most immediate concern as Silmeria's eyes opened wide with constricted pupils of unpleasant shock, "FAEN!!!" The whole group - agents and freelancers both - would hear the Norwegian curse blasted through their respective earpieces then followed very shortly by garbled distortion of something incredibly loud that the earpiece failed to convey them properly, however, those familiar with combat situations would recognize them as explosives.

.........
.....
...

"Uuugh... cough! Cough! Aaaargh..." Sil coughed hard a few times as she rose up from the light debris and rubble covering her frame, she had just enough time to ditch the window perch and dolphin-dived into the nearest apartment block, taking cover behind the concrete wall.

Shit... if it wasn't for her esper form's Style, she'd be grievously injured at best or dead at worst. Her ears were still ringing and balance a bit off, but she'd live. Alright, that 'tango' was definitely hostile, she didn't get a really good look, but her gut told her that it was King Cobra coz' explosives and all that. Either way, she's not letting him off the hook.

After letting herself recover for a moment as to not vomit mid-speech, she addressed the whole group again, "Valkyrie... again. That tango just threw explosives at me, might be King Cobra himself. No signs of Rottweiler. I'll see what I can do, over." That hostile was dangerous and it'd be bad if they joined the mobs at the first floor, better nip it in the bud.

Walking over to the gaping hole that was the abandoned apartment's 2nd story window, Valkyrie electrified her legs as she stepped out of said hole to run as fast as she can on the wall, aiming to scale two floors worth of height so she can vault into the vacant apartment's 4th story window, bringing her at eye-level with the precinct's topmost floor across the street.

Once there, she'd carefully scan the floor using her sights... while being alert to any stray explosives this time, Where the fuck are you, you slithery bastard?

---

One moment Jacqueline was blasely contemplating that her attack caused more damage than she’d expected and how expensive the repairs would likely be, and the next the Doctor herself was screeching in her ear. Easy for her to say, she thought, but said nothing. Now was not the time nor the place to discuss the finer points of acceptable collateral damage.

She was annoyed, because now she had an order to limit even more of her melodies. Great, so I’ll be about just as effective as one of these grunts. Well, whatever, orders were orders. Especially since Jay suspected the boss might cut her pay for the choice of her melody. If it came to that, she’d claim the effective sweeping off of the mobs was worth it.

When Breacher covered her from friendly fire – seriously, wasn’t that worse than thrashing the building a bit? – Jacquelin sent her a brief thumbs up. “Thanks, Breach!” she shouted, shortening the agent’s codename. Then, some more shouting came over the comms, this time from Valkyrie. She was under fire – grenades apparently. Seriously, they have that shit but I have to be the one careful? What a joke… “Keep us updated as you can, Valkyrie,” she commented. King Cobra was one of the main targets after all, so they’d have to get him sooner or later.

But she and Breacher had their own issues. A new tough guy showed up, one nearly as huge as Apollo. He was swinging a fairly long chain, but since he was holding a fair bit of it, Jacqueline wondered if he truly had the reach on her and her war pick. He’ll have an easier time adjusting, so gotta be careful. His taunt was corny, but Jacqueline still responded. “Ha! Only if you’re the one getting tied up, darling!”

Studying the enemy, she shifted the grip on her weapon as she readied a melody. “Hey, Breacher, can you use that shield of yours to protect us from the chain?” she suggested. She didn’t want to get hit, after all. “Then, I can do my thing,” she said, grinning as she pointed her weapon straight at her enemy.

She circled around him, keeping her distance while a projectile gradually formed near the surface of the hammer part of her pick. Maybe he’d see something and react, maybe he wouldn’t. When a golf ball sized lump of metal was spinning slowly at the tip of her weapon, she suddenly swung into the empty air with a, “Hya!” She didn’t need to, since the projectile would fire off regardless, but it just felt better to do so.

---

---

“Yeah, man! Do your own thing and fight the power.” Klava said, pumping her fist in the air to encourage Apollo to follow his heart…and her orders. Glacial ice burst into prismatic glory, disabling everyone on the first floor, before the muscled skinsuit-man decided to start spraying a stolen gun blindly. Not a very cashmoney move, but it was moves like those that made the frost maiden remain behind the APC to begin with. Whatever chastisements their boss of the day was gonna be giving them, none of it would relate to herself.

Sadly, good things like APCs weren’t meant to last, likely because the precinct must’ve had at least one or two rocket launchers in their armory, as per standard American police force armory requirements. With Protector being besieged by shotgun-bro and his two shield-bros, however, and Klava herself being so much less sturdy than the eight-foot sentinel, she didn’t really want to head in from the backdoor either. “Alright, Binky, just give me a few seconds, yeah?”

Leaping up, Klava pulled herself up onto the top of the APC, sighted a second floor window, and ran at full speed, her sandals clanking against the reinforced roof. At the last moment, the dark-haired esper jumped, body curling into a ball as she somersaulted, before kicking them out as she neared the window. With the chiming of brass bells, glass shattered inward, showering two grunt mafiosos. They jerked back, surprised at the sudden incursion, and that flinch was all that Klava needed.

She didn’t like killing, after all, but this was America. Hesitation meant defeat.

Moya-no-Yume slipped through the air, driving up into the soft flesh underneath the jaw and puncturing the unprotected brains above. Using that as her point of leverage, she pulled the dead man’s body around her, just in time to block a barrage of bullets from the second, before flicking her blade out and tossing it at her assailant. It whispered through the air, swift as snowmelt on a summer’s day, and struck his knee. He collapsed, cursing in pain, eyes drawn to the ruined muscle and sinew. Before he could look back up, Klava’s shoe had already connected with his jaw, the man spinning backwards and slumping against the open window, his neck at an odd angle.

