[IC] The Gifted: Hunters

[Ace of flames01]

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"Nótt, hm? Strange name.... but easy to remember. Nice to meet you, m'name's Sophie. You wanna know about the DMA, huh? The are a metahuman police, alright. They collect us 'metahuman criminals' to 'protect' the humans, then use us for cruel and inhuman expiraments, to see what makes us tick. So don't worry your pretty little face, they've been after me from day one already. I don't mean to brag but even with what little info they have on me, I am still a pretty high class criminal in there eyes since I've been giving them hell for god knows how long. I was kinda the reason why they were there yesterday, actually..." Sophie finally spoke to the cyborg. She paused and chuckled softly at the remark about the busty bartender. "Dolly? I suppose you could say we are buzzum buddies. One of the sweetest humans I know and a hell of a cook."

Then a new stranger sat down next to her that severely failed to look inconspicuous. His remark, however, is probably what made her laugh the most. "oh my goodness! What the hell are you wearing?! I hate to break it to you, friend, I really do, but I think you are acting more suspicious and drawing more attention to yourself dressed up like that! I, myself, am pretty sure that I am going to be just fine! I mean, do you see anyone pointing a gun at my head?!" She replied exasperated through a fit of almost maniacal laughter. Sophie wheezed and coughed as she tried to catch her breath, and wiped a tear from her eye with the palm of her hand. "A hide out? Oh that's a good one. For a second I thought you were serious. Haha... ha... I'm just here to get a decent meal, why would I try to be hiding from a bunch of clowns that can't even catch me after nearly a decade of being a S List criminal? Oh my goodness you are a funny one, aren't you, friend?"

Dolly then reappeared the kitchen and placed a glass of orange juice and plate with hearty portion of eggs, ham, seasoned potatoes, and toast. Sophie immediately dug in and stuffed her face. "Tnk ooh, Dll fce. Dlicious s'usal!" She replied with a happy smile and her mouth full.

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. Just don't talk with your mouth full. Come on Soph, I'm not your mother." Dolly replied with a sigh and an amused smile.

Sophie swallowed with a gulp. "Yeah well I wish you were so that way I could eat your badass cooking all the time!" She replied before stuffing her face once more.

Dolly laughed at Sophie's childish behavior and turned to Nótt and the newcomer. "Is there anything I can get for you two? " She asked with a smile and a slight laugh.

[Cubix]

"It's called being 'nice', Sarge. Doesn't take a doctorate to figure that out." Avis grinned. "We've already got Doc Carson and the rest of the eggheads to do the mean part. Can't we agents be a bit nicer to each other?" The younger agent bent over to tie his boots before Gray expressed her intention to go to the car, taunting Avis in the process. At this, though, Avis looked up at the woman with a smirk. "No need for the Sullen Dad to hold this kid's hand. In fact, Momma Bear, I'd race you there. Be careful not to break your back." Without a moment's notice, Avis sprinted towards the Blacksite's garage where a handful of the DMA's undercover cars were stored. When the DMA agents wanted to blend in with society in order to get to their target, it wasn't rare for them to look like an everyday normal family. While he wasn't really jumping on the idea of pretending to be Thorne's teenage son (again), Avis did miss the opportunity to shop for new clothes, and to wear something rather than just the DMA standard-issue uniform of black, jet black, and onyx. But, Avis knew not to get his hopes up. The DMA has been quite stingy with budgets, and can't really afford such luxuries. So, the young lad bolted through the long, hallowed halls-- something that he hadn't done since childhood. He hopped over boxes and crates of weapons, vaulted over low walls. Purposely, he took the long way through the corridors, just wanting a bit of freedom and a remnant of a childhood long gone.

As he jumped over the obstacles, he remembered the time that he and his brother would free run all over the park, leaping over rinks, ledges, and to an extent, from tree to tree. At that point, there father was dead, and their entire life rested in their hands. Freedom, a spirit set free from the shackles of abuse and pain. And, now... his comatose brother is being watched day and night by agents of the DMA, a dirty blackmail and control method for the ocular specialist in their ranks. They knew that death would not be enough to enmesh a soul such as Avis, and to make sure of his loyalty, they messed with a life that Avis deems greater than his own.

The DMA was dirty. The whole lot of them. He wouldn't have bothered catching the other metahuman rogues if his brother didn't have a Glock 15 near his head.

