[IC] The Gifted: Hunters

[TheDarkTemplar]

---

DMA Headquarters
Rome, Upstate New York
October 31, 2021
10:35pm

It had been about six hours since the conclusion of Thorne and Kerch's latest mission. He was currently back at HQ in his cell awaiting his next assignment. His "cell" was a rather comfortable one for DMA prisoner standards, the spacious room was customized to his requested specifications as it featured a very modern lounge area connected to a bathroom and bedroom at opposite sides of the cell. A TV was hooked up to receive most television channels but could easily be taken over by command to communicate with him whenever they pleased. A computer terminal was set up in his bedroom but heavy censorship restricted him from communicating with the outside world. His cell was a five star hotel compared to the other prisoners here but that was because Thorne was probably their best behaved inmate so far. Even with his good record, Thorne was not to different from the rest as he was forced to wear the containment collar whenever he was onsite. If a prisoner escaped their cell they would have the opportunity to release every other metahuman at this facility. To deter that from happening, every inmate had to wear containment collars, each specifically designed to be invulnerable to whatever abilities they possessed. If an inmate attempted to escape they could easily and very quickly be made docile as the collar would commonly send a very high voltage of electricity through their body, enough to incapacitate or kill them if need be. Thorne was sitting on his living room couch watching TV when suddenly it switched off to a video feed of Dr. Hayden, Site 47's Overseer and Chief Asset Handler. Dr. Hayden was a stern looking man in his mid 50s who spoke with a low and imposing voice with distinct age to its sound. "Sergeant Thorne, report to the vehicle depot immediately, your team is receiving new assets as well as a new assignment", Hayden was about to cut the video feed when he noticed Thorne was in the processing of replying. "It'd be nice to know why I'm getting a new team member and a new mission so soon", Thorne asked as he got up from his couch and headed towards his clothes closet.

"Not member, members. Your two man team with Agent Kerch requires bolstering for your next assignments. A DMA transport convoy was ambushed in Manhattan on its way to this facility. A large number of metahuman fugitives were in that convoy and have now escaped. Your team is responsible for finding and recapturing those escaped metahumans as well as investigating who orchestrated the ambush and bringing them in as well. If capture is not possible, you have clearance to kill. Further details will be given by Dr.Carson in the vehicle depot", without another word TV switched off, leaving Thorne in the dark of his room with only his thoughts to accompany him. "Sounds like we'll be away from home for a while", he said to himself before exiting his cell and heading towards the armory.

At the vehicle depot, Thorne found Dr.Carson standing by an armored personell carrier looking very out of place. She was incredibly focused on her tablet, going over her notes and research she didn't even notice Thorne standing right next to her, reading over her notes as well before saying, "Yeah I don't understand any of this". Dr. Carson let out a short yelp upon realizing she wasn't alone, stumbling away from Thorne she tried desperately to collect herself before speaking. "My research is classified for all non R&D personnel! I could get in serious trouble if anyone found out you saw this!", Carson's words were hushed and frantic as she tried not to bring to much attention to the two of them. The vehicle depot was a large chamber with numerous personnel nearby, however the drone of vehicles being worked on drowned out her voice from being heard by anyone except herself and Thorne. "No one is going to find out, Abby, now what's this about my new teammates you have me down here for?", Thorne leaned on the side of the APC, waiting for the obvious response by Carson as he loved to annoy her when he had the chance, she was cute when she was irritated. "How many times to I have to tell you, Sergeant Thorne, you are to address me as Dr. Carson and only Dr. Carson", the doctor rested her head in hand before looking back to her tablet. "How many years have I been here and you refuse to relax around me? I'm starting to think you don't like me, Abby", Thorne smiled from behind his mask, he wanted to see how long it'd be before Carson turned red with frustration again. "If your intention is for our relationship to be anything more than myself being your handler then you are sorely mistaken Sergeant Thorne", Carson didn't even turn her eyes from her tablet as she began to type in new notes and theories as to her current project. As for Thorne, he probably wasn't going to get anything else out of her until the rest showed up. For now he'd just sit in the APC, checking his weapon and use his mask's HUD to stream movies.

[Cubix]

His mission was simple: take the man down. Fairly simple, if the thrasher refused to become docile, Avis would use his own ability to make him sleep. If he particularly liked the person, he would just shut down his senses, but in the case of rambunctious and arrogant ones, Avis was more than willing to make them writhe on the ground. However, the one he and Sergeant Thorne had captured six hours back was the scared and nervous one. Like a coup de grace, Avis removed the man's five senses until he couldn't even feel his own breathing. Thorne's words proved absolute, and Avis' role was to follow. That was much understood between their two-man cell, and one would even believe that the two hunters were not even friends to begin with.

But, amidst all of these thoughts, Avis couldn't help but sigh at the ceiling of his rather quaint prison. A single-sized bed laid at the right side of the rectangular cell. Opposite the bed stood a desk with a lamp and some few notebooks and pens that strewed about. At the end of the room was a separate, albeit smaller space for the toilet and the shower. A medium-sized wardrobe stood guard beside the bathroom door. While the entire set-up was unlike that of a prison, the steel metallic door that blocked Avis' room made the lad think otherwise. In fact, whenever his retainers would come to deliver his food, the young lad was required to shut his eyes until they all left the room. It wasn't weird or anything, but their hostile treatment of a rather cooperative agent was disturbing and, frankly, annoying. But, compared to Thorne's, Avis' room was indeed something that would drive a normal person mad. After all, there was no T.V or anything. So, in order to pass the time, Avis often just got to writing stories and poems. But, if one were to ask if the lad regretted willingly joining the Hunters, then, he would give out a weak nod.

At the moment, Avis rested on his back as he continued to look up at the ceiling as he laid on his bed. His heterochromic eyes danced upon the ceiling, imagining his life when he wasn't arrested and imprisoned in this place. But, if there was something that his brother used to say, it was the mere fact that everyone got to where they were now because they were meant to be there. If the fates dictated that Avis' place was meant to be in a maddeningly boring cell, then, so be it. He was just there to follow, nothing more. Of course, the years of having no means for release did mean that he had soiled his blankets more than often, but it was the only thing he could think of to prevent himself from imagining friends prancing around his room. Besides, one of the retainers promised him a T.V set if he continued to follow orders diligently, and by the gods, he was going to get that monochrome T.V.

However, as he was about to fall into a well-deserved sleep, the small metal sliding window on top of his door opened as a voice called out from the outside. "Kerch, get up. Command wants you to go to the Vehicle Depot for some briefings and tasks." One of the retainers said in a gruff and grumpy tone. "Now, shut your eyes. We're coming in."

It didn't take more than a few minutes before the group of retainers had attached an eldritch, rather uncomfortable steel cover on his eyes. The opaque steel rectangular eye-wear was bound by an arching lock which latched itself at the back of Avis' head. Whether the preparations were an overkill or not, Avis decided not to comment. Every time he was brought out of his cell and into the base grounds, he was always required to wear this crap. And, he always had escorts with him since he couldn't see from the steel eye-wear. At least, Thorne trusted him enough to not turn coats when he was without these needless apparels. So, as the triad of retainers hauled him off to the vehicle dept, Avis stumbled a few times as he couldn't really see where he was going. But, at least, he reached the vehicle depot unscathed, albeit blind.

