Coming to a skidding stop, Lihua arrived at the manhole she picked out before. In the parking lot of some putrid strip club - Lihua barely paid any attention to it as she stepped out of her car (shotgun in hand) and immediately went over to the manhole. She knelt down, put her hand out, and pulled a concrete spike right out of the ground. She used the spike to pry the manhole cover open, and pulled it aside. Not even putting it back on, she crawled down into the sewer by the ladder. She ignored the smell, it didn't matter. All that mattered was finding Meifeng, and killing anyone that gets in the way.
Letting out a sigh, Lihua kept her hands on her mossberg. Flicking the flashlight on her gun, she shined it forward, and managed to make enough light for herself to see where she's going. The rats immediately scurried, and Lihua started walking forward. Ready for anything. Now, she knew a good idea as to where the phone connection came from. Just keep pushing on until she finds it. The tunnels underneath Verthaven were dead silent. Nothing in there other than her own footsteps. She shivered for a moment. It was quite cold down here. Fortunately, her suit more than kept her a bit warm - if she was wearing summer clothes, she'd be freezing down here.
Lihua turned a corner, and kept walking down until she noticed that she had reached a dead end. Instead of turning around, she raised her shotgun, and the light flashed on two doors. Down here? Now, that was odd, until they lead to a utility tunnel of some sort. Though... going off the information from her little map, she was heading in the right direction. Walking through the front doors sounded too easy, she would need to prepare for anything here.
What sounded like a jet of wind heading towards her at high speeds from behind.
On reflex, Lihua whipped around and swung her free arm upwards using the same motion, and a concrete pillar was erected - which absorbed the slashing attack, leaving three claw marks deep in the concrete. The mysterious enemy went around Lihua, and simply ended up at the door. Lihua quickly whipped around again, shotgun drawn. To see blurry air, and two glowing orbs that had to be eyes. It is the Ghoul.
An aberration... Lihua thought to herself, as she took a few steps back - around the concrete pillar.
The orbs disappeared, and the creature charged at her at speeds she could barely keep track of. She was getting ready to pull the trigger, but the creature changed patterns. It stopped, and shot to the side, then shot to the other side, then the other side. Coming at her in a serpentine motion.
"Screw this." Lihua muttered to herself as she raised her hand in the air, and brought it down as if she was pulling something down. A cloud of dust, along with bits and pieces of the ceiling above her came crashing down. The Ghoul went right into it, and got covered in dust. Revealing it's strange form as it came to a stop outside of the dust. It barely looked human, instead like the stuff out of horror movies. It had disproportionately long limbs, topped up with fingers and toe so long they had to be a foot and a half. Equipped with sickle-like claws. It's body was small in comparison. It's head was barely even human, it was mutated into a long snout, and every tooth in it's mouth was curved, and needle-like. It had four long thin tongues. Eyes were glowing purple.
Lihua could barely move, her power was restricting her to slow movements (which she was using to move backwards). She saw the monster right in front of her, and she didn't even flinch. She merely pulled sharp concrete shards out of the ground, and then sent it flying at it at high speeds. The Ghoul quickly dove off to the side - seemingly flying - and the shards went by it and hit the wall right behind it.
It latched onto the walls with it's claws, then it turned towards her, and Lihua faced it.
I need to kill this thing fast as possible. Before more come. Lihua noted to herself. It's fast. Stay on the defensive, and wait for that golden moment where it slips up and I end it's life.
Going with Jen's suggestion, Meifeng thought that they could slow down tall, and brooding here. She raised her hands in the air, and pointed her palms at the ground, and a jet of water came spraying out of her palm. It created a puddle of water, and she quickly knelt down, and the water turned into solid ice. The Nemesis walked on the ice, and nearly slipped. It quickly caught itself, and slammed his hand on the wall to maintain balance.
What threw it over was an operating table flying at it at high speeds. Courtesy of Ratchet. The operating table hit the Nemesis in it's head, and knocked it backwards. It created a loud slam the second it hit the ground. Ice and concrete shattered underneath it's back.
"Let's go!" Meifeng shouted, turning tail, and the rest of the girls followed her. Jen looked back, and saw the Nemesis slowly climb back up to it's feet - which prompted her to go a little faster. The group turned a corner, and Meifeng opened a door, and gestured for everyone to go inside - before entering the room herself, and closing the door behind her.
"Thank God..." Jen sighed, as she panted. Not that she was particularly tired - her regeneration cycles out the lactic acid - just scared out of her god damn mind. She took a look around the room, and saw that they weren't quite in one of the labs, or operation rooms, that seemed to be so common in this place. No... on one side of the room, there were bars, and a metal door. Like this was a prison of some sort. On this side of the room, there were cabinets, and the such.
Taking steps closer to the cell, Meifeng looked and saw that there was someone in the cell. Some older dude, had to be like in his late twenties, African-American, and had a collar on. "Hey... are you okay in there?" She asked, taking steps closer to the door. She looked down, and saw that the door had a padlock on it. She put her hands on it, and looked at it, searching for any crease or crevice for her to put water in and freeze. She was going to get this thing off, and get this guy out of here.
Setting Anna on one of the cabinets, Jennifer put her hands on Anna's shoulder to get her stable (and from falling face first). She turned her upper body around, and looked at the cell. "Be quiet, Meifeng." She warned her friend. "We don't know when that thing will come back around."
The cell's occupant stirred from his deep thought, glancing towards the door. It took a moment for him to realise he wasn't alone, prompting him to tense up in a defensive posture. Initially, he didn't answer the voice, instead analyzing the face staring at him through the gap above the cell-door. He glared at her contemptously for just a moment, before realising she was skulking around, unlike whoever'd seen him before.
"Who're you?" He asked reticently.
"Alright, I'm Meifeng Vuhong," Meifeng started off, pulling water out of her pocket dimension, and covering the padlock in water. Forcing as much of the water inside of it as she could. "Back there is Ratchet, blondie is Jennifer, and she's holding up my other friend, Anna. We've been captured too, but we managed to break out. I think their collars were broken, or something, I don't know." Meifeng said as she did her work.
Skeptical, the prisoner pushed both palms into his knees to stand, approaching the doorway cautiously. "These things?" He scratched at the metallic surface of the collar around his neck "If you can get it off, I'll take it as proof you're not fucking with me" he cynically added, approaching
"Yeah, alright." Meifeng didn't know what this guy's problem was - his attitude was a bit unnecessary - but if it was to get his trust, then she'll gladly do it. She kept fiddling with the padlock for a bit, before closing her eyes, and focusing. The water inside the lock snapfroze, and expanded. Breaking the lock open. The lock dropped to the floor, and Meifeng slowly opened the door to his cell. She nodded and he approached.
"Trust me." Meifeng said.
She summoned some more water out of her pocket dimension, and forced it into crease where the collar opens. She froze that water, too, and the water froze solid. Popping the collar right off. She nodded her head. She felt very dry... thirsty. God, the dehydration's kicking in. Meifeng thought to herself as she put a hand to her head, and took a step back.
"I got it off... do you trust us, now? W-we're just trying to get out of here." Meifeng said.
"Yeah, appreciated. You people, you're all.... powered, right? That's what all those fuckers are after, I think." Taking that collar off gave him the look of a man who'd just surfaced after almost drowning.
"Far as I can tell, I'm the only one here with a power." Meifeng said, grabbing onto her arm. She looked around for a moment, hoping to find a source of water. "I don't know why they'd grab some unpowered people."
Should I...? Jennifer thought to herself for a moment. Since, she never told Meifeng that she had a power of her own, and probably doesn't know that Ratchet has an ability, either. Then again, maybe she should keep it to herself for now. Don't ask, don't tell. Another part of her wanted to mention what she was told a few hours ago.
"Um, hold on a second." Meifeng eyeballed a sink. She quickly skipped over to it, and leaned forward over it, and turned the knob. She turned her head sideways, and started drinking water right out of the tap. The water tasted like it rust in it and the stranger suggested she avoid it, but she didn't care. She'd need to get rehydrated before the next monster comes out of no where to attack them.
Which meant that Jennifer would be the one talking while Meifeng was getting a dink. She coughed, before saying, "We're trying to get out of here. We were trying to spring as many people as possible so we can get some help... but we ran into some big thing. He had a helmet, and a coat, looked evil as hell... Meifeng and Ratchet knocked him over before we ran in here."
"That fucker?" He recognised their description of that... thing. "You'll need some firepower. What other powers have you people got?"
Meifeng raised her head... she probably caught something from the water - but hey, she's at risk of being murdered, why worry about a little bacteria? She turned back towards Quentin, and leaned up against the cabinet she closed her eyes, and shrugged. "As you can see, I can control water. The docs at NEST told me that I have a little pocket dimension that I can store water in, and I can pull it out at any time. I also have ice powers, but they're not that spectacular." She shrugged again.