She looked at the first man she had killed. Young. Maybe just a couple years older than her. A soft jaw, babyfat not yet burned away. Glassy gray eyes and black curls, in the way that some British kids were. Unpleasant business, being an Esper. But the government paid well. Grabbing the corpse by his tie, Klava spoke coolly into her earpiece, “Sending down a gift. Could you make sure the three lvl 10 goons stay where they are?”

Without waiting for a response, she pressed her hand against the dead man’s chest. Atmospheric mana crystallized into the symbol of a snowflake, pure white over the bloodstained fabrics, and Klava whispered, “Deaddrop Snowpile.”

And in the next moment, she tossed the corpse down, letting gravity deliver the gift of death upon the trio at the end of the staircase.

_{@The World@Hammerman@ERode}

So far, the encounter with the ape men hadn’t been anything special. They were disturbing, but hardly out of the norm from what Luna had encountered in the past. They bled, they died, whether they were costumed or not hardly mattered. There was a brief respite when they were driven behind a container, but Luna knew they would attack again.

Though she hadn’t anticipated they would rush her down with a flippin' storage crate.

She franticly prepared a melody. Confetti and dice twirled around her hand as her spell started to take shape. As fast as Luna was, the monkeys were faster. They made impact before she could finish. She lost her footing and fell. The only thing there to break her fall was an ape holding 1 too many hammers for her liking. While the monkeys were disturbing at a distance, they were downright terrifying at this range.

I can't repeat the bronx!

Fuled by fear and more mana than she’d normally care to use, Luna hurled her card at the sky fairing ape. In a flash of light and glitter, the two traded places in the air. This worked to Luna’s benifit two different ways. First, the distance she had to fall to the ground was much shorter. She’d get the wind knocked out of her, but it was something she’d recover from pretty quickly. The hammer ape would be less fortunate, as he would find that gravity no longer had an effect on him. He was jumping far higher than he had intended (probably). She wondered if he would crush his head on a steel crossmember, punch a hole through the roof of the warehouse, or simply spend the next 6 seconds defying gravity before returning to earth. Tetrad looked over her shoulder at the monkey and grinned at her clever play, revealing a mouth full of crooked teeth.

Once Luna was back on her feet, she realized that there were far uglier and more disturbing things in this world than monkey men. The queen herself was one such thing, as were her drones. It didn’t take Luna more than a moment to realize that the super soakers were not filled with water, and could be filled with whatever was seeping out of the queens arms. Regardless of what it actually was, It wasn’t something Luna wanted to get sprayed with.

Unless it was honey? Nah, it would be way too sticky.

While it sounded like the queen wasn’t with the apes, it didn’t seem like they would be able to make a truce. Not that Luna would ever considering allying with one of Billy’s targets anyway. The apes were out of view, so she chose to resume directing Pit Boss at the bee drones to hopefully mince some of those super soakers. Luna moved to the opposite end of the shipping crates so that she could find some cover and not get overrun by the monkey people. Should they return the way they ran off to, Luna didn't want to bump into them if they retreated. Luna also cast an eye at the sky every so often to make sure an ape or it’s hammer didn’t fall on her head.

...

Gross, Gross, GROSS, GROSS! She knew she shouldn't hate someone just for how they looked, but looking at the Queen Bee was making her want to vomit. She had a bad feeling about what those holes were for, and that possibility made something click in her mind. The fact that her subordinates were in furry suits like the gorillas, who apparently didn't have humans inside them, made something else click as well. With both flags raised the triggering conditions were met, and she stopped viewing them as "people". Even monsters were "people," but these, these were insects. And she did not abide insects. Her eyes narrowed and she took on a serious expression, her instinct to kill bugs made stronger by her fear of what was in those guns.

She weaved together her magical power, and like a warm current rises so too did the Rank of her spell as she poured in her genre's capability.

Genre Rank Up > Bounce > Silver Projectile > Rain > If Foe > Damage X.

Marrie pointed Apex Predator above the Queen and cast. She'd ruin these bees.

Though of course, she ducked behind cover after casting it, just to be safe.

---

Huh. Apollo probably should have looked before fired. With a noticeable clicking noise was the only thing that stopped his short lived rampage of random fire.

Oh well. Didn't quite matter. Nobody was hit. At least, nobody on his side. Not to mention, he could have just healed them unless they were domed. If they were unlucky enough to be domed by him firing so blindly, then they should really blame their own bad luck instead. It wasn't really his fault at the end of the day. After all, what kind of architect designed a first floor where the front and back entrances were practically connected by a hall? Sure, they jumped through a window. But the window was close to the back entrance! Especially a station where security was impor-

That made a lot of sense, actually. No wonder why the precinct was lost so quickly. Shit architectural design.

With the admonishment from Binky, all he could do was shrug. It wasn't like they told him that there would be zero obstacles between their two entrances. It was a precinct, not a mall. Really, he considered it more her fault than his.

With the arrival of Fat Viper and his two shielded goons, Apollo had more action he needed to respond to. Wait, were those guys using the transparent Plexiglas shields meant for riots? The ones that were meant to deflect rocks and make-shift clubs? The ones that bent under any impact? Where they needed to be essentially a massive two-inch length of acrylic to stop a pistol bullet? All he had to do was aim and shoo-

Well if it wasn't the consequences of his own actions.