Thus, as Avis reached the garage, he wasn't real sure if the others had already arrived. Chances are, they've yet to even leave the briefing room. They were always so serious to the point that it became infuriating. "I wonder what car we'd be using." Avis mused to himself, surveying the different vehicles that were there "Well, either way, I'd have no choice but to ride." Regardless of what vehicle they'd use, Avis would just sit patiently inside like the good little boy he was known for in the DMA.

Oh, how pathetic it all was.

[13org]

Nótt

"Humpf... So they are just like the rest of the humans... Sees us or only as tools, or as threats to be eliminated..." she said disappointed.
"Somehow I expected something different... Anyways, Dolly is it? She seems to be very kind." she said the last phrase with a smile.
"Its something I don't see every day. Humans that even knowing that we are metas are still kind to us." she said with a faint smile, looking to the kitchen, just as Dolly arrived with the food for Sophie.

Suddenly, a stranger appeared wearing some very, very suspicious clothes, sitting besides Sophie.

"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"

Nótt stood up as soon as the strange guy arrived, getting ready for anything.
"I agree with Sophie. You look very, very suspicious..." she said looking to him.
"Can you at least drop the "stalker clothes" and let us see your face? It would be easier to stand around you, and safer for you." she said with a giggle.
"Security you say? Hm... We kinda need to eat y'know? I was shot yesterday, Sophie was restrained and got hurt too... We need something to eat." she said showing the blood stain on her sleeve
"And its very unlikely they will be able to even touch me." she said, suddenly moving next to him, so fast that he couldn't see her moving, taking his shades off and putting down his hoodie.

"Its better this way, believe me." she said handing him his shades "You stand out more than you hide yourself wearing things like these." Nótt, the one wearing a very different and by no means discreet clothes said.

Once again moving very fast, she moved to his side, leaning her face very next to him

"Nice eyes by the way." she said, getting near him and looking to his eyes. Her face very, very close to his.
Apparently, someone didn't knew the meaning of "personal space"

Just as Dolly came back with Sophie's food, Nótt felt the smell, her stomach growled with hunger.
"Dolly, i'm sorry to ask you something like this when we first meet, but do you have some food for me as well?" she asked, bowing down and embarrassed after her stomach growled.

@Ace of flames01 @TheDarkTemplar

[TheDarkTemplar]

"Oh...sorry, I've been on edge since last night, Adrian was put back a bit by the sudden blur that was Nótt rushing around him. He could have sworn he took those off when he got inside but it must have been nerves. "I tried to get out of the city after you two showed up at the ambush site but once I found out about the checkpoints I decided to try and find you", swinging around his backpack, pulling out a small medkit which lay amongst a number of other things in the bag. "I was one of those metas you freed from the convoy. After you broke us out, I headed back to my place and grabbed a few things. I went back to the ambush site a few hours later to see if I could grab any intel off the bodies. Unfortunately I chose the wrong time and had to hide amongst the crowd when the Wardens showed up", Adrian handed the medkit to Nótt who was admittedly a little close for comfort. "Anyways, after you two got out of there, the Wardens sped off too. My guess, to a blacksite, this sort of thing doesn't get ignored by them. We should probably look for those metas on the convoy list and get them and ourselves out of the city"

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Thorne hadn't realized how negative he'd been till Avis said that. "Shit, I'm turning into my dad", he thought to himself before taking off his mask. "Kid's already in character. Abigail, that one seriously need to schedule a few vacation days", Thorne put his rifle down on the command center table but kept his sidearm holstered inside his coat. "C'mon, Gray, we got clothes shopping to do", Thorne walked over to Morgan who was looking down the sights of her weapon. Thorne grabbed it by the barrel and aimed it down before pulling it out of her hands, placing it on the table as well. "Wonderful, I get to experience the joy of family life", she said in an unenthusiastic tone as she followed Thorne towards the command center exit. "If it makes you feel any better, the kid's adopted"

"Who said the kid was the problem?", Thorne had to try hard to stifle his laughter before turning to Daemon. "Unless you want to come with us, perhaps you could increase our collar distance radius. I'd rather not have a burn mark on my neck for the next few days"

Once in the garage, Thorne noticed Avis sitting in the backseat of one of the grey SUVs. Nudging Gray as they approached Thorne had an interesting look on his face as he got his fellow agent's attention. "Check it out, Kerch got inside Gray", Thorne looked for some sign of humor being found by Morgan but instead all he got was a stern stare accompanied by, "Just remember how close to me you'll be for the rest of the day". Once inside the SUV, Thorne looked back to Kerch before starting the ignition. "Well, Kerch, today's your lucky day. We're going on a little family outing today. We need to go undercover so first we'll hit up some clothes stores then do some sightseeing, maybe look for those escaped metas while we're out there", Thorne was about to drive out the car when Gray grabbed the steering wheel.