"You can take that off. Thorne's there to keep him in check." One of the retainers instructed, causing the other two to insert a key inside the steel ring, loosening the lock which caused the steel eye-wear to fall to the ground with a noisy clatter. The triad immediately gathered the locks before bolting off back to their stations. It would seem that they were in a worry to get out of Avis' sights.

"I must say, it's really hard for everyone to trust me, isn't it?" Avis remarked coolly, blinking the dark spots away from his vision. His eyes settled on Thorne who sat inside the open APC before he performed a shoulder-bow. "Sarge," Avis acknowledged his commanding officer before turning to one of their known handlers. "Doc Carson." He smiled before turning again to his officer. "It's just been six hours since our last deployment to that psychic rogue. What ever happened to taking a break, huh?" The boy laughed as he wiped some tears out of his eyes. "What seems to be the situation, doc? It's been a while since we've been stretched like this. I'm guessing this ain't some normal, everyday case. Because, if it was, you wouldn't be sending me and Sergeant Thorne out again."

[TheDarkTemplar]

One of the outer eyes of Thorne's mask turned to look at Avis as he came around to the rear entrance of the APC. The high pitched whirring of its motors as it aimed itself at the younger metahuman made Thorne seem more machine than man. Thorne returned Avis' slight bow with a nod of his head before returning to his rifle. "What seems to be the situation, doc? It's been a while since we've been stretched like this. I'm guessing this ain't some normal, everyday case. Because, if it was, you wouldn't be sending me and Sergeant Thorne out again.", Avis' comment received a short scoff from Thorne as he answered, "They send their best without even asking first, ain't that right Abby?". Abigail tried to show any irritation by his comment as she turned from her tablet to address Avis. "I'd prefer to explain everything once our whole team is here", Abigail looked over to the other end of the depot and a slight smirk appeared on her face "and here is our newest member now".

A black haired woman with red and grey eyes was carried in on a vertical stretcher and strapped into a straight jacket. She was unnaturally still as she was being carried in, almost as if she was dead. Once she was at the APC with the others, one of the guards strapped a collar to her neck and handed a wristband to Thorne. "Your field handler will be at the crime scene. Give this to him...she's your problem now", the guard didn't wait around for a response. By the time Thorne was done examining the wristband, the guard and his team were already walking back. "Abigail, mind explaining who the hell this is?", Thorne stood beside the stretcher which held back their new teammate and examined her with all four eyes. "This is Agent Gray. She's a Type 1 that was transferred from Site 77", Dr. Carson had a confident smile on her face which quickly faded once she made eye contact with the muzzled Agent Gray.

"Still doesn't explain why you've got her locked up like this", Thorne wasn't impressed by the way they carted their new teammate in here. Partially because this was just cruel treatment but mainly because anyone who had to be brought in here like this was going to be trouble in the field.

"Agent Gray is not a very obedient asset. She's assaulted multiple DMA officers and has tried in the past to escape custody"

"Maybe it's not the best idea to give the key to this girl's freedom to a fellow meta, eh?", Thorne tossed the wristband to Dr.Carson who quickly strapped it on. "Well, now that we're here we should probably get into the APC. I'll explain everything on the way. Sergeant Thorne, would you please unrestrain Agent Gray?", Abigail quickly climbed into the back entrance of the APC, almost hitting her head on the roof in the process. Meanwhile, Thorne carefully approached Agent Gray's stretcher, making sure to look for any signs of aggression...or rather any signs of sudden attack. "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't try to kill me as soon as thes restraints come loose", he said as he removed her muzzle. Next came the straps that pinned her to the stretcher but as he reached for the fasteners Agent Gray spoke, "If I wanted to kill you, I'd already have made you tear out your own throat with your bare hands". Gray didn't even blink as she spoke, nor did she even look down at Thorne who took a step back to check with Abigail. "Did you just fucking hear this shit?!", he said in disbelief as he turned to Abigail and Avis. "What happened?", Dr. Carson looked back with confusion

"Nothing...Christ", Thorne stared back at Agent Gray who was now glaring back at him with her fiery eyes though she didn't say another word as he slowly removed the restraints. Once all that was left was the last buckle on the straight jacket, Agent Gray ripped off the jacket by herself before silently climbing into the APC and sitting directly in front of Avis.

The APC's driver started up the vehicle and in seconds they were off and headed towards Manhattan. "Alright, some of you are aware of the situation already, as for the rest of you listen closely. Roughly thirty minutes ago a DMA convoy headed towards a processing facility outside of NYC was ambushed just as it entered the Upper West Side of the city. Four APCs were attacked and all four were breached. The rogue metahumans escaped and are now in hiding somewhere in the city. Checkpoints have been placed at all major routes leading out of the city. If they try to leave, our operatives will find them. Our job is to find the ones listed on this transport manifest that are still in the city and bring them to a local blacksite for holding until we find those responsible for the attack and either capture or execute them. Right now, we are headed towards the ambush site to meet up with your field handler. He was with the convoy when it got hit so he'll have important eyewitness information for us. From there we will head to the blacksite and set up a base of operations there. Once everything is ready we are advised to get to work as soon as possible"

"As soon as possible eh? Well, if that's the case then I'm getting what precious minutes of sleep I can have. Wake me when we get there. If Gray tries to kill us then don't wake me", Thorne laid across the open seats and in a matter of minutes he was fast asleep. As for Agent Gray, she remained awake, eyeing both Dr.Carson and Avis in complete silence. This was going to be a long ride.

4 Hours Later

The squad arrived on W 86th St to find a row of destroyed APCs, heaps of burning metal with dead DMA operatives being dragged from the wreckage. DMA Containment Squads had already taped off the area to the public and were beginning their investigation; collecting debris from the wrecks, taking eyewitness reports, the usual routine. Once they were past the tape line, Dr. Carson immediately began taking notes of what she observed before addressing the team. "I'll look for the field handler assigned to you all. In the meantime, Thorne, take your team and see what you can gather from the wreckage"

[Zetsuko]

Daemon tapped his foot in the back of the APC, He's been attached to another team and was being transferred to the facility along with a number a metahuman fugitives in anoth-BOOOOM!

An explosion took out the first APC of the convoy and his took a hard turn before being hit itself. It tumbled over sideways throwing him and the other DMA agents around inside of it. When it finally stopped most of the agents beside him were either injured or dead, and him making it out fine thanks to his armor. There was gunfire outside as the rest of the convoy tried to return fire.

once out of the burning APC he fell in beside some other agents in providing cover as the wounded were pulled out of the APC and moved to cover on the side of the road. One of the agents had gotten the radio from the APC and was calling for reinforcements and they ended up hunkering down on the side of the road until the combat started to die down as the attacked ended, and even then they stayed there until reinforcements came.

---

By the time reinforcements got there the attackers and any surviving fugitives were long gone, and now that they could assess the damage they found that they were the only survivors of the attack but they hadn't seen the attackers from their position as most of the area had been obscured by the fires and smoke from the wrecked APCs.

Daemon was looking over the wreckage along with the contamination team as the wounded were dealt with. By one of the APCs he found something that seemed out of place. On the bodies of two people that weren't DMA but didn't seem to be metahumans either he found a log file marked operation Mad Hatter. Before he could review it his attention was turned to another APC arriving and he recognized Dr. Carson from her file, just as he was about to signal to her he whirled back around and raised his weapon, eyes scanning over the area just beyond the wrecked APC. Someone was there, and his HuD indicated that they weren't DMA...@13org

[13org]

Nótt

After everything that happened on the lab, the only thing that Nótt could do is search for the so called DMA. Without a place to live, train or stay, her only choice was to find the DMA. After all, the enemies of my enemies are my friends.