Maybe it was time for Jen to say her power. "I'm... I'm a Regenerator." She said letting the words hang in the air.
"Yoooo, you didn-" Meifeng tried to say, before she got cut off by Jen.
"I know... I was just scared of the likes of the Pure, and NEST.... that's why I didn't tell you." She scratched the back of her neck nervously. "I haven't really tested it yet... but I can survive lethal wounds. I was... shot multiple times, and I healed it in a few minutes.... I know it won't help in a fight."
Meifeng would have been a little upset that Jen was giving her so much flak about hiding her power, when she was hiding an ability of her own, but she couldn't find it in her to get mad over the petty things. At least not now. Meifeng sighed. She figured that she should tell about Anna... since she doubted if she could talk on her own. Poor thing.
"My friend Anna over there is a little... out of it," And that was the understatement of the year. "She... might be a Metahuman. We talked about it, and she has something to do with other Metahumans. Like, she enhances them? I don't know."
"They experiment on her as well? I don't recognise her."
"I..." Meifeng said, unsure of what to say. She shot a worried look at Anna. "... don't know. She's been badly drugged. I hope she's... okay."
"They dosed me with that stuff, wasn't as potent though," It didn't look like he wanted to memorise the experience, "Just... these bastards have a lot to answer for. Things they did to... yeah."
"You're damn right." Meifeng said. She raised her fist valiantly to chin level. "And I promised I'll make every one of these bastards pay for what they did to Anna, and every other person here."
"Ummm..." Jennifer asked, after Meifeng heroicness ceased. "You're a Metahuman, right?" She pointed at the collar that was left behind. "What is your power? They wouldn't have put a collar on you otherwise."
"I can pick up other... MetaHumans' powers and use them myself... or give them to others."
"So... you can..." Jennifer thought to herself outloud. "... Take people's powers away, and give them to other people? That's..."Useful. Maybe I can get my powers removed so I can live a normal life. Without any of this nonsense. Jennifer thought to herself after cutting her sentence short. She disregarded those thoughts, since she should be focusing on staying alive. Her power might be the only thing that'll save her.
"Maybe you could snatch that big bastard's power, and beat him?" Meifeng suggested, shrugging again. "Because I don't have too many other ideas. He kept getting back up."
"If I can get in close enough, it's possible."
"Well, we knocked him on his ass a few minutes ago." Meifeng noted, shrugging. "Nothing says we can't do it again."
"It's Quentin, by the way. No point hiding it anymore."
Nodding her head, Meifeng pushed off from the counter and crossed her arms. She took a few steps towards the door - before coming to an abrupt stop. She heard the familar heavy footsteps of the Nemesis, coming this way. "Ssssssh!" Meifeng said, before sliding to the wall, and putting her ear to it.
"It's coming." Meifeng said. She put her hands to her side, and deployed some water out of her pocket dimension.
Jen's heart started racing as her brain releashed adrenline into her system, whichly circulated through her veins. However, she took a deep breath, and thought about it for a moment. Decided to be the level headed one, she simply sighed, and thought about all the possibilities here.
"Guys," Jenny started off, hushing, "We can't fight that thing in here... we'll get cornered, and we'll get wrecked... and that's if he doesn't have back up."
"Then what do you suggest we do, Jen?" Meifeng asked, she nearly hissed, but had to keep her voice down.
"... We pick the right moment, then pop out and catch it off guard, or something. I don't think waiting here is going to bode well for us."
"Well," Ratchet whispered, "I might be able to help knock that guy down..." Her narrow eyes darted from left to right, looking for something that wasn't bolted down. She saw a conveniently placed operating table!
"I got an idea," Meifeng whispered, inspired by what Ratchet said. "If you can knock it down, I may be able to freeze it. Dunno if that'll work, but it can hold it down."
The footsteps of the Nemesis got closer, and Jennifer nodded her head. "Now's the time. Ratchet, you and Meifeng knock it down, and freeze it. If we can get it locked down, we might be able to buy us some time."
"Got it," Ratchet whispered, before placing her rip key into her prosthetic. She figured that if she could hurl a bicycle, an operating table or a gurney would fall into a similar vein. She winced as the footsteps grew louder. "Aw, tits, Big Ugly's getting pretty close."
Kate gaped at her.
"Sorry, cuz'," Ratchet said.
Skipping over to the door, Meifeng put her hand onto the doorknob, and turned it slowly, and quietly as she could. She gestured for everyone to get close, before she nodded, asking "Alright, everyone ready for this?" Meifeng asked.
Jennifer grabbed onto Anna, and hoisted her over her shoulder. ... Ready as I'll ever be, I guess. She hesitantly thought to herself, before opening her mouth to say, "Yeah." Nodding her head to add some confirmation to it.
"Let's hurl some shit," Ratchet said, before whapping her face again. "Dammit--d'oh!" she hissed.
"Good. 3... 2... 1.... showtime!" Meifeng quickly opened the door, and everyone shot out. The Nemesis wasn't too far away, but it just got a little faster upon seeing them. The first thing Meifeng did was pull as much water out as possible, and condensed it into an orb. She caused the orb to shoot out hard as she could will it into a cannon. It impacted the Nemesis's frame and sent him off balance. Leaving him perfectly open for Ratchet to finish the deal.
Meanwhile, Ratchet ripped her key out of her flywheel and felt the familiar mechanical wrumming of the axle. The wheel rumbled in her arm as Ratchet turned her attention to a heavy-looking operating table. She concentrated on the table and swept her arms in a broad arc, transferring the kinetic energy from her spinning wheel into the table and sending it blasting out the doorway and whacking the Nemesis upside its jaw.
"Nice shot, Blastoise," Ratchet said, glancing over at Meifeng.
The Nemesis fell straight down, and hit the ground with a loud thud. Feeling a bit proud of herself, Meifeng grinned a bit. Her job wasn't over just yet - she still needed to freeze the beast. She absorbed whatever was left of the water back into her pocket dimension as she charged forward. Opening her palms to spray the water out like a firehose, which soaked the Nemesis's longcoat. Before it could get back up, Meifeng jumped on it, landing on it's chest with one foot. Upon impact, all the water that surrounded the Nemesis froze solid. Holding the Nemesis in place. Wasn't the perfect way to keep it still, but it would buy them some time. She jumped right off of it, and roared,
"Serves you the fuck right, freak!" Meifeng said.
"Keep it down!" Jenny said, holding Anna over her shoulder. While they incapacitated the Nemesis, that definitely didn't mean that it was dead, or that there wasn't anyone else. "Let's hurry up, and get out of here." She said, as she turned around, and tried to walk, but she saw something at the other end of the hallway.
Two green orbs that looked a lot like eyes. and blurry air that she was familar with.
In an instant, the thing came charging right for the group... right for Meifeng. Jen was the only one that noticed this. She immediately dropped Anna, and did the first thing that came natural to her:
She got in the way.
She stood in between Meifeng and the charging beast, she didn't know what compelled her to do this. She wasn't even sure if she could survive everything, but it was a growing affection for Meifeng that was driving all of her actions.
And when it hit her, it hit hard. All that was seen was a hole suddenly appearing in Jen's chest, and two large hands, with long, bony, fingers, appearing through the fresh wound. Coated in her blood. Jen looked down, and a panic coursed through her body as all she could feel is pain... then all she felt was regret for what she just did.
"I..." Jen choked out the words, as blood began dripping out of her mouth. The invisible creature withdrew it's hands, and Jen dropped to the ground. Seemingly lifeless.
"JEN!" Meifeng screamed at the top of her lungs as tears welled up in her eyes. This... they just gone too far.
Another pair of glowing orbs had appeared in the hallway in front of them. Loudly screeching to signal it's arrival.
Meifeng's heart sank upon the sight of her friend dead. Every part of her brain was telling her to go over there... but her body was telling her that they needed to fight above all else. She sobbed, and wiped her own tears. Before she pulled water out of her pocket dimension, and created two large orbs of water over her hands.
"Alright, you fucks... I'm going to make all of you PAY FOR THAT!" She screamed, as she got ready for the fight and fate.
After the Nemesis took a tumble, the girls ran away. It tried to push itself back up by it's hands, but the ice made it slip, and it hit the ground again. Causing the ice to crack. Raising it's fist up into the air, it brought it down, and shattered the ice with a blow that broke the ice into pieces. Which finally allowed it the leeway it needed in order for it to get back up. It quickly looked around - red eyes shining a light much like a flashlight - before realizing that the girls had disappeared. It's eyes flickered back to normal, before it turned around to search for it's master.
