[COLOR=GRAY][indent][COLOR=silver][sup][b]| A Day Ago[/b][/sup][/COLOR]
[indent][color=darkgray][i]The corridors of the former Black Site had always given Naira Cameron the creeps. But she walked with pride, the Harbinger had chosen her.  There was something exhilarating about being in the presence of the Harbinger, they had an atmosphere about them that commanded respect, Naira couldn’t help but be in awe of the power they wielded from the makeshift throne they sat upon.

For the past year, Naira had been working for the Harbinger using her ability to maintain the alias of Pallyx Penada. Under this alias, the Harbinger had been able to get Pallyx into the system and ultimately onto Team Blackjack, a personal sleight against the chancellor’s former team and both Thaddeus Finch and Andrew Olyphant who personally defied Hyperion. 

With the announcement of the degrees being stripped away from Pacific Royal, the opportunity to further drive a wedge between the students and the Foundation was at hand. It was simply the icing on the cake to ensure Blackjack suffered for Orcinus’ gain. Pallyx would simply leave, and Naira would move to the next part of the Harbinger’s plan.

A gloved hand reached towards Naira, holding within it a small USB drive.

[color=#ffffff]“You’ve done well this far, my child. Truly you are a Child of Hyperion.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]"The winds are blowing."[/color] Naira replied with a bow.

[color=#ffffff]"But the surface is still." [/color]The Harbinger answered, [color=#ffffff]“You will need faculty access to the Trial, with your talents, but also you’ll need the student card of one of the Trial’s architects to write the code. Opportunity won’t knock twice, we need to strike while they’re confused and vulnerable.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Yes, Harbinger.”[/color] Naira stood to rise, [color=#ffffff]“And should any of ours become ensnared in the trap?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Then they die for the glory of Hyperion.”[/color][/i][/color][/indent][/indent][CENTER][COLOR=dimgray]
[sup]________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/COLOR][img]https://i.imgur.com/sXtoHzA.png[/img][/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=silver][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]The Southern Plateau[/I] - [I]Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=silver][b]Hope In Hell #2.035:[/b][/COLOR] [I]No Angels[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][COLOR=dimgray][SUP][sub]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/SUP][/COLOR][INDENT][sub][color=silver][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]None[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=silver][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [I]Cult of Personality[/I][/right][/SUP]
[INDENT][color=#ffffff]“Structural integrity is currently at 61%.”[/color]

Another blast rocked the Manticore before the sound of something slicing into its armor filled the cabin. The back door was suddenly pried from its hinges as Naira climbed out, smiling smugly to her awaiting cohorts. 

[color=#ffffff]“Structural integrity is currently at 39%. Vehicle stability is compromised.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“What do we do with him?”[/color] 

[color=#ffffff]“We have to kill him, he knows too much.”[/color] Naira replied, [color=#ffffff]“The whole faculty is onto us, the mission is a failure. If we kill the Chancellor we have a chance to get away.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“If we kill the Chancellor, it’s an open declaration of war.”[/color] Replied a male voice.

[color=#ffffff]“We already did that the minute we tampered with the Trial.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“She’s right.”[/color] A female voice interjected. 

[color=#ffffff]“I’m not doing it,”[/color] The male snapped, [color=#ffffff]“Hyperhumans shouldn’t be killing other Hyperhumans, we’re supposed to be lifting each other up.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Sometimes,”[/color] Naira responded with a cruel smirk,[color=#ffffff] “You have to crack a couple of eggs to make an omelette.”[/color] She turned to the woman beside her, [color=#ffffff]“If Adam won’t do it, how about you?”[/color]

Picking up a nearby rock, the women smiled before charging it with kinetic energy, turning the stone from a projectile into a grenade.

[color=#ffffff]“Jim wrote my parents last year, said I was a troubled youth, I spent my entire summer break bouncing from therapist to therapist. He wasted my summer, I’m happy to waste him.”[/color]

She launched the rock into the vehicle, the explosion quickly engulfed the interior while Adam shook his head.

[color=#ffffff]“I can’t believe it came to this.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Where’s the beast?”[/color] Naira teased, [color=#ffffff]“Never would I expect Lindsay to have more of a wild side than you.”[/color]

Adam roared, bearing his long, pointed teeth as the animal-like Hyperhuman gave a sullen look towards the burned-out vehicle. 

[color=#ffffff]“Suppose you want me to drag that wreck into the ocean-”[/color] He started to ask before a violet glow from the vehicle caught his attention. Turning to Lindsay, he raised a furry brow, [color=#ffffff]“Is that you-”[/color]

The words didn’t make it out of his mouth before a wall of psychic energy smashed into his face, toppling Adam into the thick trunk of a nearby tree. From the other side of the vehicle, the driver’s side door exploded open as Jim toppled onto the ground, encased in a glow bubble of psionic energy. Lindsay smiled, reaching into the pouch she wore and producing a sleeve of metal slugs. Ejecting one into her hands, it immediately began to glow before she hurled the charged object towards Jim. Raising his metal arm and projecting a shield in front of it, Jim braced for the impact.

The explosion caused his eyes to blur as he was temporarily blinded while his cowboys dug into the soft moss covered floor of the ravine. He slid backwards, before turning to retaliate. 

[color=#ffffff]“Ainsworth, why I am not surprised y’all are caught up in this mess.”[/color] Jim drawled sarcastically.

[color=#ffffff]“Go to hell!”[/color] Lindsay replied while repeatedly pelting Jim with explosives. Behind her, Naira looked between Lindsay and Adam before ultimately making a run for it, abandoning the other Orcinus members. 

[color=#ffffff]“Oh, you bitch.”[/color] Lindsay snapped from between gritted teeth while Jim began to close ground. [color=#ffffff]“You better hope he kills me, Cameron! I’m coming for you, next!”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“I’d pay more attention to the fight y’all are in before picking more.”[/color] Jim suddenly leapt over the wreckage of the vehicle that had been separating the pair. Lindsay didn’t have time to react before suddenly Jim was tackled out of the air. A roar echoing through the trees as Adam re-entered the fray. His eyes were gone to bloodlust as the bear-like man tackled Jim to the ground. Jim winced as his skull bounced off a rock, his impact barely padded by a hastily made shield.

Scrambling for his sidearm, Jim managed to draw it from his holster only for Adam’s claws to tear it from his hand, sending the large revolver spinning across the verdant forest floor.  Adam reared his head back, his pointed ears flat against the mane-covered skull. His protruding jaws snapped open, before rushing towards Jim’s neck. 

Raising his metal arm, Jim grimaced as Adam bit down hard enough to bend and dent the metal shell. But it was the moment he needed. Using Adam’s locked jaw as leverage, Jim managed to get out from the much larger man, scrambling towards his firearm before coming face to face with the barrel of his own gun. 

The weapon floated in front of him, the safety pulled back as none other than Teresa Torres stood near the wrecked Manticore. Lindsay’s eyes darted from Jim to Torres and then back to Jim with a smile. The birds in the trees above suddenly made themselves sparse as the sound of the revolver echoed through the trees.[/indent][/indent][/color]