Thankfully, this was America and the corpse pile created by the Protector had more guns. After quickly throwing his gun at Fat Viper as though it were some shit javelin, he picked up another gun. Thankfully, this time he aimed using his left arm as support at the falsely protected torsos of the men with Uzis. The GEMINI agents wouldn't be hit unless they caught a bullet that ricocheted at least 3 times. At that point, they were really just destined to die. Not his fault if it would hit them this time.

Still, he fired behind his personal human shield. He wasn't about to catch a bullet if he didn't have to.

---

---

Why was she one of the only ones usually left behind to drive off the monsters?

Why did her esper form have the peculiar yet incessant mental side effect of making her feel like an excited monkey swinging in the trees?

Why did she suddenly have a craving for peaches?

Too many silly questions to ponder in the grand scheme of things otherwise, but there was no time to think about them in all honesty. She channeled all of her focus into blitzing toward the site of the mission, to catch up with the rest of the agents and get to work. Well, and the Freelancers. The briefing had made things crystal clear...if not herself ever so slightly more empathetic toward Binky. Yet a pincer movement, hitting the enemy from both sides and crushing them in like a trash compactor, felt fitting if not reminiscent of something. One of the older movies she'd seen at the base, perhaps? She knew it was something one of the staff had lent her a few weeks ago to watch after geeking out about it to her during casual conversation.

All the same, however, each role in this sort of thing had its purpose. So driving off the monsters wasn't a terrible lot, but it was an important one to ensure the mission went off as simply as possible. Couldn't have something coming out of the shadows and rushing the prison amidst all the excitement there. To that end she had performed her first role, and wanted to get in on the action as soon as she could with the rest of her allies. She didn't want to leave them alone to-

”We’re trying to preserve the police station. Was that part of the briefing too difficult to understand, Leroux?”

”Mind your melodies, agent. You’re not a freelancer.”

Aaaaand things were beginning to really get messy, weren't they? Crap. But she was just coming around the corner where she'd be able to see the station now. It was a small thing she was thankful for, but seeing Valkyrie zipping up the wall from a gaping hole on the second floor as she approached the younger agent decided to follow. If nothing else to help try to support her ally whilst keeping an eye out on things as she herself approached. There was no sense in getting shot if she could help it.

Though if there was one thing she actually knew about a cornered animal, even in a basic sense and from various sources, it was that it made it even more dangerous than it already was. Far more, depending on the snake.

Lilliah's magic surged as she cast a melody as she closed in on the building, and with a surge of wind she flew up into the air with the intent of getting up to the building's roof near Valkyrie's location. At least before the melody began to wear off, she hoped. From there she could swing down in through a window or something, but getting up there was her first main matter of concern. Secondary to that was the ever-present goal of 'not getting shot'.

_{@Izurich@Crusader Lord}

Fritzi was not the sort of person who enjoyed sudden changes to her plans. At least, not when it was her agents insisting on the changes themselves. When Silmeria announced that she was going after King Cobra, she started to groan. Only for it to turn into a sigh of resignation when Jacqueline seemed to like the idea.

”I don’t like leaving Leroux and Breacher without backup, but keeping Cobra occupied will preserve more of the police station.” She chuckled. ”And if they’re okay with it, why not? Seems like agent Wukong is joining you anyway. Just remember the freelancers are coming up the stairs, so watch your aim. I’ll let you know when they reach the fourth floor.”

It didn’t take too long for Silmeria to reach the top floor of the apartment. They climbed into the center window just as Lilliah landed on the roof above them. They could see the commissioner’s office, or perhaps it was King Cobra’s office now. It had gone over quite the renovation since the takeover. The commissioner’s paperwork had been shoved into a nearby waste paper bin. In its place was a bottle of aged wine. Though all that remained of it after the quake was a label resting on top of a pile of shattered glass. The only other interesting thing in the room was a tall safe that had yet to be opened. But if the scorch marks around the dial were any indication, someone had been trying to get in. Any wall decorations in the room had since fallen on the floor. It was difficult to know what had been caused by the quake and what had been done by the new residents.

Beyond the desk was the hallway. Several desks had been dragged out of nearby offices and pushed onto their sides. Judging by the direction they had been pushed in, it seemed like they were preparing for an assault from the staircase rather than the commissioner’s office. Not many people try to raid a building from the top floor. Less so when you have a plethora of explosive weaponry and could shoot a helicopter out of the air with ease.

And there at the other end of the hallway was the Cobra himself. He grinned at the esper before ducking under cover.

”Fire!"

Plenty of gunned goons leaned out of offices and popped over cover to shoot in Silmeria’s direction. More notable than the 6 or 7 regular gang members were 2 men clad head to toe in balistic armor. One of them held what appeared to be a grenade launcher, while the other was sporting a light mounted machine gun. These clearly weren’t arments they found at the police station. These guys had to be dealing with black market arms to get their hands on military grade weapons like that.

It wasn’t long before the hallway turned into a steady flow of led bullets. The grenade launcher thug fired a round straight into the apartment hallway. The round didn’t explode, but instead slowly filled the room with tear gas. If Silmeria remained for long, her lungs and throat would burn as she inhaled the concoction. She would be unable to resist coughing, and her eyes would sting if the smoke was allowed to enter them.

King Cobra was difficult to spot, but it was possible to see his lit cigar disappear inside one of the side offices. It didn’t look like he planned on running away.