Berlioz.
It seems his master was coming, running down the hallways. The Nemesis simply stood there. Berlioz ran up, and he saw the Nemesis standing straight up - he peered around the aberrant and saw the broken pieces of ice.
"Nemesis, what happened?" He asked, looking up at it.
Nemesis didn't respond.
"Was there... was there a breakout?" Berlioz asked.
The Nemesis nodded it's head up and down.
"Crap!" Berlioz said, clawing his hand, and looking around. He quickly centered his attention on the Nemesis and shouted, "What are you standing here for, then?! After them!"
The Nemesis turned it's body around, and started walking off.
Berlioz groaned. They had to detain the escapees soon as possible! Before they break anyone else out, and cause all sorts of havoc... However, if worse comes to worse, he'll cause the whole base to explode, and call it a night. He wanted to come back to the base with results - he needed to come back to the base with results.
He quickly pulled out his revolver, and ran down the hallways of the base. Until he came up to a big metal door. He was told not to do this unless the situation was dire... test subjects roaming the base, causing all sorts of destruction was desire enough. There was a doorknob with a keypad above it, he punched in a code, and stepped aside. Two masses of blurry air proceded out of the door, and sudden two sets of glowing orbs - one yellow, and one bright-green - appeared.
The Hands of Science told him not to let more than one Ghoul out at a time because they'll form a pack, and will stop listening to orders. However, they would be instrusmental in taking out the escapees.
"There's people wandering around the base, out of their chains, find them!" Berlioz pointed down the hallway.
The two Ghouls shot down the hallways fast as racecars, leaving behind only a whip of air they displaced with their immense motion.
Berlioz watched. He nodded his head and began walking towards the security office to monitor things from a distance.
It's inhuman frame visible, the first ghoul was attached to a wall. It's claws dug into the stone that made up the tunnels. It looked over it's shoulder to see a rock flying towards it. It quickly moved to the side, as the rock hit the wall. Causing one hell of a bang. It let out a screech as it attempted to brush the dust off of it's body, but Lihua wouldn't let up. Concrete spikes violently erupted from the ground, and the Ghoul leaped up before it could even come close. Clinging to the ceiling, and crawling along the ceiling.
"Damn it!" Lihua hissed, because of a mixture of pain and aggravation. This thing was quick. Far quicker than her. Her power could decimate this thing if she could get a solid hit on it. However, the epiphany came when she realized that she was being too rash. Not employing her usual brand of patience, and defense. She let out a sigh, and put her right leg back, and lowered both hands to stomach level, left hand was further than the right. Fingers up. Her eyes were on the Ghoul.
It quickly dropped down, and turned towards Lihua, and began a blind charge. She let out a sigh, as she had to time this just right....
Once it got close, Lihua raised one hand upwards, and lowered the other. She brought them inwards as if she was crushing something. She chipped pieces of concrete off the ceiling and created a cloud of dust, and afterwards, created three concrete spikes pointing outwards to impale the Aberrant, concealed by the dust. Everything inside the cloud was invisible, but the Ghoul released a ghostly screech. Lihua was locked into place by her power, but she used as much of her strength as possible to move. Once she was released, she got away from the cloud.
With a flick of her wrist, she pulled the dust cloud away. It revealed that her gambit was a success, and the Ghoul had impaled itself on one of the spikes. Blood was dripping down from the concrete blade as it was struggling to pull itself off. It went right through it's body - the tip poking out from the other side. Now, the invisible had been deactivated, obviously due to the gross damage done to it, and Lihua could see the abomination in the flesh. White skin, with pitch black stripes all over it. It seemed to be grossly malnourished, and was literally skin and bone. What a horrid beast. She briefly wondered if it was even human to begin with. Not that she brought too much attention to the fact.
She pulled her arm back, and the concrete spikes receded back into the tunnel with minimal cracking, and a wave of blood and organs came flowing as it writhed in pain. Hopelessly putting it's hands to it's open hole, before it finally perished.
"Disgusting creature." Lihua cursed it as she caused the earth to split, and kicked the Ghoul inside of it. It fell down, and she sealed the lid over the concrete. The boys at NEST will dig it up later for testing, she just couldn't leave the thing out in the open like that, for any of it's buddies to find it and tip them off that the jig is up. She'd clean up the blood, but there's no time, and it's likely to just get glossed over in this darkness.
Now, that left one thing. Lihua shined her shotgun's flashlight on the door, and approached it. She was ready to tear this door down to get to her daughter. She slowly walked up to it, and was expecting it to be locked, but it was ajar (Heartbreaker forgot to close the door behind her). Lihua, carefully, pushed the door open with the Mossberg, and saw the hallways of the base. Barely illuminated by the lights above. She let out a sigh, and turned off the flashlight. Slowly walking with her shotgun drawn.
After a bit of marching, the hallways Lihua was reluctantly exploring were becoming more and more like a lab. She started seeing operating tables lying around, and medical equipment. Which, in turn, worried Lihua more and more. What is going on down here... I hope Meifeng is okay. Lihua thought to herself as she was exploring the rooms of this base. Ready to tear whatever popped up to shred if it so much as looked at her funny. She heard a bit of chatter coming from one of the rooms - except, it was different. It sounded like children talking. She was still hesitant. It could be a trap. She walked up to the door, and opened it ajar slightly so that she may peak inside. She saw a medium sized room with plenty of operating tables, and on the other side were bars that weren't. Behind those bars were the young and tired faces of children. No threats in sight.
Pushing the door open, Lihua stepped inside, and everyone looked at her. They looked terrified of her. Lihua noticed this, and tried to seem as least intimidating as possible. "Don't... be alarmed. I'm with NEST, I'm here to help." She started off, standing straight up at the door to the makeshift prison. "What is going on here? Why have you been locked up?" She asked as she examined the door. Locked with a padlock. She could pop this off in a second.
For a moments, the kids were quiet, whispering among each other. Until one of the girls simply walked up to the bars, and looked up at Lihua. "Hi. I'm... Penny." She said, sounding somewhat guilty. "They kidnapped us... they've been doing these... awful experiments to us."
That's what made Lihua look up at the girl, with her own eyes wide. What...? Kidnapping and experimenting on children? That's beyond cruel and irredeemable. Lihua thought to herself. "Hold on, let me get you all out of here." She raised a hand in the air, and a thick spike of concrete came out of the ceiling. "Take a step back." She said, and they complied, and the concrete spike came down on the padlock. Blood was dripping from Lihua's hands as it split open. It was painful, though a pain she was familiar with.
The padlock hit the ground, and Lihua didn't even have a chance to blink before the kids came out of the cages. The had collars around their neck. Power suppressant collars. Lihua thought to herself. They're produced by, and only for, NEST... which makes me wonder just who's running this show. She continued her line of thought.
"I want to go home..." One of the kids sobbed.
Fingers went to her ears as she pressed her earpiece. Before she could even say anything, one of the kids said something that really interested her.
"She turned us into Metas." One boy, with neat blond hair and a rotund stomach, spoke up where everyone else was silent. Before he pointed at Penny.
Taking her fingers off her earpiece, Lihua looked at the boy, and asked, "What?"
A girl spoke up and said, "Yeah the people in here made her give us powers... then... they..."
"Don't explain it." Lihua said, sympathetic to their situation, talking about it would only make them break down. However, her eyes fell on Penny... if she's a Bestower - the NEST word for Metahumans who give others powers - then NEST will definitely have to handle this. She'll have to handle that later.
For now, she has to report this to NEST. "Control, this is Agent Vuhong." She said with the feeling in her gut that they wouldn't answer. However, they exceeded her expectations, and answered.
"This is control, what do you have to report?" A man said on the other end.
"I have discovered a group of young Metahumans kidnapped, presumably by a ring. Send backup to my location at once."
"Affirmative, Agent Vuhong. We're sending a team to your location."
"Agent Vuhong out." Lihua said ... I don't even know why I called them. Headquarters is in shambles, they won't be able to get a unit out in time. before she turned back to the group of kids. She didn't have good conscience in leaving them in here all alone... and at the same time, she needed to find Meifeng at once. Selfishness, or selflessness, after all. She let out a sigh.
She raised her hand into the air again, and pulled a concrete spike - with the blade part very flat - out from the ceiling, which flew into her hands. "All of you, come here." She said.
They lined up, and Lihua stuck the spike in the crease where the collars meet, and popped them open. She kept doing this until every kid was liberated. "That couldn't have been comfortable..." Lihua mused for a moment, before she gave them orders, "Now, listen up, I am instructing you all to hide, and don't leave for any reason until the coast is clear, and NEST is clearing the base. Got it?"
They all nodded their heads.
"Good."