For a long time, Nótt idly walked around the town, still searching for the DMA guys, but thanks to her curious nature, she was stopping by every corner, amazed even by the small stores she passed by, drawing curious stares and curious reactions to the weird, overjoyed woman.
"DMA... DMA... I never thought that it would be that hard to find them..." she mumbled to herself as she walked down the street.
As much as she tried to not draw attention, it was kind of difficult, especially with the weird outfit she was wearing, and the cybernetic implants shining a faint blue light on her spine, under her clothes.
She made it using the rest of the armor and clothes from the aftermath of the failed Mad Hatter operation.
Even if didn't liked talking about those times, the lab and all that, she took a liking to the outfit, as it turned out to be quite fashionable (By her standards).

Outfit

Suddenly, she heard a loud explosion. Surprised, she ran to the noise to see what happened.
"Oh... Talking on the devil... Here they are!" she said with a smile, looking to the DMA APCs, but her smile faded, as she realized that the APS were attacked.
"No... no no! I spent literally months trying to found these guys..." she said, running to the place where the APC wreckings were.

Apparently, she was already too late, as the reinforcements had already arrived.
"Good, the reinforcements arrived. I was looking for you, I thought that everyone was dead though!" she said letting out a smile, innocently invading the investigation area, crossing the tape line.

Getting closer, she saw all the wounded near the APC. "Oh my... What happened here?" She walked to them, trying to understand the situation. "Hm... Looking by the size of this explosion and the nature of the accident... I doubt that it was a regular car crash. What the hell these guys were carrying? she thought to herself, wandering around the APCs.

"Hey, hey! What's happening? No need to be alarmed!" she said, jumping back with a rather too fast and agile reaction to be a regular human, raising her hands after she saw an armored guy raising his weapon, alarmed. "I wont harm you or anything! After all, I've walked the entire town looking for you guys!" She said with a serious face, but letting out a sweet giggle. Oh... and believe me... I have searched you for a very long time... For a organization with dangerous gifted agents, you sure are harder to find than I thought!
"I was told to come and... well... This doesn't matter anymore. I kinda of... Lost everything I had. Well... I didn't have anything to begin with... And the last thing I heard from the people who "took care" of me, was about this M.D.A. I was curious about it and how you treat the metahuman... So here am I." she said calmly, greeting them with a formal bow

@Zetsuko@TheDarkTemplar@Cubix

[Cubix]

To say that Avis was surprised by the arrival of a notorious Agent Gray was an exaggeration. In fact, it seemed to make sense why a dangerous agent such as her was being sent out. The shock collars around their necks was not only used to keep the metahumans under control, but it was also employed as a tool for assassinating targets who are deemed too dangerous. The young lad was willing to bet that the reason they sent a dangerous mutant out was because they were all just waiting for a chance for her to display any signs of rebellion, effectively giving the handlers legitimate excuse to execute her. The handlers performed the same scheme against Avis when the younger agent had been first sent out to the field. His ability to suppress anything in front of him was dangerous on its own, and they wanted to see whether Avis would rebel against the agents. Fortunately, Avis was not slain until this day.

So, if anything, Avis understood at least a little bit of Gray's predicament-- as far as he believed. So, like a good little boy, Avis got inside the APC, sat down at the seat nearest to the front. This way, he had a tactical advantage of seeing everyone inside the vehicle, allowing him to suppress any signs of mutiny-- a rather paranoid advice given to him by Thorne. But, when Gray sat directly opposite of him, for some reason, any urges of sleep and rest left Avis. Deep, red and grey eyes seemed to linger in his mind as the sullen agent's solemn gaze haunted Avis. Her eyes, though dull and lifeless, seemed to hold a long story behind it which could have turned her into the silent, anti-social agent that she was now. He remembered some of the captured metahumans-- they would first enter the facility kicking and hostile, an unquenchable fire in their eyes. But, a few weeks would pass, and Avis would see the same prisoner just as he was being sent out with Thorne. Broken. Whatever torture and experiments were done to them by the crackheads at the DMA slaughtered their fighting spirit, and turned them into mere shells of the humanity they once possessed.

It was sad. But, it was reality.

It was also a reality that Gray refused to avert her gaze as she just sat silent. "I like your eyes," Avis said, his voice calm and cool. "Reminds me of my old life." A gentle smile formed on his lips as the young lad reminisced on the days before his arrest. "But, for some reason, we're all prisoners now." Delicate, hesitant fingers fluttered over the deadly shock collar coiled around Avis' neck as the boy planted feathery touches on his deathtrap. "However, there's always hope. Life's only sweet promise."

And, Avis fell silent for the remainder of the trip as he leaned against the steel wall of the APC; his eyes continued to roam over the other people inside: a sleeping Thorne, a busy Dr. Carson, and a sullen Gray. They weren't much, but they were a team.

---

Roughly four hours passed before the APC came to a halt. Immediately, Dr. Carson ushered the agents out as Avis hopped willingly out of the cramped vehicle. His eyes roved over the wrecks of the ambush spot, spotting another agent not too far down the road while an unknown, albeit suspicious metahuman who was all too willing to reveal her identity to them. If there anything the DMA made Avis understand, it was the fact that cooperative metahumans were just psychos hiding their knives behind their backs, just waiting for the proper time to stab the scientists in the back. And, if this happy-go-lucky gifted was expecting a kind treatment because of her willingness to get captured, then, she'd never been more mistaken than the violent Type 2 who volunteered to be paired up against Avis when the DMA were still testing his abilities. She'd soon find out the horrors of the DMA-- the same horrors Avis went through. At the surge of memories, the young agent unconsciously placed a protective hand over the long scar that outlined his abdomen which was the result of one of their 'experiments'.

"Sergeant Thorne," Avis softly called to his officer as he wiped away the annoying bangs that fell in front of his eyes. "I've got it in my sights. Standing by for orders." His eyes trained on the young looking woman in a combination of strange clothing.

She was a weird one, Avis would say.

"You're an interesting one!" Avis grinned before taking a step forward. "It's not everyday people come looking for us; they often run the other way." And, for good reasons. Avis thought to himself before releasing a soft chuckle. "So, what's your name? I'm called Eyes, agent of the DMA." Oh, and it's better that you start running before I'm forced to catch you. Trust me, you don't want to be experimented on.

[Ace of flames01]

---

---

Sophie had watched as the DMA had quickly closed in on her location, from a shady alley way. Why would they be closing in on such a location on such a lovely day? Well it wasn't because they were going on a picnic, that's for sure. No, the reason why they were here was because, though they didn't realize it yet, they were trying to find her. About 4 hours prior, she had committed a, what the DMA deems as, heinous crime against the government and terrorism; she had just killed a bunch of DMA agents and released multiple metahumans from a convoy on their way to Manhattan, and single handedly at that. Yes, the ambush was orchestrated, and solely done, by her and her alone. Of course, it would make sense why the DMA sent 3 wardens to this location if they knew what they were up against.