Things were a bit more peaceful for Lilliah if she chose to ignore the gunfire below her. There were a few vents, each fitted with a set of whirling fan blades and a cage to prevent birds from falling in. Probably a bit too small for a human to use for entry. There were no entryways on top of the building, but she had spotted a fire escape on the north side of the building. It was made out of wrought iron and needed some TLC, but it did allow access to nearly every floor. It was located towards the front of the building away from the above ground staircase.

---

_{@SilverPaw@TheGMbby}

”Breacher, Leroux, I’m sure you heard the transmission. You’re on your own. Securing the jail is vital to things going smoothly, so it’s importent you don’t overextend.”

”Got it!”

As soon as Jacqueline called Su’s code name, she was backing up to her position. It wasn’t until the skin face at the other end of the hall cast aside his gun that she felt confident rushing to her position.

The giant with a chain was formidable. Even with her shield, a single shot was enough to send Su reeling back from the impact. But Jacqueline was able to cast her melody in relative peace. It took Su a moment to realize what she was doing, and she used Jacqueline’s longer casting time to follow up with something of her own.

She leveled her pistol with the giant’s legs. He seemed to be prepared for something like this, as he reached ack into the darkness and pulled out a fiberglass riot shield. Probably not enough to stop a high caliber round like Su’s gun fired, but it was irrelevant anyway. What came out of her gun was a pulse of wind, creating little dust loops as it flew trough the air before smashing into the shield. It didn’t inflict any damage, but the concrete steps seemed to grow tendrils that latched onto the shield, locking his arm in place.

”Knew you girls were into that shit!”

By the time Jacqueline’s projectile went off, there wasn’t much the brute could do to evade. He ducked behind the frail shield, which was just barely enough to stand up to improvised weaponry. But it seemed that luck was on his side.



A second man, this one taller and leaner, leapt from the shadows before firing several rounds into Su’s sculpture. He had just enough time to pull the brute out of harm’s way, but not before the twisted metal cut into his shoulder. He cried in pain as his crimson was sprayed on an adjacent wall.

”The hell are these people?”

There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the new hostile was Rottweiler. While he seemed to be dressed up as a security guard, his mannerisms were on a different level than the thug that stood next to him. His posture was better, his workout regimen was better too. There was no doubt the brute standing next to him had a stronger upper body, but Rottweiler didn’t look like a cartoon character due to skipping leg day for the past 5 years. There was discipline with all of his movements. Even the brief moment he stood there it looked like something that he had been rehearsing until he had the moves down perfectly.

”Espers.” Rottweiler moved his radio up to his mouth and mumbled some commands before slinking below ground. ”Fall back.” With a groan, the wounded convict followed after him.

”I not like the look of this, not one bit.” Despite what her gut told her, Su walked down the stairs with her shield up. No sense getting jumped on the staircase because some gang member was hiding out.

The “jail” in the basement of the police station wasn’t any bigger than the other floors. The agents knew it was a single long corridor lined with cells, courtesy of the map they saw earlier. Technically, this wasn’t a jail, but a series of holding cells. Once the felons here were processed, they were dressed in orange jumpsuits in preparation for their move to a real jail cell elsewhere. It didn’t look like most of the inmates had been released. There were a few open cells here and there, but that could have been a result of a slow day at the precinct. Most of the prisoners looked rough. They held onto their bars and howled like animals. Blood had been spilled, a battle was going to take place, and they wanted to see the outcome. It wasn’t hard to imagine they were on their 3rd or 4th conviction. There were a few here and there that appeared to be everyday people. One cell had a business man in it, who seemed to be content to sit at the back of his cell. Another had a young woman inside, who had her hands over her ears.

The corridor had been turned into an arena. Some lockers had been thrown about to create makeshift barricades. Though the area was surprisingly vacant. Rottweiler had retreated half way down the corridor, with the chain brute trailing a bit further behind him. The only other people present were two other brutes in jumpsuits. One had duct tapped some shivs to his wrists, while another had gotten ahold of a pistol. They both charged as soon as the two agents showed up. The gun brute screamed as they emptied their magazine into Su’s shield, and the shiv brute ran for Jacqueline, leading with both knives.

---

_{@FamishedPants@OwO@mantou@ERode}

Aria managed to protect herself from eating a face full of buckshot by suspending the bullets and redirecting them towards the floor. ”Hmph.” Was their only response before pumping their shot gun again. The empty gun Apollo threw at him harmlessly bounced off one of the guard’s shields, causing it to wobble a bit.

When the two gunman hosed the floor with bullets, Aria was there again to keep the bullets out of her allies flesh. Her shield was a bit small for the job though. While Breacher enjoyed a large shield that she could easily hide behind, Aria’s shield was smaller and more designed with mobility in mind. It was what allowed her to be nimble in close quarters combat, but was less practical to use as cover from a hail of bullets. The pulling effect did direct many projectiles to the center of her shield, but a few bullets ended up grazing her legs. They weren’t enough to slow her down, but she’d feel it for the rest of the mission if it wasn’t treated.

This gave Apollo all the time he needed to find the pistol he lifted off a dead gang member. As he had no allies near his targets to hit, there was nothing stopping his bullets from finding their mark. The pistol was more than enough to shatter the shields they held, but were still stopped by the bullet proof vests they wore. The armored criminals stumbled backward from the blows. Even with bullet proof vests, shots like that hurt.