Meanwhile, Baron of the Dreadnaughts had already made his preparations and made his way to his destination. The manhole he was to enter was already opened, likely due to Lihua's negliegence in her state of panic. He took off his suit coat, and underhand tossed it into the vehicle he had come in. He loosened the tie, with Washe's words of echoing in his ears. "Don't you fucking go in there with that damn noose around your neck." Baron had no intention of doing that, even before Washe's warning - but he appreciated the gesture on Washe's part. It spoke greater volumes than the tactician likely realized. The tie followed his coat en suit through the air. His vest, too, as it would be too binding. All that was left was on his torso was his gray button-up and black suspenders the held up his fitted dress pants. Two guns were holstered on his body. A caracal on his right, and a taser from NEST on his left. The caracal was silenced, though the muffled sounds of exploding gunpowder would do little to hide the fact that he had fired a shot. That was what the taser was for, and it would be the primary weapon on this venture. On his lower back was a fanny pack that zipped open, and in it was hiding an array of injections. Pouches that held a variety of seemingly useless trinkets were along his waist. A knife was present, of course, but Baron hardly had the proficiency to put it to good use.
"Well, back into the pit from whence I came." Baron mused to himself in his effort to lighten the situation for himself. He took one last drag of a cigarette before flicking it onto the open road, and put himself down the manhole, sliding down the ladder to compensate for his leg.
In some ways, perhaps the pit wasn't too far-fetched of an analogy for Baron. If he wanted to get through this, and bring both himself and Lihua out, then he'd have to channel the devil. Paraguay taught him many things. To beat mad men, you must think like mad men. What separated him from the trash was that he has maintained the sanity to focus and concentrate that madness into cold, calculating depravity. That was at least part of the reason why Washe refuses to argue with him for too long. Not that it was entirely it, or that the man would admit it, but only few of those who knew him long enough knows of that dark side. That was at least part of the reason why he unflinchingly delves into whatever hell that awaited him.
His boots hit the ground with a wet smack. There was hardly any light, save for the wispy strands shine through the grating by roads above ground. In one of his pouches, he procured a set of contacts sitting in lubrication. Nearly pitch black, they were effective at absorbing nearly any and all light in the area and focuses them toward the retinas, allowing the wearing to see in the dark without the risk of a flashlight or the encumberance of night vision goggle. The down side, other than your eyes looking like that of a demon to any and all who see you wearing them, were an intense sensitivity to light. He'd have to remove them later.
The walk was long. Not foreboding, or treacherous, just long. He had removed himself from the situation the moment his feet hit the wet ground of the sewers. Perhaps he should feel uneasy about how easily he could emotionally detach himself like a flick of a switch. Perhaps he should feel guilty it. Perhaps he should feel guilty for leading Lihua to believe he felt attracted to her, or that he had no intention of backing her up for the sake of sentimentality. She was necessary. A means to an end - but the feeling was cold.
He came across a gruesome scene. A mutilated cadaver and a mess of manipulated concrete shredding it. He met it head on without a wince, and inspected the mess closely. Warmth radiated off its body, which meant this was a recent killing. Lihua may have stormed ahead with the vigor of a German blitzkrieg, but even she was cautious in treading these grounds. She wasn't far from here. The walls were beginning to look like the actual decor of a building.
"Wh-- who're you?"
Baron turned around to come face to face with an older man with a miniature flashlight. Its light, though weak, shone in Baron's face. The Dreadnaught cringed, and the older man in a lab coat drew back in appallment.
"Y-your eyes!" He cried. "You're like a demon, you're not from the experiments! Don't tell me you're part of that ghastly Changeling crowd, are you? Like that last envoy? God, have mercy..."
"Argh, my eyes..." Baron growled, squinting. He drew the taser and lunged toward the stranger. One hand grabbed the man's hair and pulled up while the taser was fired point blank under his chin. The sparks of light repeatedly flicked, creating a strobe effect that reflected off the black contacts on his eyes.
"You should be less worried about the monsters that might be, dear doctor."
Baron let him go, dropping the man to the floor, stunned and paralytic. Baron undressed him just enough to loot the white lab coat that he wore and draped it around himself and followed the trail that Lihua had left him. The man had spoken of experiements and Changelings. Truly, it was like a bad James Bond movie. Spy and psychologist walking in on doctorl.s performing experimentation. If it were anything like the cliches, then it'd be human experimentation. But the mention of "Changelings"... if the scientist was a member of an organization pulling the strings behind the Fiends, and he is afraid of a different crowd, then there was a hopelessly entwined entanglement of organizations vying for some kind of power and control over an indeterminable asset of indeterminable value or scope.
If he could find records here, they'd be immeasurably important to the investigation of Verthaven's underbelly.
He had soon met with a room; a room quite unbefitting of a sewer. It was sophisticated in a crass, mundane way. Much like a prison. The light that came from it was bright like a sun-shiny day, though it would've normally been dimly lit. Strewn about it were terrified, immobile children. They were staring at Baron, who wore the coat and contacts as good as any torturous experiementer, and his cold demeanor didn't do him any favors. Baron blinked, and thought that perhaps now would be a good time to fake a smile.
"Oh, hello." He said gently. "Have you seen my friend come through here? Tall, Chinese?"
He was met with a bolt of electricity shot at him. The charge met with him, and static danced and arced around his body, but he himself felt no negative effects of the blast.
"Excuse me, but that is a little rude..."
Rushing through the halls of this damn base, Berlioz could hear the battle going on in the distance. He wondered how many have escaped, and how much damage have they caused. It'll be unlikely that they called for help, all they have to do is subdue them (or kill). He saw another scientist pushing a person around on a cart, and he ran around them. He turned to a door, and then immediately various monitors, and chairs. This was the security room, where they monitor everything... And the first thing Berlioz saw was a pool of blood on the floor. There was a man, who Berlioz assigned to watching the monitors, dead with various slashes done to his throat. Berlioz knelt down to take a closer look, and then he said,
"Sloppy." Noticing how wild and imprecise it was. Someone who wasn't used to slashing throats tried this, and wasn't successful the first time, but they managed to sever the main vein. God damn it, Berlioz is not cleaning this up. There wasn't time for this, the first thing that Berlioz did was run over to the monitor, and flick through the cameras. There was the battle with the escapees in the Atrium... looks like only five of them have escaped. They are putting up a fight, but they'll be overwhelmed soon. However, there could be more lurking around, so he kept switching through every camera. Everything looked fine thus far... oh no. One camera, he eyeballed a tall Asian woman wielding a shotgun. One he's never seen before. She was standing before a group of kids... the test subjects. Oh no. This isn't good.
If NEST is here, he has no choice but to blow the base up. Destroy all the evidence.
He didn't warn anyone, he couldn't risk them catching wind and abandoning ship, too. Everyone here was expendable, save for the research. Berlioz grabbed onto his revolver. He charged down the hallways, and kept running until he made it into his office. He put his revolver on the desk next to him, and began typing away on his computer. Opening up files, and submitting them to the Hands of Science. Everything his team had discovered during this operation. Along with a email telling them they've been discovered. Before he could even finish the email, he noticed that his revolver was gone.
That same revolver was being pressed against his head. "Hello, there, Ber-li-oz..." A familiar voice said to him.
"Megan!?" Berlioz said, "What is the meaning of this?!"
"Sssh, ssssh..." Megan pressed the gun against his head much harder against his head. "Sorry for all of this being so... out of the blue, but this is my betrayal."
"What?!" Berlioz said.
"You see... I was never on your side, or the Hands of Science's side, I've been against you the whole time. Who do you think has been breaking the collars, hoping that a big breakout like this would occur? Sorry, but the organization is tapping into things they shouldn't, and they're putting everyone at risk here."
Berlioz didn't say anything.
"Now, here's how things are gonna go...." Megan said, producing a large scalpel from her amorphous form. Using a little tentacle to move it closer and closer to Berlioz's neck. All while she chattered, "The official story is going to look like this: NEST is going to find this terminal full of sensitive files that'll reveal just about everything after you've been caught off guard by one of your escaped test subjects... and killed."
"Hm, what-" Berlioz was barely able to get the words out before the scalpel violently slashed across his throat, spraying blood everywhere. But that wasn't enough, Megan had to make it sloppy. She quickly dropped the revolver, and put the scalpel in her real hand. Before she started violently stabbing at Berlioz's throat, leaving holes in his neck. He stumbled forward, grabbing at his neck, and Megan grabbed his head, and smashed it against the side of his desk. Hard enough to crack his skull immediately, but then she pulled him back again, and slammed his head once more. Killing Berlioz.