"I don't know what you're doing, we still need confirmation from the handler or else the farthest we're going is a couple blocks down the street"

"I probably should've waited for confirmation...", Thorne sat there awkwardly as there was nothing much left to do but wait. "Well fuck it, I'm not sitting here. Let's walk around till we hear from those two", Thorne got out of the car and began walking towards the garage exit. Morgan looked back at Kerch through the rear view mirror saying, "What did you say after you called me 'Momma Bear'?" Morgan let out a small smirk before getting out of the car after Thorne. "Nobody talks to me like that, kid's got guts, I'll give him that"

[Ace of flames01]

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"Sure thing, Hun." Dolly replied to Nótt with a wink and a smile before disappearing into the kitchen again.

Sophie swallowed another large mouthful of egg and ham, then sighed. "You shouldn't assume all humans are bad, Nótt, it's no better than calling all meta's criminals. We are have motives for why we do what we do. Humans are no exception." She gently chastised the cyborg, never raising her voice from a murmer nor her eyes leaving her plate. She licked up the egg yolk on her cheek then paused before taking another large mouthful of her food. She ate slowly then swallowed as Nótt dismantled the stranger's disguise.

"Ah, now everything makes sense. Sorry for not recognizing the drop in the temperature sooner. Yeah I remember now, you're the ice boy I let out. Glad to see you are still alive and kicking. Yeah I can help you and the others get out to sanctuary, but I'm not leaving. This is my city, my home; it's taken me a good portion of my life securing myself a somewhat decent life style. I'm not about to give that up. However... since you are all my responsibility because I was the one that ambushed that convoy... I will get those who want to leave to sanctuary. But first, I gotta eat. Then we can regroup at my dwelling to plan on our next move." Sophie replied then continued to devour her meal.

Almost right as it were on cue, Dolly reappeared with another plate of food and set it on the counter, in front of where Nótt was sitting. "And what about you, handsome? Anything I can get for you?" She asked the newcomer.

[Zetsuko]

Daemon was quiet during the briefing, busy with some other things, he only nodded when Thorne asked him about extending the collar's radius. He caught up with them in the garage, now still wearing his fatigues pants but with a jacket and shirt, he looked around a second before seeing Thorne by the exit and walking over to him "Hey Thorne, got you your leash extension, whole town, should be great. Now, I'm not gonna be going with you guys, you're on your own with finding them, I'll be on standby in the city, out of sight but nearby, and I'll have this ready" He brought up his hands to show the pulse weapon concealed in the sleeves of his jacket "for when you find them or if shit hits the fan. sound good? alright, head out whenever you're ready, I'ma go get some coffee" He started to walk out of the garage but turned around on the way "oh and collar extension lasts for two weeks whether you complete the mission or not, so do with that what you will" with that he left the garage.

[13org]

My bad... Extremely long post ahead

Nótt

"Ice?" she said looking to the man.

"So it was you who did that to the MDA convoy? Why do you risk yourself and your lifestyle so much to help others?" she asked with a somewhat confused expression. "I know that they are metahumans too, but you have something that many metahumans would kill to have."
"I somewhat envy you Sophie, i see that you are a very kind woman. I envy the way that you can be that way even with everything that we metahumans need to face." she said.

"Let me tell you a little bit about myself, If you care to hear, that is." Nótt said, turning to her. Something in Sophie's calm words from before touched her.

"I know that there are still good and kind humans like Dolly, but its getting harder to find them each day that passes. The world isn't kind to us metahumans, and I believe you know that." she said, serious.
"Its not that i hate every and each human indiscriminately, i don't wish them bad either. My hate for the usual human behavior has a reason."

"I threw away everything that I was, or at least who I believed that I was, after what happened on the lab. What I thought that was my entire world, my life... was just a huge training facility, the laboratory, and the tiny "room" that i called my own was nothing but a cell. Everything was a lie. All the smiles and kind faces of the people on the facility, the promises... It was all just a facade, the small amount of time that I remembered as being my entire life was all fabricated... Even my name is a lie, Sophie. In the Norse mythology, Nótt which is Old Norse for "night", is an Aesir, a goddess, the night personified. I borrowed this name as my own because i loved to read about religions and mythologies, especially the Poetic Edda." she said, looking to the counter with an extremely sad expression. Like something inside, deep inside her heart was broken or lost.