They were closing in on her location, and fast. However, just as Sophie was bracing herself for a fight with her thumb pressed firmly against the switch to her lighter, before she could flick the switch and turn everything to ash; a strange girl appeared, that caused her to hesitate and watch as things played out. Of course, when it finally started to look like things were about to get ugly, Sophie finally flicked the switch to her lighter and a wall of fire poured out between the strange girl and the DMA agents. Walking out of the alley way and wearing nothing more than an old, dirty flannel outer layer, maroon camisole, black skinny jeans, and worn out, black sneakers, Sophie quickly analyzed the periphery as she walked over to the girl. "Sorry, boys, but I'm afraid that's as far as you go. I can't let you take another one of my people to that hell hole of a 'research center' and torture another innocent. So do me a huge favor and all of you just piss off!" She said over the wall of fire, stopping at the girl's side, shooting her a quick glare before returning her cool, calm gaze to the 3 DMA agents. She lowered her voice to a murmer so that only the girl could hear her. "Sorry, sweetheart, but I'm afraid I'm cutting your little chat short. I don't know your reason for going after the DMA and I honestly don't give a damn. However, I DO care as to whether or not these assholes experiment on another one of my people. I could be completely wrong and you have this entire situation under control, but I'm not gonna take that risk. So do me a favor and keep your mouth shut and do as I say, so we can both live to fight another day and do what we need to do regarding the DMA, alright?"

She then raised her voice again. "So what's it gonna be, boys? Are you gonna let us walk or we gonna have to talk this out through bullets, Sergeant Thorne?" Her voice became sharp like a razor as she addressed the Sergeant.

[13org]

Nótt

"You're an interesting one!"
"It's not everyday people come looking for us; they often run the other way."

Tilting her head without understanding, she heard the man talking, walking up to her.
"You can call me Nótt, but... why should I run? Aren't you guys from the DMA like the metahuman police? Don't yo...
She started to ask questions, a little confused, but was cut short by a great wall of fire that suddenly bursted out in front of her. With the blink of an eye, Nótt jumped back, her armor covering her body. With an elegant battle posture, she heard the girl talking, with one hand on the hilt of her sword.

RBT-180X

Once the girl finished speaking, she lowered her visor. The girl who they see inside it, was another person. Her eyes cold and without emotions, once there was a happy smile now there was only the face of a killer... an assassin... the face of someone who was nothing but a weapon.

"I see... I think I made a mistake... So you are just like Dr. Faust looking to metahumans as tools and nothing more. Don't caring if they have feelings, for you, we are not even alive, are we?" she spoke, lowering her visor again.

"How silly of me... to think that humans cared about us metahumans... They are all liars, pathetic worms, crawling in their own filth, incapable of feelings other than greed and hate... And you... Why do you serve them? Do you like to be treated like an object?" Even when talking all this, her face was completely emotionless. You could feel nothing, just a terrifying, calm and cold stare.

"Maybe I should follow the last order he gave me, before I killed every single liar in that damned laboratory... This will be interesting MDA... I'll be watching you closely. We metahumans will not stand idly as you butcher, slaughter and torture our kind. We would happily make a truce with you, but you never asked, did you? You never once tried to talk with us... The only words we get are violence and prejudice." As she said this, everyone near her, saving Sophie saw a black shadow-like substance flowing out of her. Moving like a million snakes, it quickly covered the ground. As the substance reached your feet, it started covering you, your vision fading, your hearing failing you, everything became black as the darkest night. All you could feel was the sensation of snakes climbing, moving and constricting your body, and whispers... Too many whispers, a truly maddening cacophony of voices.

Nótt started running so fast that it was only a blur, very difficult to be seen.

"Its your choice, you can run or you can fight, i'll follow you whatever be the next action you take. All of them are under heavy sensory illusions and hallucinations. Make your choice, its dangerous to stand idly near enemies. " She whispered to Sophie. It felt like the wind was whispering, as a white blur, almost like a faint mist, formed around you.

"As to the rest of you, your life hangs in the hands of this girl. If she chooses to spare you, you all should think in what side you should be..." Still running, she raised her voice, talking to the others affected by her illusions. To Sophie, it was just her normal voice, but to them, it sounded like all those whispers talked in unison, directly in your minds.

@Ace of flames01 @Cubix @TheDarkTemplar @Zetsuko

[Zetsuko]

Daemon's seen weirder, he knew what they'd do to her back at the facility, and felt sorry for her for it, but that didn't mean he couldn't be friendly. Before he was even able to say anything however, a wall of flames came up between him and Nótt, and things only escalated rather quickly from there. Another metahuman girl appeared and started shouting at them, Nótt leap back and revealed an armored form under her original clothes, and then his helmet alerted him that a Type 1 effect was active near him and traced it back to Nótt as well.

"Fucking rude" he sighed out

With the other Wardens, as well as the other DMA agents, likely under the effect of Nótt's ability he began charging his Inhibitor. raising his voice as it charged to respond...

"Hey look..."

16%

"...I think we all just need to step back..."

32%

"...Have a deep breath..."

64%

"...And chill"

100% click

The pulse emanated outward from him affecting any metahumans around him, Avis, Thorne, Nótt(maybe), Gray, and that other girl would all be disoriented for a short time, whatever Nótt was doing would likely be interrupted, freeing up the wardens whenever the pulse wore off. He took advantage of the short time to step through the wall of fire, relying on his armor to avoid being burned, and bring up his rifle. He targeted the girl he didn't know first, firing a snare at her to take her out of this fight, his next target would be Nótt if that hit...provided he could get a shot on her.

[TheDarkTemplar]

Thorne was just getting the incident report from one of the Containment Units when that wall of fire went up. The whole street was as bright as Times Square on New Year's. Thorne spun round to find some girl giving speeches and acting all bold and brave. Thorne sensed she was a pyrokinetic, what's interesting about her is that she's just a pyrokinetic and unable to make fire without a source. That was all good and fine, simply finding her source and eliminating it w,ould be enough to take her down. What really caught Throne's attention was that this girl knew his name. Thorne approached the towering fire and stared at the girl from across it.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sergeant Thorne but you already know that. I'm sorry, this is weird but I don't remember you, and I remember everyone I meet. Mind tell-", before he could finish, Daemon fired off that pulse blast of his and everything went to shit. For a moment he couldn't feel anything but a throbbing pain in his head and a serious case of vertigo. "I'm gunna fucking kill them", Thorne thought before pulling up his rifle and firing at the terminator Daemon was currently engaging. "Yeah, right for her god damn head. Gunna blow her fuckin brains out", Thorne was taken back by that thought. "The hell are you thinking, Thorne? You attempt to incapacitate till receiving casualties, what's wrong with you?"

Unknown to him, Gray was already in the fight. Her Psychosis Field was already activated and was increasing everyone's aggression. Her rifle was already targeted at the pyro and she aimed to kill. "Surrender now or you'll die slow!", Gray fired a three round burst right past Sophie's head, making sure she got the point that the next round wouldn't miss.

[13org]

Nótt

"...Have a deep breath..."
"...And chill"

As Nótt heard the armored guy talking, she felt a sharp mental snap. Feeling her illusions breaking, she instinctively looked beyond the fire wall, just to see the armored figure emerge from the wall of fire, shooting a snare at the fire girl.

With a blinding speed she grabber her sword, intending to cut the girl's snare, (08) But before drawing it, she realized that it was too close from her body, and her sword might kill the girl. Grabbing the girl's snared body, she jumped back, just as the armored figure fired again, this time in her direction. As the snare approached her, she threw the girl up, and with blinding speed, drew her sword, in a clean, elegant motion (Iaijutsu).
Her sword flew in a perfect movement, her technique sharpened by years and years of training, coupled with her superhuman capabilities from the cybernetic and robotic parts.
Almost too fast to be seen, only the terrifying whistle of her sword cutting through the air could be heard.