This was when Viper was going to fire another round of buckshot, but some movement distracted them. It was hard to ignore someone killing people on the floor above you. They spotted the incoming corpse bomb, and adjusted their aim accordingly. They did manage to get a shot off, but by that point, the ice bomb went off. A large ice spike jetted out of the trap Klava had set. While modern bomb helmets could stop projectiles moving at 2000 feet per second, they offered no protection against arcane attacks.

”Gah!”

They flinched, and their helmet fell to either side. Viper’s head was mostly revealed. Their gas mask couldn’t conceal their bright neon hair. Cyan locks fell on either side of their shoulders as the last fragments of their helmet hit the floor. Judging by their cheek bones. They seemed to be rather thin despite the bulky suit they were wearing. They might have even been a woman, but it was really hard to tell with the suit and mask covering the lower half of their face. Fortunately sex appropriation for hostiles wasn’t too important.

”Fall back!”

The two goons that were with them backed their way up the stairs, wildly spraying their bullets just to slow the freelancer squad on the first floor. Viper marched up the stairs towards Klava’s position, firing round after round of buckshot at her.

Viper wasn’t the only person gunning for Klava. The second floor had never been cleared out, and gang members were starting to come out of the offices. One of which was a man dressed like a waiter. He was pushing a catering table and lifted the lid off of a dish as he approached. It became clear he was going to serve her a submachine gun, the bullets at least. He used the cart to steady his aim as he fired down the hall.

There were also more gunmen coming down from the third floor, but they hadn’t come into sight yet.

”The other agents are clear, Silhouette.” Binky called in to the lone Gemini agent. ”King Cobra was spotted on the fourth floor. Proceede as you would.”

---

Fritzi stepped into the armored vehicle Binky was driving and sat in the passenger’s seat.

”So you can show up like a normal person?”

”It’s not as fun, but I do it on occasion.” Fritzi folded one leg over the other. ”So what was so important you couldn’t say so over coms?”

”There’s a big monster coming our way.”

Fritzi hesitated, then reclined in her seat. ”The ‘Holy Diver’ is coming to Pax Septimus? That should be weeks away.”

”Different one. Smaller, but it’s still a behemoth class.” Binky looked at Veronica. ”It’s not too late to call off the opperation.”

”We’re not calling off the operation.” Veronica’s face hardened when she looked at Binky. ”If there’s a behemoth coming our way, it will need to be kept busy.”
Binky closed her eyes. ”Just us? I’m glad you have faith in me, but 30 seconds is all I’m good for. Forgive me if it sounds rude, but there’s a pretty good reason why you didn’t go in there after them. Even if we could hold up a behemoth-”

”We?” Fritzi slapped Binky’s shoulder. ”Binky, someone has to relay information between the agents. You’re going to keep that thing busy by yourself.”

”What!?”

”Besides, 30 seconds is more than enough time for them to finish the mission.” Fritzi adjusted her mic as she prepared to continue with the operation.

---

_{@The World@Hammerman}

It was melee. It was SMASH!

Regina’s arrow, shot in haste as the Huntress prepared for close combat, struck the spear-ape’s shoulder, jerking him back a step. It wasn’t an inconsequential blow, but it had stalled him two steps behind his allies, isolating the brawler ape that she went for. Arcane transfigurations shifting her arm into a bear’s, Regina swung for the ape’s stomach with lethal intent, only for the brawler ape to shift his own stance. Bringing his right foot forward, he twisted his hips and launched a strong right hook as well, catching her not in her exposed left side, but rather in the furry wrist of her right hand. Padded by fur and fat, it wasn’t a blow that could seriously injure her, but the exchange had drastically slowed the velocity of the Huntress’s swipe.

That was the difference between a group of freelancers and a unified Ape Gang: one couldn’t coordinate, while another was a society based upon sacrifice and brotherhood.

No longer threatened by disembowelment, the brawler ape caught her arm as it struck into his side, wrapping both his arms around it while stomping on her right foot as well. Her claws bit deep into his fursuit, poisons causing the ape to shudder and spasm, but his grip held tight, and in his shadow, the spear-ape caught up to her. “RETURN TO MONKE!” they hollered together, before the heavy head of the spear, optimized for hunting bears, thrust for the Huntress’s chest with the desire to take out a lung or her heart before she could break out of the grapple or any of her allies could assist.

Not that Marrie was in any mental state to do so. Viscerally, absolutely, totally, completely disgusted by the Queen of Bees and her kinky sub-bees, the Esper of the Hurricane unleashed her magical onslaught, dramatically ramping up her conversion of the mana within the atmosphere before shooting off a ball of hot winds to the ceiling. The core of a condensed storm arced up and released raging winds unto the cultists below, lacerating the mob of sub-bees who immediately rallied to their Queen’s defense. Spread out as it was, the rebounding effects of her spell were largely ineffectual in inflicting damage, but the overall effects were still clear to be seen: the chiseled, bloodied forms of the sub-bees were now visible for all to see, and goddamn, did they put in the work to look good.

Such single-minded focus upon the Church of the Hive, however, meant that Marrie had ignored the Ape Gang completely, and by the time she heard the crack of the whip, it was already too late. A sharp pain bloomed over her wrist, skin parting and veins bursting as a bullwhip struck with supersonic speed, and even her dagger went flying. The whip ape, three meters away, chortled with a victorious grimace, while the longsword-ape had already maneuvered around the disarmed Marrie, closing off her routes of escape. Like a true master of the sword (only also an ape), the longsword-ape brought his sword up high, blade parallel to the ground, before whispering, “It’s…banana.”