"It turned out that I was just a tool. I was nothing but a tool. A killing machine for the selfish desires of the same people that smiled to me, that pretended to care about me. I- I- think I had a life before everything that happened... I don't know... I may have been someone, with dreams, goals and objectives, but if I really had, everything is lost. Completely erased of existence. Believe me, I searched the facility after I destroyed it, all the archives, they said nothing about my past and all i can remember is waking up in a laboratory, around some very excited scientists saying that they were successful. I thought that they saved me somehow, that they were good people... They all lied to me... When i knew about what was happening, well... i believe that you can presume what happened..." she said with her eyes briefly sparking with rage and anger.

"Alone, naked, without anything besides this terrible emptiness in my life and these clothes that i made myself, I walked out of that place, stepping over a thousand mutilated corpses. After that, I wandered, aimlessly, hopping from town to town, searching for something... Anything that could bring a meaning to my life. It didn't matter how far i traveled, how hard i tried to forget about everything that happened back then, the only clue to what i should do, the only thing that was said to me on the day that I kil- ran away, was the damned mission... The last mission, or it was supposed to be the last mission, Operation Mad Hatter." she said the name with disgust.

"I don't know who Dr. Faust or the facility was, not even what they wanted, but they wanted the MDA dead, they wanted it badly. They wanted it so bad to explain sending me out, to finish them. Something to do to "killing and arresting our potential soldiers and experiments" or something like that... I thought that the MDA was my last chance, maybe they were the good people i was searching all this time for, y'know? Taking care of us metahumans... But it was just a silly mistake, what i was thinking after all?"

"What could i know? I am only a weapon after all! A defective weapon... It would be much easier if i didn't have any feelings... but sadly i do" she said looking down.

...
...

"You know... There was a person on that facility who was genuinely nice to me. She was the nurse that took care of my wounds and body after the hellish training i had to pass every single day. She was the only one that cared... There was this day, that she asked me how many years i had, and after hearing that i didn't knew, she walked away. I thought that she was mad with me or something, but she came back at the end of the day with a small cake and a smile on her face saying "Happy Birthday!" to me. It was funny to see her wearing that silly hat." Nótt said with a giggle and a sad smile.

"She... got killed. Shot down by the guards when i tried to escape. They used her as a hostage trying to make me calm down. "Don't worry about me, just run. Everything will be fine." she moved her lips, without actually saying a word. Those were the last things that she said to me. I couldn't even hear her voice one last time."

"I'm sorry, i shouldn't be bothering you with all this useless talk about myself. Its just that your voice, especially the phrase you said just now remembered me from her. I wish i could remember her name..." she said, lowering her head as tears began to roll down her face, trying to hide them from Sophie.

She discreetly wiped her tears, breathing deeply and after a few minutes she looked back to Sophie.

"Well... Anyways, I guess that that's what happens when you spend too much time without being able to talk with someone you can trust, always keeping things to yourself and holding all your feelings and frustrations, you kinda snap y'know?" she said laughing nervously, embarrassed for her sudden emotional outburst.

"There was this old metahuman that i met on a small town, he said a phrase to me: "Smile. It doesn't matter what happens to you, always smile, not because you are happy, but because you are strong." ... I still remember that gentle smile of his."

"I am speaking too much again, am i not?" she asked giggling, as Dolly got back with some food for her.

"Thanks Dolly! I cant thank you enough for this! I don't remember when it was the last time i ate something that someone actually made, not some tasteless pills or that industrialized frozen food they sell on cheap markets." she said, slowing putting some of it in her mouth.

"Oh my!! This is so good!" she said with her mouth full, her eyes shining, overflowing with joy.

"Sophie, i don't know what you want to do, but i want to help you. Maybe i'll find something good and exciting while at it." she said, blinking to her while slowly savoring every single ounce of the food Dolly brought for her.
"Oh, and don't worry, i'm not always this gloomy and boring." she said with a smile to her.
"This counts to you too, "handsome"." she said giggling to the ice man.
"Something about you two make me feel that i can trust you."
@Ace of flames01@TheDarkTemplar