A USB drive was pulled out of her body by a tentacle. She put it into Berlioz's computer, and opened some files. Making it look like Berlioz was simply caught off guard while looking at some sensitive data. Something for the good NEST Agent to find. Hopefully. Time for Megan to make sure that Lihua find it, by leaving a nice paper trail straight to it. Megan turned into a small child, a girl with wavy brown hair, and freckles. Wearing dark blue pajamas with cartoony white stars and planets.
She walked out the door.
This place was a madhouse, and Lihua was just about ready to kill every one of these sadistic bastards for what they put children through. She kept her shotgun clenched as she walked through the halls - she heard some operating tables being pushed in another hallway, towards her. She figured that's as good of a place as any to start looking. Lihua pushed herself against the wall, and waited for the person to walk by. It was a woman with blonde hair, wearing a lab coat and black jeans, and dress shoes, pushing a operating table with a girl tied to the top of it. Lihua leveled the barrel of the shotgun at her head, and pumped it to get her attention.
"Hands in the air." Lihua ordered, and the woman intelligently complied. She circled around the woman, aiming the shotgun at her. With one hand, she undid the straps holding the child down on the table, and the kid managed to pick himself up. "Get down on the ground, hands behind your head. Do anything funny, and I'm going to make it hurt."
The woman nodded her head before putting her hands behind her head, and got down on the ground.
Lihua pulled another flat-bladed concrete spike out of the ceiling, and pried open the girl's nullification collar. Letting her use her power. She dropped the spike, and put her hand on the girl's shoulder, before saying, "Find a place to hide."
Right when the girl nodded, two men in labcoats came down the hallway behind them. Holding clipboards, but the second they saw Lihua, they dropped them and shouted, "You! Intruder!" Before reaching down to pull out her glocks, and opening fire.
"Dammit." Lihua muttered before she grabbed the girl and they both turned the corner as the men opened fire on them. The scientist that was on the ground quickly got up and ran off.
As Lihua had her back against the wall, the girl nodded at her, and said, "I'm going to help you."
"No, don-" Lihua could barely say before the girl zipped by her at what had to be blinding speeds. She moved far faster than Lihua could even track. She quickly ran around the hail of bullets, and ran around the two scientists, before knocking them both over. She stopped, and gave Lihua a nod, before she disappeared into the hallways. Maybe she should give her a pat on the back after this.
Before they could get back up, Lihua turned the corner, and aimed her Mossberg at them. She fired twice - the first shot ripped clean through one's skull, and the other slug went through the other's back. Causing them brutal wounds. It wasn't long - with all their wounds likely dealt to major blood vessels - before they bled to death. And Lihua didn't give them a second thought. Because, to her, they were combatants, and already forfeited their lives. NEST can easily identify their corpses.
Good grief. This means whoever else is here is about to come arunning. Their gunshots would echo throughout the entire base! Lihua should get a move on. Don't let them just surround her after all. She began walking through the halls, constantly aware. She stuck to the walls in hopes that they wouldn't immediately notice her. Once again, she heard a lot of activity around the corner, and she walked over. And she began hearing things like,
"What happened?"
"Was there a breakout?"
"Should we be alarmed?"
Lihua peered around the corner, and saw a group of people in lab coats, and surgical gear. Some of which had gloves covered in blood. Like they were in the middle of an operation. Lihua thought to herself. This might be her golden opportunity to catch as many of them as possible. She dove out from hiding, and rushed forward. While they were confused, she raised her fist into the air, and slammed it down, stopping her momentum. It caused a hell of an impact in the concrete around them. Cracks formed in a linear path right at the scientists. And concrete walls were erected on both sides, trapping them within the area. They were shouting on the other side, and Lihua found herself panting. More blood was dripping from her sides as fresh wounds were being formed because of her power. She was getting tired... she can't keep fighting like this.
After she caught her breath, she turned around, and didn't even notice that there was a scientist with a gun creeping up on her. A woman, with black hair, and blue eyes, wearing the same lab coats as the rest. "Drop the gun, hands in the air." She ordered.
Good grief. Lihua thought to herself... and at the same time, she had a plan for this. She dropped her mossberg, and put her hands in the air... and several rocks came out of the ground in a line, and started landing in order. Creating a sound similar to footsteps.
"Huh?" The woman turned her body around to look, her gun still aimed at Lihua.
Lihua did two things at once. First thing she did was dive out of the air, the other thing she did was reach back, pull a chunk of concrete out of the ground, and swung her hand and sent it at her at high speeds. By the time she turned back, the rock was already flying at her. It hurt her square in the stomach, and sent her flying backwards. Up until she hit a wall with explosive force. Bones loudly cracked, and the woman screamed. The rock dropped, and a torrent of blood came out of the woman's mouth. She looked down, and clenched her stomach. Barely even noticing Lihua's footsteps coming up, stopping for a moment, and resuming again. She saw the tall woman's shadow over her, and she looked up, and all she saw was the barrel of the gun she was just using.
Lihua pulled the trigger, and blew a nice hole in her head. Gore splattered the wall, and Lihua's suit. Before she dropped the gun, and kept walking as if she never saw her in the first place. The woman should consider that an act of mercy. With her organs crushed, she wouldn't have lasted long.
So far, Lihua has captured a group of scientists, and killed three. Long as there's someone to interrogate, NEST won't mind the excessive force. She let out a sigh. She thought that she had left this all behind - but it seems that some things will never change. ... I'll never stop killing, will I? Lihua asked herself. She didn't think anymore of it, as she began walking. She wasn't making any progress in finding Meifeng. All she was doing was saving other kids... Maybe that'll help her sleep a little better at night. That she at least spared someone else's children from this fate.
"So all I have to do is follow the sound of gunfire and agonized shrieks to find you? I take it that infiltration isn't your strongest suit."
Coming to a stop, Lihua was legitimately surprised that Baron had come all the way down here... especially in a labcoat. If she hadn't recognized him right off the bat, he'd probably be staring down the barrel of her shotgun. Though, she didn't exactly appreciate the gesture.
"What are you doing down here, Baron?" Lihua asked, almost hostile. "I don't recall asking for any help."
"On the contrary..." Baron sighed, shaking his head, "I am armed and had as good a shot as any to land a slug in the middle of your back. Fortunately it was only me and not, well..." Baron gestured at the bodies of the scientists strewn about, and their blood covering the walls. "One of them."
Letting out a sigh, Lihua closed her eyes for a moment as she thought about it. Only to open her eyes as she answered, "I see your point... but, this has nothing to do with the Dreadnaughts, truthfully..." Lihua said as she turned away. Letting out another sigh as she continued, looking back at Baron afterwards, "... Meifeng is my responsibility, and mine alone. I can do this alone. I should do this alone." She wondered what his objective was down here. Help her? Or was there another goal? Either way, her pride was too strong to possibly let her accept help on such a personal matter such as this.
"No, you're right." Baron admitted. "Your daughter isn't my business. I can let you do that all on your own if you'd like. Though if something were to happen to her, that would compromise you, which would compromise the mission, because now the mission is NEST."
Wait... does that mean? Lihua thought to herself as she let Baron's words sink for a little bit. Are the Dreadnaughts after NEST now? Or something else...? Ugh. She knew that there was something a little wrong with the Dreadnaught's. She was now regretting giving away all that information like that. Still... that was a matter for later. She shouldn't be standing here chit-chatting with all the crimes against humanity being caused here. This is definitely something that she'll have to work out later.
She gave him a narrow glare. Before she eased up, and finally asked, "Just tell me what is it that you're after...?"
"It is like I said to you earlier. Caesar and I sought a meeting with you." Baron explained. "It regards NEST, and NEST's future. He gave me a briefing following the failure to capture Khan. The Fiend invasion was flawlessly executed, even with Khan's death. No immediate alarms, access through a hidden entrance, and all seasoned combat personnel out on patrol with minimal guard in the critical access points in headquarters."
"It's too obvious that someone in NEST was giving them a hand." Lihua was quick to reply. She knew exactly what Baron was implying, and caught onto it instantly. "They didn't even bother trying to hide it."
"Yes." Baron confirmed. "How many people in NEST do you know of that has such widespread control?"
"Between the Director, and High Command, zero." Lihua blankly answered. Suspecting the Director more and more.
"What are the odds, do you think, that you can hide anything from the Director, who has unrestricted access to everything within NEST?"
"Hmph. It'd be easy, really. She can't watch everything at once, and far as she can tell, I'm just her obedient little dog." Ugh saying about herself that hurt a little bit.
"Think of this like chess." Baron echoed. "You make your moves based upon whether or not your prediction is true. If you walk straight into their trap..."
"... Yes, I remember that analogy." Lihua said. Baron had a point. He was capable of talking her out of her rash decisions due to her sheer overconfidence. She was wondering how she was going to get to the bottom of this one. All she needs is a little evidence, and submit that evidence to high command... and Miranda Caryl will be exposed for her crimes. And more importantly, Lihua will be on the way to getting a promotion!