(14) The snare was cut down in half, as she sheathed her sword.
Gabbing the girl as she fell in her shoulder, she gave another jump back, planning her escape.

*RA-TA-TA*

The moment she got the girl, she heard the loud noise of a rifle firing, as the bullets passed, missing the girl's head for some inches.
"That's how it is... Firing first and asking questions later... What will you gain helping the humans in hunting and driving your own kind to extinction? she asked, with a cold voice.

*RA-TA-TA*

She heard another burst from the rifle. Another person fired from behind the wall, this time it was aiming directly for her head, as she saw the bullets leaving the gun's barrel. She couldn't let the girl fall down, if she fell, she would have no alternative but to leave her behind and run. (02)

To make things worse, her sword was sheathed, and she moved her hand away from it to catch the girl. Moving out of pure reflex, she quickly moved her free hand, attempting to grab the bullet with her claws (10) (14) (01).

She successfully grabbed two of the three bullets that were fired, holding them just in front of her face. The bullets were still steaming hot as the last one hit her arm, making her drop the other two.

"Argh, Shit!" she cursed, making the other two bullets fall on the ground. She looked in disbelief to the blood flowing out of her armor. The bullet wasn't strong enough to pierce it, but the impact broke her wrist and wounded her.
It was the first time she saw the red of her own blood in a long... long time.

"I will remember this... No one touches me and lives for too long to tell the story." she said, her cold expression and voice were gone. Her eyes now showed only hate, you could feel her blood thirst in her voice.

With the girl in her arms, she ran away in the blink of an eye. Disappearing in a gust of wind.

@TheDarkTemplar@Zetsuko@Ace of flames01

[Cubix]

As the pulse bomb wracked through Avis' senses, the young agent failed to stop himself from clenching his eyes shut and falling to his knees as he felt sick to his core, like disgusting tingles crawling up his gut and spine. Such weapons that only affected metahumans were not unheard of in the DMA, and in fact, non-gifted handlers were expected to carry such items with them in the event that the metahuman assigned to them went rogue. However, this particular pulse wave caused a mass hysteria all around Avis' eyes, he couldn't see straight nor even stand up. In fact, it took him a good few minutes before he staggered to his feet, noticing that bullets were already being shot at their enemies. Now, in protocol, Avis was not to engage the enemy until casualties were inflicted on their side. It had always been the same routine for him and Thorne, where they would hold back until lethal force was necessary to bring a target down.

However, as he remembered the relentless tirade of insults dealt by this Nott and another metahuman, thinking as if they knew it all, a sudden surge of anger welled up within the lad. His teeth gnashed, his eyes widened in fury before he sprinted towards the spot where the two female rogues were fighting. He circled around them, hopping over cars and debris until he saw one of the overturned APCs a good few meters from the two women. Immediately, Avis climbed on top of the damaged vehicle, allowing him to get a clear, full view of their enemies. It would have been so easy. He could make them writhe on the ground, make them taste the pain of a thousand white-hot knives plunging into their skin; they would experience scalding and blinding pain from just the clothes they wore which stuck to their skin. They would have understood the wracking agony from just having the winds blow on their skin and faces. But, as he attempted to use his ability, he found himself painfully incapable of doing so. If anything, that asshole's pulse bomb interfered with his ability.

"You speak as if everyone in the DMA has a choice. You speak as if you understand our pain." Avis gritted, his breath hitching in his throat as he forced his eyes to activate their lethal ability. "Betraying the DMA, leaving them behind... it's easy to say for those who have nothing to lose but their lives. But, not us; not me, whose hands are tied." Finally, like an engine coming back to life, Avis' irises whirled in his eyes, the ominous yellow glow now taking precedence. But, before he could affect the two rogues, the cowards had bolted away, thanks to that Nott's apparent speed ability. Immediately, he shut off his Sensory Override in order not to affect Thorne or the other agents.

With a curse under his breath, Avis leaped off the APC before turning to Thorne. "They escaped." He growled, a trait unfitting of the normal Avis. "I should've taken them down." The furious thoughts raced around his head, making him feel hot and jumpy. His eyes soon caught sight of the agent responsible for disabling his ability, and with a dark and spiteful hiss, Avis stomped towards the armored agent. "You asshole," The kind, cooperative Avis became angry, furious as his yellow eye began to blink. "If it wasn't for you and your pulse bomb stunt, I would have taken them down!" Avis couldn't think straight as he only saw that agent in his field of vision. "And, as for her illusions, it's easier to get out if you don't panic! They're just motherfucking illusions!" But, perhaps, his locus of anger was rather misplaced as he glared at the agent. "I'll teach you to mess with my eyes. Let's see you pulse your way out of this."

His voice deepened just as his left eye started to glow, signalling the usage of his Pain Wrack. However, just before his ability could fully take effect, Avis immediately pulled back. The young lad staggered away from his fellow agent as he clasped his hands over his eyes. "What the fuck?! I was just about to use my ability on an agent..." His voice croaked, regret and remorse lacing every word. His hand instinctively pressed against his shock collar as he contemplated how close he was to getting electrocuted. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Avis backed off, not finding it in him to look at the agent. "I just felt so aggressive all of a sudden. Good god." He began to look around, trying to find out who was the one causing such an aggression. Avis had never been one so easily angered, so he could only attribute this sudden onslaught of rage to come from another gifted's ability. He knew Thorne was a Type 4, so that left him out of the equation. The other agent would not have been so stupid as to use whatever his ability was to instigate rage upon himself, so that also left him out. Dr. Carson had no gifts, so she was definitely a no-go.

So, this only left Gray as the suspect. Avis' eyes went over to the girl who looked just as emotionless as when he first saw her. And, maybe he was jumping the gun, but more or less, Gray could have been the one who caused such intense hostilities. "Fuck," Avis shook his head before turning to Thorne, still clasping his hand over his eyes. "Sorry about that, Sarge." He apologized before clearing his throat. "What's the plan now?"

[TheDarkTemplar]

Thorne wanted to shoot them. He wanted so badly just to put a bullet in both of their heads but he didn't. He managed to keep control over his emotions, but he couldn't say the same for Kerch. Before Thorne could fully calm himself down, Avis was already heading for Daemon with rage in his eyes. "Kerch, what's up with you?", he asked but his words fell on deaf ears. It was when Avis threatened to use his powers on Daemon that Thorne went on red alert. "Kerch, the fuck is up with you? Lock your shit down, now! That's an order!", thankfully, Avis managed to snap back to his senses before getting fried. Thorne let out a sigh of relief as he tried to remove that remaining feeling of rage from his head. "Fucking command puts a meta like that on the team and doesn't give so much as a warning as to what she can do...fucking assholes!", he thought to himself as he looked over to Agent Gray who was now inspecting her weapon.

Thorne quickly became lost in his thoughts, using his mask eyes to document everything that he didn't even notice Kerch talking to him till he asked him about the plan. "Right now...let's just get to the blacksite. We need to get our shit together. Everyone in the APC, give me a sec to finish documenting the scene", Thorne literally needed only a second or two to actually document everything. Simply looking around allowed his mask eyes to record and capture every detail of the crime scene. In a matter of moments he was done and back in the APC with the others.