Three slashes flew at her, swift as a flying swallow.

Tetrad’s gambit, one that literally no one saw coming, saw the Gravity Gambler landing behind the initial wave of the Ape Gang instead, her crooked teeth the last thing that the hammer-ape saw before his cranium was dashed against the rusted beams of the warehouse. The war hammer tumbled out of his grasp, floating for another few seconds before crashing into the ground between Tetrad and the others. But while the Esper would’ve loved to find some respite behind more shipping crates, what she didn’t account for was the fact that, despite being bruised and bloodied, the axe-ape and the dual-swords ape were still not broken. Coming in after their brothers did, the weakened but still dangerous ape-bros menaced Tetrad, one on each side of her, both feinting blows in order to try to catch her off-guard and create an opening for the other.

Neither, however, accounted for the disdain of the Queen to who they’ve turned their backs.

“Ingrates! Rapscallions! Neanderthals!” Stained in the blood of her subs but otherwise unharmed, the Queen kicked the backs of one of the men. “Enough of this! Douse them all in holy water and let the judgment of sun and night descend upon them!”

Immediately, the Super Soaker cultists formed a firing line, and as one, they blasted. Six streams of yellow fluid shot out in mathematically-calculated arcs. They doused the axe-ape and the dual-blades ape, some of the fluid splattering onto Tetrad as well…but nothing happened. The apes, between the dangerous foe in front of them and the agony of their own wounds, didn’t register it. The Esper even inadvertently tasted some of it. Sweet?

Oh no. It was sweet.

“UNLEASH!”

The Queen raised her hands to the sky.

“THE!”

She crossed them, clenching her fists.

“HIVE!!!”

And with violent force, swung her arms forwards.

From her arms, from her weeping sores, larvae shot out in the hundreds, before rapidly transforming mid-flight into a swarm of bees. Still covered in human pus and blood, they rushed singlemindedly for the apes, covering both of them in an instant. Right before Tetrad’s eyes, the apes that had menaced her were reduced to a frenzied mound of vibrating wings and mutual destruction. The apes stumbled about, swaying like drunkards, and ultimately collapsed within seconds, their flesh having swollen so much that it burst out the seams of their ape-suits. And though many of the bees have died in the process, dozens more hadn’t yet sacrificed their lives for their Hivemother, and buzzed now, forming another swarm to descend upon the honey-scented Tetrad.

Not all magic in the world was blessed. Some of it was cursed as all fuck.

…

In the distance too, the strumming of bass and an acoustic guitar sounded, gradually increasing in volume. A new challenger was approaching.

---

_{@Majoras End}

Fable didn't even get a chance to finish talking to the girl(?) before ze burst out into tears. ze used one of zir hands to cover zir heart shaped irises.

"Mastress! Are you alright?" The puppet placed a reassuring mitten on the back of Zir head.

"Today has been troubling, so troubling!" The girl(?) stared at a spot on the table. "It all started when Elm got outside." Ze stood up. "He's a troublesome mutt. Our front yard is fenced in, but did you know that grass gets wet in the morning? He tracked it all over the house! My parents were beside themselves, but I don't think any of them were as upset as I was." Mary paced back and forth in front of the table. "I got on web cam with Jake later, and despite xe being my friend for months, they forgot that I wear purple when I need to be referred to as 'Zir.' Xe's genderfluid, and I remember xer color codes! They're the same as mine!" With a huff, Mary Folded Zir arms. "Then I went to school, it was the usual, with the other kids whispering just out of earshot. Even the private music instructors who greeted me back home can't help but do it now." Ze circled around the table to Fable's side. "I thought I could sneak out and have a drink at the Great Escape. It just opened, and I'm always on the lookout for new hangouts. But it seems this was a bust too."

"Or at least, it would have been!" Denny flung his paws up.

"You are a good listener, Fable." Ze kept zir hands behind their back. "You are the single best thing that has happened to me all day, perhaps all week." Despite the clear positive intent of zir words, zir tone and expression remained grave. Almost like even ze couldn't believe what ze was saying. "But I don't know your pronouns yet." Ze reached a hand for Fable's seat. "Perhaps when you arrive in my room, you can tell me what they are?"

She was right. Marrie's bad feeling was right, and it was the correct decision to duck behind cover as well. Unfortunately, she had exposed herself too much in her attack, and was disarmed. Another of the "apes" had appeared only to recreate Sasaki Kojiro's Tsubame Gaeshi in a twisted and nightmarish form, directed straight at her. She'd be dead, if it weren't for one minor detail... She tripped. As she was struck by the whip, she was already jumping back into cover from the "bees'" super soakers, and while she dropped her knife, more importantly she was thrown well off balance.

"It's... banana." she heard just before the first strike hit her in the arm, causing a deep wound but completing her rotation so that the sword's following strikes missed her vital areas. Though her shirt was torn up and her face armor was sliced straight open, she was still alive.

As the warm air circled around the area, the bees riding its currents, only one thought passed through her mind.

Oh, fuck THIS.

She went to cast her magic when... *poof*. Her Style dissipated into wind, cold enough to cause a tiny current, but nowhere near enough to do what she was hoping. At least her wounds faded away, but now she was screwed. Although... She was no longer damaged, and she was certainly not out of shape, but compared to... Wait. She glanced at Tetrad. Marrie might not make it out of here, but she'd be damned if she didn't at least try to help the other two.