"Allowing your subordinates to believe she can't watch everything sure is a powerful and effective strategy, don't you think?" Baron mused. "After all, we're only human."
"I'll definitely keep that in mind while I perform my investigations...." Lihua said, nodding her head in silent agreement. She quickly looked around, and it was completely quiet other than the two of them. She was wondering if there were any Scientists around, or are they just gathering their forces for one large attack (Which will be fun, because she'll enjoy seeing their faces as they realize that she turned it into a bloodbath)?
She wasn't going to let herself get sidetracked any further. She was on a mission here, separate from NEST. Lihua put her hand on her shotgun's pump, before sighing (As a sign she swallowed her pride (Just this once)). "You may come along with me, if you really choose to." She shrugged. Before she continued down the hallway she was going, with Baron right behind her.
During their march, she saw a child with wavy brown hair and freckles peering around the corner with a face oh so frightened. Lihua put her hand up, and tried to put a disarming smile on, but the child shrieked, and ran into a room. Lihua quickly followed behind her, and her eyes opened once she saw the child wide eyed. Staring at the bloody mess that was Berlioz. Shaking, and barely being able to gasp.
"He-he..." She stuttered out the words. "He-he w-was the leader... of these people. I-I-I.... I-" Tears started going down her eyes.
Quickly kneeling down, Lihua put her hands on the girl's shoulder, "Ssh, ssh, it's okay." She said gently. "It's over. They won't hurt you anymore. I made sure of it."
Baron approached Berlioz, inspecting the wounds and trying to determine the cause of his death. Bloody slashes and punctures mutilated his throat. That could've been either blood loss or air deprivation. That'd be an agonizing last few minutes. The crown of his head though, Baron observed as he felt the bloody, swollen tissue with his hands, the skin had broken and was intensely swollen. Pushing down, he felt some give in the cranium. That could've been an instant death.
The girl wiped her own tears. "... Okay."
"Now, I need you to stay quiet. Help is on the way. Can you do that for me?" Lihua asked.
The girl nodded her head. "Mhmm..."
"Good." Lihua said as the girl stood there looking terrified. Which meant she had a room to investigate all by herself. First, the body. Lihua didn't touch it, or get in the blood, she knelt down and examined the wounds from a distance (She wished that she had gloves now). It was sloppy, wild... almost like it was done by someone who had no idea how to slit a throat, or had a bad blade. In the end, they managed to kill this man with sheer slashes. God damn it, by the time NEST arrived, this corpse would have already begun to decompose. If this man was the leader, they needed to get him to the morgue soon as possible so they can identify him. Though, with the trail of blood he left, it's obvious he was caught off guard while doing something else - using the computer. He should have locked the door.
Baron examined the work station. Low velocity blood splatter all over the station, especially on the screen. So the scientist was... facing the screen, viewing important documents when his throat was slashed... there was no falling back except into his cushioned chair. One clean cut across the throat... then several puncture wounds. Medium velocity blood splatter around... the side of the room. Some blank spots. An arm blocked the projectory of part of those splatters. Stumbling forward... then his head hits the desk? Low velocity blood splatter, some pooling. No, no... not that hard... he couldn't have hit the desk that hard...
The "girl" was watching Baron's charades in his attempt to best reenact what had happened from the corner of the room. Still looking terrified - but right now, that was legitimate fear that he'll catch onto something. Of course, he wouldn't suspect a little girl, but maybe they could see how contrived the situation seemed, and disregard the evidence as fake (When it's everything but). Oh no, Megan would just have to hope that Baron isn't all that bright.
If this man was the leader like this girl said, maybe there's something they can get off the computer. Lihua needed to examine this computer for herself, because who knows who will stroll by and destroy this computer full of what had to be valuable information? Holding her shotgun in one hand, she strolled over to the computer terminal, and placed her shotgun down by the side. She hunched over as she began typing into the computer - wiping some of the blood off the screen the second she realized it'd be an inconvenience. It was clear that this man was looking at sensitive files before he was killed. He was typing an email through the deep web... to...
The Hands of... Science? Lihua thought to herself. She never heard of such an organization - and if NEST knew about it, she definitely would.
She had to keep digging. Every file she opened was information on a different experiment (with videos). And it was... cruel. This was the cruelest most depraved filth that she has ever seen in her entire life. Just the idea of experimenting on children was bad enough, now that she sees it in action... it's something that just made her glad that she killed those bastards. She probably should go back and massacre the ones she has contained, too. Lihua sighed, and remembered her training. She kept her thirst for revenge in check (Lest she wants to become a rapid animal).
Baron looked at Berlioz again and drew his Apache. He extended the blade, and pressed it against the corpse's scalp, before shaving the hair near the head wound as close as he could, sometimes even nicking the skin (which was of no concern, since he was already dead). He stopped as soon as he found there were two abrasions and two mounds of swollen tissue.
For a moment, everything seems to be going just dandy. And by that, she meant they didn't seem to be overtly suspicious. The woman was tending to the computer, and the man - who she was far more worried about - was examining the man's skull. If he was bright, he would just suspect that it was done by a grown man - perhaps someone who got out. Despite the fact that they likely have only seen children thus far. However, Megan's form leaves no fingerprints, or any of the sort (And if it did, they would have a hard time tracking her). For now, she just look doe-eyed as she watched Baron... she better have a good escape plan for when NEST comes in and starts asking questions.
"His head was struck twice..." Baron muttered inaudibly. If he was hit in the head once in this state, he still would've been down for the count. The first strike broke the skull. The second likely propelled whatever shards of bone there were and penetrated his brain. They'd need enough strength to lift and swing a limp body. He looked at the freckled little girl that Lihua was consoling before (which should have been his job, honestly, but the last thing she needed were two people hovering over her). There... there was no way this little girl did this to him. It was impossible.
Digging through the files, she found more and more information on the Hands of Science, and all their sick experiments. She kept going through the files, until she found an video file that caught her eyes. She leaned in, and narrowed her eyes as she opened it. It was a conversation between two people obscured in shadows, while sitting in chairs. Lihua had a hard time making out any of their details, it was so dark. Baron, hearing the sudden noise, stood up and watched the file from behind Lihua. He still intended to keep one of his eyes on the girl, though. Megan felt relieved that the man took his attention off the body (after finding nothing of note).
"The Fiends... they have served their purpose well. However, we are close to perfecting the Mutagen, yet we haven't gotten any real combat data from them." A man with a deep voice said.
"Of course not, they're just a bunch of drug addicts. They're probably more likely to use it in some sex act than use it against NEST or the other gangs." A woman replied.
"Hmph... perhaps Khan and her family have forgotten about our deal. They seem to be more interested in using the guns and drugs we gave them rather than fulfilling their deal."
"We should just cut them off. We were only using them to distribute powers, and people are catching onto that."
"We can't just cut them off like that, they know far too much about the Hands of Science. Especially Khan, who is practically one of our agents. We have to eliminate them to cover as many loose ends as possible. Or else something about us will reach NEST."
"REAPER can handle it."
"How about this..." A third voice spoke, that Lihua immediately recognized. A woman walked up to the two, with a white light shining on her, that let Lihua see her in full color. See who this woman was.
"... Director Caryl?!" Lihua said out loud in sheer shock. Wait, that means... No.
"You guys trick the Fiends into attacking the Summer Festival, and causing a huge roar, and let NEST handle it. They take out Khan and the Fiends, and get a huge pay raise, and they get the PR boost from taking out a group of dangerous terrorists... You guys... you get the Fiends out of your hair. Do we have ourselves a deal?"
"Hmmm... I'll allow it. NEST can handle it, but make sure that the lieutenants die. We can't afford to risk a single word about the hands of science get out." The woman said.
"I won't." Miranda said. Nodding her head.
"Then get to it." The man said. "Meeting adjourned."
The video ended there.
"That bitch." Lihua slammed her fist on the desk, and growled.
"Well... I can't say that we didn't see that coming." Baron commented - and of course, by "we", he meant the Dreadnaughts team.
The Director was the cause of all this mayhem and bloodshed? All to make NEST look good... What a fucking whore who'd compromise their duty just for a little extra. Utter scum, if working with these madmen weren't enough. This was everything she needed to bring Caryl down for good... but it felt a bit too good. Suddenly, Lihua was a lot more worried about Meifeng, and what these people did with her. Her heart started racing, but she couldn't break down in anxiety here. She needed to see what else this computer has. She went through the files, and found more information on the Hands of Science, more on their deeds, and other evidence she could use to implicate the Director (Which she is going to do).