As for Agent Gray, she felt nothing but continuous hate for the two escaped metas. She envied them for begin free but also despised them for it. Why did they get to be free? What makes them think they're better than her? All these questions and more ran through her head till her anger got the better or her right after Thorne told everyone to load back up into the APC, the last thing the Containment Crew would see of the team was Agent Gray throwing a brick at the wrecks so hard it shattered on impact. "I'm going to hurt those two...badly"

20 Minutes Later...

The Blacksite was a rather unusual place, the building was a bar that was fully operational and was actually a legitimate business. It was the back entrance that lead to an underground complex which featured a command center, laboratory, medical wing, an armory, personnel living quarters, showers, food hall holding room, shooting range, sparring room, even a gym, all of it concealed under an average Manhattan bar. Dr. Carson headed straight for the laboratory but was stopped by Thorne who held everyone in the command center. "Now that we're here, it's time to address what just went down", Thorne stared directly at Dr. Carson from behind his four eyed mask. "What?", She asked with a look of confusion on her.

"Don't say 'what' you know full well what I'm talking about Abigail. What the hell happened to us out there? The amount of missions Kerch and I have been on, we never lose our cool like that!"

"Why are you asking me, isn't it obvious who was the cause-"

"Yeah it's obvious who caused it but I want to know why and little miss sunshine over there ain't in the mood to talk unless she's giving death threats so you tell me doc, what happened out there?"

"Agent Gray has an ability we call 'Psychosis Field', individuals within roughly 15 meters of her are put into an increased state of aggression which can gradually intensify until the victim becomes completely psychotic up to the point of fatal self harm", Dr. Carson looked down in slight disappointment, not wanting to see Thorne's eyes on her.

"I'm sorry, what? Who thought it was a good idea to put her on this team? Forgive me for saying this but I'd prefer to not have a contagious psychopath on a hunting mission", Thorne glanced at Gray who was now standing right beside him with that same hateful stare of hers. "Like I said, if I wanted you dead, I'd be have you tear out your own throats", that was all she said before heading in the direction of the shooting range. Thorne just stood there in silence, looking at the members of his team still here. "This whole thing is FUBAR. I'm going to sleep. You do whatever I don't care, we'll get back to work in the morning", Thorne was done for the day. The way he saw it, all that ways left to do was get something to eat from the mess hall, get a shower, and get some shut eye. He had a whole world of bs to deal with in the morning.

[Zetsuko]

It all went down in a flash. Nótt freed the pyro girl from his snare, caught some bullets that came from someone behind him, took one to the arm, and then bolted off with both of them with some kind of speed ability, He didn't even get a chance to fire a second shot. Daemon kept his gun up when it was over, in case someone else jumped out of the two made another appearance. However the moment he heard Avis yelling he turned sharply and Avis would've found the end of his rifle damn near pressed right into his forehead. Thankfully the young agent was able to restrain himself before he got himself hurt.

By now it seemed like the team was getting ready to return to base so he was among the first back on the APC while the others wrapped up at the scene. He didn't talk to them on the way back, didn't even remove his helmet, just tipped his head back in the seat and relaxed himself a bit after having just been in an ambush and a firefight, albeit a short one. Introductions could be handled later anyway.

---

Back at the base Daemon was finally out of his armor. He'd gotten the short version of the tour, ending with where his room was. He'd taken off his armor and set his things down there before heading up to the command center with everyone else. While Thorne was arguing with Dr. Carson about their other newest addition he was sitting with his feet up on one of the desk reviewing that strange file he'd picked up at the ambush site on a tablet. Real strange coincidence was that it was about the meta that they had encountered there, Nótt. He heard behind him that Thorne was done talking to Dr. Carson and heading off to sleep...

"Hey Carson, You might want to look at this"

[Cubix]

As Sergeant Thorne conversed with Dr. Carson with this Daemon and Gray just a few steps from them, Avis preferred to keep his distance and watch Gray from afar, taking in the information being dispensed by the handler. If Gray, indeed, had a 15-meter limit to her ability, long-distance attacks would be her disadvantage. In this case, Avis would have an advantage over her in terms of ability. The only thing Avis needs to do to beat her would be stay away at least 16 meters wherein he can still see her for his gift to take her down. After all, the only condition for Avis' ability to work is sight: as long as the enemy is in his personal sights, in that, he can see their figure, it will still work. He wasn't really sure how 15 meters would like from a distance, but he was damn sure he can really still see her. Of course, everything was theoretical as he had never thought about engaging an enemy from a long distance; more often than not, he often used his powers when he was a but a few meters away from them. So, he wasn't even sure his plan would work. One thing was for sure, though, if Gray does succumb to his ability, she ain't going to be walking straight for a week.

The team dispersed as Thorne, Gray, Dr. Carson, and Daemon all became the anti-social people they were all meant to be. Each going their own way except for Daemon and Dr. Carson who kept conversing. In this case, there was no point in talking to a guy who Avis was so close to making him flop on the floor like a pierced fish. So, really, there was no point in talking to anyone. Dr. Carson was too formal and thought that everyone had a crush on her. Thorne was too unfriendly and anti-social to even start a casual conversation with. Gray was too hostile and unstable. Daemon was too serious, and had this air of aloofness around him. Avis couldn't help but think that they were in a cliche horror military film wherein all the agents were people who wallowed in self-isolation. Avis was the jolliest bastard one could find in this shithole. But, it wasn't in his personality to say all of these things. He always kept a controlled tongue and a smiling face.

"I'm going out." Avis announced, scratching his head before putting on some slim-framed shades to hide his eyes. "And, don't worry, I know the two-block limit without a handler. Beyond that, I'm fried. I've got my GPS in my watch to keep track of my distance." Avis put his hands in the pockets of his coat before hopping up the stairs. "I'll be back in a few hours." Avis gave them a reassuring smile as he finally got out of the Blacksite. As an agent, he was allowed a maximum of two hours of restricted outside contact back at HQ. But, without the yoke of HQ, he was allowed to be outside for as long as he wants whilst maintaining the two-block limit. Even now, Avis knew that HQ was monitoring his movements, and would zap him the moment he tries to do anything funny. But, all negative thoughts vanished as Avis got out of the bar, fully relishing the fresh air and the casual feeling of the normal world. Whenever he was outside like this, there were no expectations whatsoever. He wasn't a metahuman nor was he a rogue; heck, he wasn't even an agent. He was just... a person. A stranger. Someone who passed by another. He just existed alongside others, and for Avis who was experimented on for days on end, just existing without expectations was more than enough.

So, the young lad walked on and on, making sure he was still within the two-block limit. He stopped by a nearby tea shop, stepping inside as he ordered a pot of jasmine green tea. The glass windows of the tea shop allowed Avis to observe the people as they continued to go about their daily lives. And, as he sipped the hot beverage, he couldn't help but sigh in disappointment that these people were heedless and unappreciative of the freedom they had-- of the freedom Avis once had. Avis reclined in his seat, pouring himself another cup as a woman cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Hi, is this seat taken?" she gestured to the empty seat in front of Avis.

"Sure, take it." Avis shrugged in response as he adjusted the shades that covered his eyes. As the girl took a seat, Avis noted her features. A smooth, almost creamy complexion paired with stunning cerulean eyes and a luscious blonde mane which was tied in a ponytail. She was a young woman, as Avis could piece it together, and her cute, button-like nose complimented her overall features. Her thin lips was parted in as smile as she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Claude." Claude grinned, extending her hand for a shake which Avis took. "Yours?"