Well, the other one, since it seemed that the other Freelancer was in even more trouble than herself. So as she put her plan into action, she shouted, "Transform twice!" ducking to the longsword-wielding "ape" that was now in front of her, sending all of her strength into a single kick to its testicles, assuming and hoping that it had them. As soon as it reacted to the pain, she would grab its sword or her instrument, whichever was closer, and stab the bastard in the neck with it.

After all, the only ones who should kill are those prepared to be killed. She'd given in to the inevitable, and was ready to throw away her non-fatal principles for now.

---

"Miss Wukong forgot about Dread Incarnate having these quo- ...Nope. Nope! Not today, bitch!!"
Current Location: The Great Escape

Fable flinched when Mary broke down into tears. Not wanting to be rude, he quietly listened to zir venting. A stressful day, that he could tell. Though he was still slightly confused, he kept his eyes on the two as Mary began to move. Cautious, yet there was no ill intent. Atleast none that he couldn't hide. When ze moved to his side of the table, the boy's hold on his grimore tightened. He had a bad feeling about this.

Mary's words alone were concerning. He hadn't done much to deserve such praise, if genuine. Was this week really that bad on zir? But that wouldn't matter. For someone of his background, danger was to be expected. Especially in a town like Pax Septimus. Such was the reason why Fable had to be careful when out in the town, even with stuff like monsters.

So an attempted kidnapping in public like this is bound to set off some "Get the Hell Out of Here!" alarms.

Quickly, Fable shot up from his seat and threw his cup of coffee at Mary's face, intending to blind zir long enough to buy himself time. "Sorry, but there's not a snowball's chance in Hell I'm letting myself get abducted like this!!" The boy yelled, dashing out of the Diner.

After her report, Valkyrie received a reply from her superior and fellow agent, she had expected Veronica to have some reservations against this slight deviation from the plan, but fortunately Jacqueline backed up her up. There was no time to explain everything, but she believed that the good doctor was familiar with the notion that even the best laid-out plans wouldn't survive first contact with the enemy. The flexibility to adapt to on-field conditions was an important skill to have for any field operatives worth their salt. "Understood. Valkyrie, out."

Wukong would be joining, huh? Wonderful, she would appreciate any help she could get, she had this feeling at the back of her mind that she might have bitten more than that she could chew, but there's no place for hesitation on the battlefield.

Focusing her sights on the Commissoner's Office's window from her vantage point, she could see that it had seen better days, certainly thanks to Leroux's seismic show. There was a safe though, could it be that it contain whatever these mobsters are looking for? "...?!" Nevertheless, she didn't have much time to ponder as it became painfully clear that King Cobra and his rhumba were already expecting her. "Tch!" The brunette esper immediately took cover under the window as no less than nine goons began firing at her, two of them heavily-armored and wielding military-grade weapons.

"Nnnngh!!" She gritted her teeth as hails upon hails of bullets of all manner of calibers were being shot at her direction, causing a cacophony of those distinctive thunks of ballistic projectiles striking against concrete. "Valkyrie reporting! The tangos have military arsenal! Will attempt to neutralize them! Over!" Just as she was done shouting at the intercom, a peculiar 'bullet', fatter and rounder than the rest, flew into the window and bounced a few times against the hallway floor... before it spewed copious amount of thick white gas.

Fucking lachrymator grenade?! Alright, think fast, Sil, think fast, you either stay here and be suffocated while bawling your eyes out or move and risk getting shot, neither of those sounded good, but such was the reality. Regardless, she wasn't going to be bullied without a fight, but before she made her decision, there was one thing she must do first.

"Fuh..." Holding her breath, her arms surged with orange sparks as they traveled from her limbs into her rifle, causing Teslic Gauss' coils to begin glowing with supernatural power. Her brows frowned deeply as she quickly rose from cover, aimed at the Armored LMG Mobster, then pulled the trigger...

BOOM!!

A literal bolt of orange lightning launched from the coils, reaching the speed of thousands of miles per second in an instant. A destructive piercing melody cast through the beam note. It was aimed dead center at LMG Mobster's forehead, aiming to pierce through his helmet, cranium, and splatter his brain all over the office. If the Allfather's willing, it should continue traveling to hit whoever was behind the main target, grievously wounding if not outright neutralizing them.

Wasting no time to examine the results of her melody, Valkyrie immediately bolted away from her position while covering her nose and mouth with one hand, trying her best to maneuver through the veritable storm of bullets!

"Wukong! Do something about that grenadier!"

---

Goddamnit. The very fact that buckshot blasted the corner of the stairwell meant that her plan didn’t pan out perfectly, and worse than that? It looked like it just made shotgun gal look even better than before! And there was a butler too now, a real bastard of an old man who should’ve retired rather than join the mob. Apollo’d probably love that gun though.

It was also a fact though, that guns killed more Espers than anything else combined, so Klava did what she did best.

“Sayonara, suckers!” With a cool two-finger salute, the dark-haired maiden leapt backwards, arcing her spine so that it just grazed over the jagged edges of the smashed-open windows. Bullets from the submachine gun whizzed out, flying out the building, but she was already dropping at this point, her body tucking naturally into a ball as she tumbled without incident onto the concrete. Thank god for peak human capability, really. Springing back onto her feet, Klava brushed her fringes with her fingers, making sure her hair was still tidy, before striding casually into the precinct again.