Lihua pulled a USB drive out, and stuck it into the computer, and downloaded as much of the files as she could. Before pulling it out, and sticking it in her pocket.
"But, now I have everything I need to expose her for the whore she is." Lihua said.
"In the meantime, I think it would be best if I took this girl with me back to the rest of the children and see about conducting a quick mass-psychological examination for any lasting trauma." Baron added.
... Oh God. Megan thought to herself. It was like he was trying to out her. I'm on your side, pal! Well... sort of. She thought to herself again. Either way, it'd look mighty suspicious if she makes a break for it now. Megan will just have to play along until the moment is just right... because the second they look her up on any official records, it's going to be very clear something's off. In her nubile child form, Megan walked over to Baron, and nodded her head.
A large bang in the distance caught Lihua's attention. She nodded her head, grabbed her shotgun, and got ready. Because, she came here to save Meifeng.
Meifeng had to be strong; she had to fight to live. These freaks are coming out of the woodwork to wage war. She swiped her hand with enough force to hit hard on it's own, and the orb of water wiped out at the beast that killed Jen. The Ghoul dodged, going so fast down the opposite hallway that it looked like it teleported, she clenched her teeth. The other one was racing down the hallway. She spun around, and swiped her other hand - but it simply course-corrected and went around her. Swiping at Meifeng with it's claws, it left three deep gashes in her side that swelled with dark blood, staining her clothes a gruesome color.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Meifeng let out the cry as liquid pain seeped through her fresh wound. She put her hand on it, let out the groan, and turned around. She saw that their ploy to hold her back; the Nemesis was just about out of time - the massive thing was breaking free of the ice. Plus, there's no way they can take on these other two monsters like this. And Anna... Jen left her on the ground.
However, they needed an opening. Meifeng gathered all the water around her, and spun her arms around in the air, created an orb of rushing water. When the Ghouls came up to it, they immediately stopped. Meifeng nodded, but kept spinning her arms. "We gotta go! Find somewhere bigger!" Meifeng quickly dove down, and lifted Anna up over her shoulder. They needed an opening above all else.
Alright, showtime. Meifeng thought to herself, as the creatures were approaching. She brought her hands in, and violently shot them outwards. Causing the orb of water to explode outwards. Stunning their group of aggressors, and giving them that opening. Meifeng quickly zipped past the two invisible monsters. Looking back for a moment only to see Jen's body. She felt immense regret for letting her die, and at the same time, felt even more regret in leaving behind her body like this. But, she needed to stay alive. For her.
Meifeng hadn't been the only one to notice that the Nemesis was about to break free and the sudden loss of one of the group by those things had sent Quentin's heart racing. "Shit, think fast!" was all he could memorize now. He had to keep a level head, he knew, but... wait! Following after Meifeng, their earlier suggestion came to mind as he shouted back "Give me an opportunity to get at that thing, I'll do what I can to fight these fuckers!"
Shortly afterwards, the ice that surrounded the Nemesis shattered, and the brute climbed to it's feet. Nodding at the Ghouls, it began it's unholy march, as the Ghouls zipped on past it at high speeds. Ignoring Jen.
The group arrived in a very large, hexagon shaped room. It was fairly empty, other than operating tables, and large wooden crates lying around. With hallways that lead into various parts of the base. There were various pipes over head. The group ran into the center of the room, before they heard the Ghouls zip into the room. They were scaling the walls like lizards, and each stood on both sides of the door as the Nemesis stepped in. It's eyes shined brightly as it stood there.
Meifeng turned around, and nodded her head. This is the place. The place where they have to fight the battle that would decide whether they walk out of here free or not. She walked over to some crates that were out of the way, and rested Anna down. "Stay safe, Anna." She said.
Blood scraped through Anna's veins like tiny shards of glass and made her head ache in rhythmic agony with the weak pattering of her heart. The anesthetics had mostly worn off and now her nerves were on fire. She could scarcely feel or think of anything else. Myriad sights and sounds entered her eyes and ears, but still she could not focus enough to make sense of them. Everything was torturously painful - moving, being moved, thinking about lifting a finger - it all hurt, but it had started to recede in waves, as if being wash away by an inexorable tide.
"Stay safe, Anna." Maybe it was the right moment, the right time, the right way, but those words rang through and caught her attention. She knew that voice. Without realizing it, her hand reached out for it and found the rough knuckles of some familiar fingers. "Meifeng" she squeezed out.
Her grip tightened, with it a torrent of pale luminescence poured out of Anna's skin and flooded over onto Meifeng's. Thin wisps of ethereal silver floated away from her like trails of steam and seeped into her friend with ease, and it carried an ambient warmth like the midday Sun. Power pervaded Meifeng through and through, coursing into her like a river. In a brief, lucid moment, Anna half-opened her weary eyes and grinned. "Go... Go kick his ass..."
"Anna..." Meifeng moaned as she witnessed the light show with her own two eyes. It was a beautiful display. A light that reminded her what she was fighting for, and everything that was good. Despite Jen's death, it honestly reminded her of what she was fighting for. To avenge Jen, and every person who died at the hands of these monsters. She didn't know if it was Anna, but she was filled with a strength like no other. She felt like she was strong enough to do this. Her eyes started glowing a whitish-blue color, that encompassed the whole orbs.
"Yeah!" She said, with a smile. "Thank you, I promise you... I won't lose. Not here. Not after what they did to Jenny." A tears welled in her eyes.
Quickly skipping back over to the group, Meifeng raised her hands in the air, and one of the pipes above her began violently shaking. It burst open, and water started raining down. Just perfect for what she needed. She called all the water into her hands to form an orb. First step was getting Quentin powers, because she knew that she couldn't face these things on her own.
First the Ghouls rushed at her, with the Nemesis lumbering behind them. Meifeng closed her eyes, and spun her arms around, and created a twister of water underneath her fist, which lifted her into the air. The Ghoul went right through it, and ended up on the other side of the room. Turned around. The other went right for Ratchet.
All Meifeng was focused on was knocking down the Nemesis. I wonder if it'll fall for the same trick twice. She thought to herself, as the cascading pillar of water went closer to the Nemesis. She absorbed the pillar into her pocket dimension, and in the middle of her descent, she shot it out at the floor the Nemesis was standing on in a stream. The second she hit the ground the water froze into ice. She gathered water from around her again, and dropped her arms downwards, put them together, and swung them upwards as if she was swinging a golf club.
It hit the Nemesis like a truck, and sent it flying backwards, and it landed right on it's ass.
"Quentin, now!" Meifeng shouted, drawing his attention instantaneously.
Ducking past the flailing Ghouls, Quentin made a frantic charge for the Nemesis before diving onto its fallen body, letting out a hefty grunt as he jammed his fingers into whatever crevices or gaps he could find between its mask and its body, tightening his grip with all the strength he could muster. All he could think about was making these fuckers pay for what they'd done, for what they'd made him do and it had given him enough drive to draw whatever powers he could from this thing.
Electronic-red eyes flashed behind the Nemesis's mask as if had it's powers sapped. It cocked it's fist back for a weak jab towards his chest. He couldn't muster the strength to deliver building breaking blows while on the ground, yet if Quentin hadn't taken its abilities the blow would've been fatal.
Instead, he was thrown against the wall and impacted like a heavy sandbag with an even heavier grunt. It took him several moments to overcome the sudden disorientation that came with being punted aside after taking on several powers, writhing on the floor in place.
"Quentin!" Meifeng shouted, putting her hand out. She wasn't sure if he could survive that. She didn't want to lose another person. It worried her when the Nemesis hammered it's fist on the ground and utterly shattered the ice they were on. It was up on it's feet, and moving right towards the incapacitated Quentin. Meifeng quickly raised a spinning pillar of water, and went towards Quentin, with the intent of helping him with the Nemesis.
However, the Ghouls didn't want none of that. They rushed Meifeng from both directions, lunging at her with claws drawn. Thinking fast, the girl threw her hands up like a surrender, and the pillar of water turned into a spinning orb rushing with the force of a waterfall. Both Ghouls managed to course correct mid-air, and land on the opposite sides.
Meifeng hit the ground in a kneeling position. The water hit her, and absolutely soaked her dress. A Ghoul was in front and behind her. She had to act quickly, or she'd get impaled like Jen. Meifeng quickly created an orb of water and stood on it, and as the Ghouls rushed forward, she shot to the side. Pulling some water together to swipe at the nearest Ghoul, it dodged, and Meifeng cursed in Chinese. These fuckers are quick. She kept moving quickly on the orb, trying to keep up with them, but they're fast as hell.