"Eyes Kerch." Avis introduced himself as he took another sip.

As Claude smiled up at him, Avis knew that the next few hours were going to be great.

And, it was. Him and Claude visited the different places (still within the two-block limit, of course), and Avis had never been happier in the past years. They acted like a casual couple, sharing a few secrets here and there; they also flirted with each other like young teens. For some reason, Avis was beginning to see that this girl he met in just a day would quickly become important to him. And, while he never really believed in love at first, Avis was willing to bet blind right now. Soon, the duo stopped at a cafe as they sat beside each other laughing at the memories where they were almost chased out of the nearby art museum for being too noisy when faced with a certain blank canvas which was considered as an artwork.

"I still can't believe that the blank canvas was considered art!" Claude spoke in pants as she pressed her palm against her stomach.

"That goes to show that you just can't trust your eyes, my dear." Avis grinned as he rested his hand on the table, his five fingers tapping one after the other.

"Nope. Nope, you cannot." Claude mused, subtly placing her hand over his as another smile lit up Avis' face. "Do you always wear shades?"

"Y-yeah. I've got an eye problem, you see." Avis lied through his teeth as another person accidentally bumped into him, jolting Avis forward which knocked his shades to the ground. "Damn it!"

"Are you okay?!" Claude unknowingly pulled Avis' head too hard, causing her to fully face the metahuman without his shades. A look of horror, of disgust shrouded the woman's features. "Y-you're... one of them. You're a freak. This won't work between us!"

Avis remained silent, picking up his shades before bowing his head. Claude stormed off in a huff, stating how she was doing him a favor of not telling the others of his curse. In exchange, he was not to go near her again. As Avis watched her leave, he sighed before clenching his hand around his left arm. Fury, sadness, deceit. They all flowed within him as he bit his bottom lip in frustration.

"Yeah. You can't trust anyone's eyes nowadays." Avis muttered under his breaths as he took his cup of cappuccino before heading out into the streets. "And, it never really works. It never does, it never did."

[TheDarkTemplar]

Thorne sat alone in the mess hall, while the standard MRE wasn't his meal of choice it wasn't like he had a choice to begin with. Even so, the food wasn't his issue, this mission was. Working with Kerch was fine but now he has to also keep tabs on Gray and she alone was a handful. "Really wish I wasn't a T4 right now", he muttered to himself. Just as he was finishing up he sensed someone had entered the mess hall. "You gunna pull that stunt of yours tonight on our next mission?", he asked without turning around. Gray didn't sit down, she remained standing a few feet behind Thorne. "Probably, you got a problem with it then-"

"I didn't say I had a problem with it, truth is that's a damn useful ability. Just warn us when you do that", Thorne said as he got up to throw out the MRE bag. When he got up, Thorne was saw a great deal of anger in Gray's eyes, more than the usual amount for her. "Something you want to tell me?", he asked but all he got in reply was her back to him as she walked off towards her room. "I guess not"

The Next Day..

Thorne was the first person up, it was only 6am and he already was in gear with his rifle slung over his shoulder. He studied the data file Daemon got from the crime scene vigorously as he simultaneously began looking over security camera feeds near the ambush site. Thorne had been up since 4am looking over all of this by himself before Dr. Carson entered the command center. "Hello Sergeant, you're up early", Abigail said with a yawn. "Ain't no rest for the wicked, eh doc?, Thorne said without looking away from the screens.

"Did you find anything?", Abigail asked as she rounded the Holo table to stand beside him in front of the main monitor. "I'm close to finding where our friends from last night went. They came and gone without even giving us their numbers. Security street cams only go so far until they run between alleys, then I have to get clearance into private cameras but I'm close. I also read that file you and Daemon spoke of last night. That thing is going to be a serious problem for us, thankfully we have Gray for that"

"I thought you didn't think highly of Agent Gray?"

"Never said that, just don't take kindly to being under the effects of her powers. I'd rather not have the field report say 'death by psychosis' if you get me"

Just then Agent Gray strode into the room with the same scowl on her face. "When are we going out", she asked, obviously eager to go after the two rogues.

"I'd guess when everyone is up and ready, Gray"

"Smartass..."

"Thanks. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I have an idea of where our friends are now. When everyone is ready we can head out immediately"

[Ace of flames01]

---

---

Almost immediately after entering the conflict, everything had gone to hell. Their "idle chat" had quickly turned to bullets, but what else was new? Sophie had been shot at many times in the past. It was the restraints that she wasn't necessarily prepared for. One had wrapped around her neck and gave her a nasty shock, the night before. Now there was only a bloody, irrated, cauterized, ring around her neck, but of course, no burn. Due to the significant lack of carbon in her DNA, it takes much more than an average human, to be burned; of course, that doesn't necessarily mean she can swim in lava either. And while the shock wasn't enough to burn her, is still managed to make a shallow rip in shape of a ring, on the skin around her neck.

She didn't get much sleep that night, mainly because she was sore and her neck itched, but also because of the certain elephant in the room, the cyborg that probably was the reason for her still being alive.

Sophie had greeted the cold morning in an alley way in the slums. She hadn't said a word to the automaton the entire night besides, "are you alright?" But that was mainly because there was really nothing more to be said between them, Sophie had done what she had intended back at the ambush site and now she didn't find it necessary for the duo to continue on, yet for some reason the cyborg stuck around anyways. Of course, like the cyborg's motives for attacking the DMA wardens, she didn't question why the cyborg stuck around.

Sophie stood up in the alley way feeling rather cold, stiff, and bitter; she stretched to loosen out the knotted up muscles, with a slight groan escaping her lips. She glanced at the cyborg briefly as she messaged her neck. "So I assume you need to eat something, right? Come on then, I know a few places where we can scrounge up some food." She finally said with a sigh, then started to lead the cyborg, though whether or not she (or what only could assume to be female or be addressed with female pronouns) chose to follow, Sophie wouldn't force her to come.

Though she was injured, Sophie walked with a brisk pace and soon arrived at what appeared to be a run down pub in the slums. It didn't look much more than any other worn down building except it had a barely legible sign that read, "Lady's Lace Pub". Of course, don't let appearances fool you; the food was good and dirt cheap, but more importantly, it was a safe spot for metahumans. Sophie casually entered and took her usual seat up at the counter.

"Jesus, Soph, you look like shit." A busty, tattooed bartender lady, greeted her as she had taken her seat.

"Yeah well what else is new?" Sophie replied with a soft chuckle.

"Fair enough, I assume you want breakfast, right?"

"You know it, sweetheart."

"You know your flattery won't work with me, Sister."

"Doesn't mean I can't try."

The two exchanged a laugh. "Alright, alright, just this once. I'll get it right out for you, let me know if you need anything." The bartender replied with a smile then disappeared into the kitchen.

"Thank you, Sister darling, you're a miracle worker!" Sophie called after her, then leaned back in her chair.