“Hey guys,” she waved, crystalizing and throwing another Frostblade Grave in her hands in that same motion. One of the shieldbros that served as a rearguard for Viper froze in his tracks, encased in ice, and his form blocked the other from retreating up further into the staircase. Easy pickings for any Esper here, really. “There’s a lot more guns up on the second floor, so if you don’t hustle, I think getting up the stairs will be pretty much impossible considering the bullets that’re gonna go our way.”

"Arghhh!"

Regina screamed the moment the brawler ape stomped on her foot. She tried to move her claw for another attack, only to find that the ape already had it locked in place with its own hands.

Tch, this is why I don't like fighting in a cramped space like this!

And then, as she struggled to pull her claw away from the ape, she saw another ape going in with a spear.

This is bad! I have to retreat!

Before the spear could hit her, she dispelled her claw—allowing her now smaller hand to slip away. With her other free hand, she aimed the palm right towards the entrance of the warehouse. She then fired a green projectile there, utilizing her Blink capability to teleport away from the ape. It should grant her the much needed respite from the apes or that bee woman that had just appeared.

Wait, bee woman? Since when was she there?

She landed with a silent thump, courtesy of her esper ability. Nimble was her landing, bending over her legs to a crouching position to absorb the impact. She was already used to falling from trees, so this distance was nothing to her.

She barely paused. She stood up immediately and looked above her, wanting to find a good vantage point to fire her bows from. Screw fighting those apes on the ground!

All the while the screams of the apes echoed across the room as bees went in to swarm them. She wasn’t sure what was happening, only that it could be nothing good.

And that unsightly bee woman… Perhaps she should be her next target.

---

_{@The World@Hammerman@ERode}

Well, shit.

Is probably what Luna’s inner monolog would look like if she had one. The monkey men creeped her out enough by just existing. Now they were standing right beside her, waving their arms and twitching to get her to react. Her eyes darted between the two. She had a white knuckle grip on Pit Boss, but hesitated firing. Regardless of who she attacked, it would create an opening for the other one. Sweat was running down her forehead, and she couldn’t wait for this nightmare to bee over.

Though Luna had a brief reprieve from her terror when the mist girl’s melody activated. Sure, it was an impressive spell and the destruction it caused made her feel less lost than before. But hot diggity dog, Those were some epic pecs those guys were rocking. It was a shame they were weird honey worshiping cultists, but in the moment she didn’t care. She wasn't even phased when said hot guys covered her and the two apes in some yellow sticky fluids. It didn’t taste half bad either. Not that she had given consent for such a thing, but- Oh no, not the bees!

Luna wasn’t about to just stand there like a dope while the bees went to work on the ape men. She knew she was next if she didn’t do something about the honey she was stuck with, or at least the bees. But when she turned around to run, she became aware of the peril the freelancers were in. It didn’t really surprise her, but she had hoped they would have faired better. But Luna knew she had set her hopes kind of high. Who would expect a snooty person like Huntress to be a team player? “Uhhh, a hunter is a hunter who lives when they are not hunted.” Or whatever nugget of chuuni wisdom she’d use in the situation. If there was going to be any teamwork among the espers, she was going to need to foster it herself.

She slid Pit Boss over her shoulder while she ran to the mist girl’s position. She snatched up the hammer while sprinting as fast as she could manage. A good Olympic runner can run about 20 miles per hour, which is close to the speed bees fly at. So as long as she didn’t stop, she shouldn't get stung. In theory, at least. When she was in close proximity to the mist girl’s position, Luna slid onto her knees and slapped the floor with her free hand.

”All bets are off!”

When Luna touched the ground, the area was filled with a repulsive energy. The repulsive energy of… dirty dirty gym socks! The surrounding 20 foot space smelled like an old gym locker, and even the confetti the melody produced looked like they might have been made out of old socks. While it would smell bad to the espers, the monkey men, and especially the bees, would find it so repugnant it actually pushed them away! That should give the girl a bit of breathing room, and protect them from any incoming honey or bees for the time being.

”Something’s coming, and I don’t think it’s backup.” If an ape man made the mistake of trying to stay in the repulsive area to harass the mist girl, Luna would just crack her newly acquired hammer against the side of his skull. Having the physical might of a weight lifter wasn’t something Luna took advantage of often as an esper, but it came in handy for times like this. ”I’ll focus on keeping you safe. Just deal with the threats as they come.” She’d add something about getting her grimoire back if she hadn’t recovered it already. ”If we’re distracting enough, maybe Huntress can sneak in close.”

Did Huntress hear that? Of course she did that selfish chuuni wanna be loner who can’t stop-

Well there wasn't really much for him to do, honestly. Most of his abilities as an esper came from either healing or supporting his allies against the chaotic menace. He still had a gun, though.

With his shield running forward, Apollo had no choice but to follow. He ran forwards, pistol in hand and avoiding bullets. With his head low trying to avoid random gunfire, he noticed the dripping blood from his shield. If it were their face or arms, he wouldn't really care. However, those were the legs that let his protector move around. If they couldn't move, they couldn't move to protect him. With a glowing hand, he slapped the protector's ass in a locker room act. A glowing feeling washed over the two of them, the protector's slight wounds being washed away to little more than a stain.

Then, he began to unload the pistol at the gunmen that weren't within the radius of her pull.

Wait, why was there a waiter? This was a precinct ambush. Nevermind that.

He dropped the pistol once the magazine emptied and went to pick up another gun from the shoddy pile to continue his not-aimed-at-allies assault.

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