[13org]

Nótt

On the next day, Nótt was still in her armor, she hasn't slept for too long, always keeping her radar on in search for enemies.
She was still confused about what happened the other day... She had a lot of questions, but no one to ask them to... Well... She had the girl, but she probably didn't know that much. She waited patiently for the girl to wake up, as she moved and looked to her wrist. The impact from the bullet shattered her bones, but she was already healed. Her clothes were stained with blood, and probably she should do something about them... After all, walking around with a big blood stain on her clothes is not something that would help her to hide and investigate whatever is the MDA...
"I'm sorry for making you sleep here in the alleyways, but there wasn't many places without cameras that we could safely hang around..." she said to the girl, after perceiving that she woke up stretching.

"Oh, yeah. I suppose I could use some food." she said, with a bright smile, retracting her armor and getting back to her not-that-usual clothes. As soon as she did that, her mood changed drastically. She smiled a lot more and looked like just a normal teen.

Outfit

She calmly followed the girl, entering in a run down pub. The sign read "Lady's Lace Pub".
"Lady's Lace Pub? Is it safe for us to be here?" she asked, carefully walking inside.
After hearing the girl talking to the bartender she relaxed a bit, they seemed to be close.
After the busty bartender went to the kitchen, she sat near the girl.
"Not exactly the best way to meet someone, but my name is Nótt, pleased to meet you." she said with a smile, bowing her head in a traditional eastern greeting.
"What happened back there? I thought that the MDA were like the metahuman police, helping people... but they just attacked us without warning..." she asked, confused. "My clothes are all dirty with blood now! I need to wash this soon.... its very hard to wash bloodstains once they get old." she said, looking to the big bloodstain on her sleeve.
Looking to the girl, she saw a ring on her neck, probably from the restrains.
"Oh... Are you ok? That restrain hurt you, didn't it? I'm sorry, I tried to cut it earlier, but it was too close to your body and I got afraid to cut something else together with the restrains." she said with a giggle, touching the marks on her neck.
"I'm afraid that they'll be after you too... I'm sorry for dragging you alone, but things got really confusing really fast... From what I've heard, the MDA should be the good guys, not the bad ones! After all, if they were the bad guys, Dr. Faust and the other ones wouldn't want me to kill them..." she said the doctor's name like a curse, with a dark look.
"Since I had nowhere to go after I... well... after the little accident in the doctor's lab, the only clue I had about what to do next was the name "MDA"... and here I am."
"Anyways, enough talking about boring things, do you know her?" she asked, pointing to the kitchen.
"You two seemed pretty close." she said with a smile

@Ace of flames01

[Cubix]

"Up, and about, Sarge." Avis quipped from behind the two, still holding his trench coat in his hands. The black tank-top sagged over his shoulders before he swung the trench coat above him, inserting his hands into the sleeves. Avis' quick fingers hastily buttoned the coat as he combed some of his hair out of his eyes. The young agent had made sure to take a few meters away from Gray, taking into account that, at all times, he must have vision of every member in the team as was protocol when it came to suppression. While Avis knew that when it came to his two-man cell with Thorne, getting-to-knows were scarce, he couldn't help but feel that if they were to work better together, they have to develop a sense of camaraderie that exceeds that of soldiers-in-arms. It must be a bond like one brother to another, from one comrade to another. In a sense, the lad believed that the reason why meta-rogues were strong was because they had a solid foundation, and treated others like their own, reducing the chances that their brethren turned against them.

This was certainly not the case with Avis and the team. He knew; heck, even Thorne knew that the only thing preventing Avis from sending the sergeant into a pained haze of twitching limbs was the shock collar around Avis' neck. All notions of alliance with the DMA and even with Thorne were only as good as the quality of the shock collar. Once the collars were down, once the die had been cast, Avis knew that even Thorne would go rogue against the DMA. After all, you could only cage a beast for so long before it lashes out of its cage.

"Why do we keep doing this?" A slight question escaped Avis' lips before he shook his head, and focused on the task at hand. "Anyway, I have reason to believe that the attacker of the convoy had been that pyromancer. And, I think all of you have already figured that out. So, surely, she is not acting alone. But, if our target is a Type 2 Pyrokinetic and a Type 3 speedster-slash-illusionist, then, we're gonna need water-based weapons as well as that same pulse weapon sir Daemon had used. Hydropumps, liquid grenades. The good stuff." Avis turned to look at Thorne before he scratched his head. "Normally, I'd just neutralize her, but with the pulse bombs that Daemon's been swinging around, it might be unreliable for me. Now, unless two psychic fields can cancel each other," He murmured, pertaining to Gray's own psychosis field and Nott's nightmare field. "The pulse bombs might be the only weapon we have to cancel out any psychic fields. Well, as far as my clearance level is concerned, the pulse bomb is the only weapon I've been acquainted with that removes Type 1 abilities."

Then, Avis' eyes lit up before glancing at his superior. "Oh, and since I can't take down something I can't see, someone will need to slow down that speedster; slow enough for my eyes to get her in my sights." The young lad shrugged his shoulders before slinging his small satchel that contained some first-aid materials. "Well, I'm ready to go. Just say the word, Sarge."

[TheDarkTemplar]

You heard him Sarge, let's get out there already. I'd rather be out on the hunt than in here all day. I see enough time in a cell as it is", Gray said mockingly at Thorne as she looked to Avis with some hint of affirmation. Thorne's four eyes darted between the two of them then to Dr. Carson then back to the two agents before he finally shook his head and looked to the command center monitor. "While I appreciate the determination from the both of you-glad to see you two getting along by the way-I'd prefer we move in on our culprits with more than gadgets and enthusiasm", Thorne looked to Dr. Carson who handed him a tablet with a list of the blacksite's inventory items. "The cameras don't show everything but from what I've seen, our culprits are a pyrokinetic and a speedster/illusionist. During last night's spectacle, I managed to get a read on the pyro's sig and she's only able to use her powers with a source. I don't know about the rest of you but I didn't see a propane tank on her so I'm guessing she carries a lighter on her person. If we can remove that from her she's an easy capture. Our real threat will be the speedster/illusionist. I read that file Daemon gave to Abigail and that thing is a bioweapon, a metahuman that underwent severe cybernetic augmentation the extent of which I've never seen before. I doubt that thing even has a hint of humanity in it anymore. The best way I think we can handle it is to remove its ability to activate its exoskeleton. How exactly we do that? I have no clue. As for our attack strategy, once we locate their hideout we'll know exactly how to move on them but for now the plan is this: Gray will approach the location, her psychosis field should let her reach them without being seen or having to enter the building if they're in one. She'll get them riled up, turning on eachother, that's when Daemon storms in and hits them with a pulse blast, that should surpress their powers long enough for Kerch to run in and immobilize the cyber speedster long enough for Daemon to subdue it. The pyro will be alone by then so we can simply overwhelm her with hydrobombs. If all things go according to plan-which I somewhat doubt it will-we should have two rogues in holding by the end of the day", Thorne looked to the team for any questions they might have. Dr. Carson would obviously remain at command to oversee the operation by street cams and give area intel for the team. As for Gray, the plan was fine for her as she said, "I'll be in the car, I doubt we're taking the APC if we want to sneak up on them". Looking to Kerch she asked,"You coming kid? Or are you waiting for big boss to hold your hand over there"

---

Just as the barmaid headed into the kitchen, a young man entered the bar with a look of haste about him. His eyes were covered by dark shades and he wore a dark blue hoodie with a black scarf around his neck. Sitting beside Sophie and Nott, he looked around the bar before trying his best to talk subtly to the two of them. "Are you sure this is the best place to hide out after a Warden Squad is sent on you? I don't mean to criticize, but there is little to no security here"