Meifeng had completely forgotten about the Nemesis, who had approached a recovering Quentin and sent a kick with enough force to crush cars his way. At the last second, however, Quentin ducked out of the way and threw his weight against the hulking berserker's mass with all the might he had. Which sent the Nemesis falling backwards and he hit the ground with a loud bang that echoed through the tunnels. It climbed back to it's feet as robotic as ever. Almost unaffected by the blow done to it. It slammed it's fists together as it tried a different attack. It started running at Quentin - which due to it's size and weight, was no faster than a jog - and kept running and running.
Knowing he didn't stand as much of a chance in a head-on fight, Quentin opted to use his smaller size and mobility to his advantage in comparison to the Nemesis' hulking figure as it charged for him, timing his next movement to the last second before finally diving as far past its flank as he could, scrabbling to his feet as fast as he was allowed. Quentin knew the only way he'd gain an advantage was either if he brought the berserker to the ground like before or nailed it from behind, yet judging by the fact that it had already stopped and was headed back towards his way it was clear he'd have his work cut out for him.
Bearing this in mind, he set the Nemesis up for the same tactic, goading it into charging at him yet again. This time, instead of diving out of the way he ducked downwards and sent a kick towards the creature's leg in an attempt to sweep it off its feet. Like a ton of sandbags, it hit the floor and looked like it had felt it this time, if only a little. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly circled around to the back of its head and clamped his fingers around any handholds he could find on its mask, attempting to wrench it off with all his might, hoping to expose a weakness in its defences.
It's mighty hands were dug into the ground, leaving holes in the concrete near effortlessly. It tried to pull free of Quentin's grasp, only for the mask to come clean off - throwing Quentin off guard in the process. With it's mask off, the Nemesis stood straight up, and revealed it's face to the world... it was surprisingly normal, for such a bruiser. Most notably, there was a mask over it's mouth and nose, with tubes bringing a strange glowing liquid from underneath it's coat. It clenched it's fists, as it put one arm up at the same level of it's face, before slowly walking over to Quentin. Waiting for him to pull the first move before he reacts.
Quentin backed away at a hefty pace, keeping a steady distance away from the unmasked hulk. Something told him that he needed to tear away at those tubes if he wanted it to feel the hurt. However, once the Nemesis crossed a certain distance, it turned that slow walk into a charge - still with it's arm over it's face. Simply to cross the distance. Quentin searched their surroundings for a gap, an opening - anything that'd give him an opportunity to outmanoeuvre it. With the gap between them closing fast, Quentin made yet another attempt to evade the Nemesis' charge by diving past its flank but he'd failed to account that this thing was smarter than it looked.
Prematurely, the Nemesis halted mid-charge with enough time to grab Quentin by the leg after his dive, yanking him back within its proximity before tossing him against the wall and watching his body fall into a slump with a heavy thud. Before he could even recover from that, Quentin felt the Nemesis seize him by the collar and pin him against the wall, ready to deliver another blow or crush his throat. On instinct, he sent a kick aimed for his assailant's face and felt the ground hit him like a ton of bricks as the Nemesis dropped him and stepped back, the blow having left a visible fracture across the exterior of one of the tubes leading into its mask.
Gasping for air, he dragged himself as far as he could before he'd mustered up the energy to stand again, fatigued as it was already.
All while this happened, Meifeng was fighting for her life against the Ghouls. She was standing on a spinning pillar of water, as the ghouls rushed her at once. She created an orb of water around herself, and violently shot it outwards. Which, soaked both of the Ghouls in water, but it didn't make too much of a difference in terms of visibility. They were so quick that the water basically slid off of them. Meifeng's feet touched the ground, and set her eyes on the first Ghoul in sight. She gathered all the water into an orb, and shot it out at the Ghoul in a burst of aqua. The Ghoul moved out of the way, but the water destroyed the wooden crates that were behind it.
She gathered more of the water around her, and put both hands into the air as she created an orb of water. Sounds of ice freezing filled the air as chunks of razor-sharp arrowhead-shaped pieces of ice formed within the orb. These icecubes shot outwards at high speeds, it was hard to track with the naked eye. This ice shot out in all directions like a machine gun, as Meifeng was shooting it out fast as she could freeze it.
The Ghouls were moving in a zig-zag motion, however, not even they could avoid the sheer amount of attacks Meifeng was producing. One Ghoul got shot in the shoulder with a bolt of ice, and it quickly pulled it out. It didn't penetrate anything major, but it left behind a stream of blood. The other Ghoul got hit a bit harder, it was dodging other ice shards - but then ran into a stream of seven. Three penetrated it in the chest, one hit in the face, and it threw it's arms up, so the last three were embedded in it's arms. It's flicked it's arms, and sent them off, and quickly swiped the rest off it's body.
That wasn't too big of a victory, since Meifeng's body temperature dropped a bit during that attack. Her arms dropped, shaking. She was shivering, and wrapped her arms around herself for warmth... along with the fact that she was getting very dizzy. She was very thirsty... and dry. Oh God, she couldn't give up now. There was so much at stake here, and she was the only thing keeping the Ghouls busy. With the Nemesis they would overwhelm him.... she had to keep fighting. She let out a battle cry just as one Ghoul was charging right for her. She crossed her arms in an X, and made the same motion. Creating an X-shaped wave that went rigade the same motion. Creating an X-shaped wave that went right for it. It quickly went around it, and kept going for her.
There wasn't any room for her to move. The one behind her was moving in, she could hear it. Yet, she wasn't going to go down like this. She pulled as much water out of her pocket dimension as she could....
However... A wide slab of concrete was erected right in front of her, and behind her at the same time. The Ghouls circled around it not to cause impact.
"Huh?" Was all Meifeng could say.
A large chunk of concrete was also ripped out of the ground, and it levitated into the air. Before it flew at the Nemesis with crushing force. The brute barely had the mobility to move, let alone dodge an attack like that. It hit the Nemesis in the chest and launched the brute across the room. The Nemesis was launched backwards with incredible force. It was flying until it hit the wall and went right through it (and two walls behind it). The Nemesis didn't get back up.
Her footsteps could be heard as she walk up. The Ghouls put their eyes on her, and the Nemesis clenched it's fists. Lihua Vuhong entered the fray with a shotgun over her shoulder.
"... Mom?" Meifeng said, almost like she couldn't believe it. She ran over to Lihua and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm... so glad to see you." Meifeng said... tears would be running down her eyes if it wasn't for the dehydration. She squeezed her a little tighter.
Lihua squeezed Meifeng back. "I'm so glad that you are okay, Meifeng."
"I... wanna go now. It's so awful in here."
"I know..." Lihua trailed off, looking upwards to see the Ghouls' glowing eyes getting ready to strike. "... but, I doubt they'll let us." Lihua let go of Meifeng, and put her hand on the other end of her shotgun.
"Are you ready for this?" Lihua asked Meifeng.
Nodding her head, she dropped into a stance. Sideways, legs shoulder-width apart, and her left hand shoulder level, other hand was chest level. Fingers on both hands were pointing upwards. said, "Ready as I'll ever be...."
"Good." Lihua said, pumping her shotgun.
Huh? What happened? It hurts so much. Where am I...? I... just want to go home. Jennifer Caspin thought to herself. The lights above became almost as intense as staring into the sun. All she could taste was blood... her own blood, really. She let out a cough, and blood splattered at low velocity. It went up, then right back down. All over her face. She felt so weak right now. She couldn't pull the energy to even move. Everything was blurry, and her heart was slowly beating. Every beat felt like a hammer... but, it was not in her chest. Downwards in her midsection. Jen was breathing slowly. It felt like her body was operating on the lowest settings, and she was on the verge of death.
She winced, there was a pain like no other in her chest. She barely remembered what happened that got her in this situation. She tried to recount her steps that lead to this moment. It had something to do with those... monsters, yeah, the monsters. There was one she saw that was going for Meifeng, and then she... got in the way, and was horribly impaled. That was risky. That was stupid - but, she did it for Meifeng. Someone she was willing to take the risk for. Well, maybe this is a good lesson about her regenerative factor. It can allow her to survive wounds like this.
There was a griping fear of what she would see if she looked down. She could feel the blood of her own blood that she was lying down in. She let out a faint, weak, sigh, before raising her head a bit (Which made it feel a little more weak). Her blue eyes shot wide open, she almost screamed, but she didn't have the energy for it.
Her chest had a red hole that went clean through it. No organs or anything. However, her chest was slowly closing. She didn't notice it at first. She wondered just how the hell she was alive right now. Actually, maybe she is dead. This is just a dream... but that doesn't add up, now does it.
That wasn't the problem. The real issue was that she was all alone here. They left her. They thought she died here. She didn't know which of the two were worse.
What to do now was the question. She barely had any strength in her from the regenerative process. Just wait here? And wait for one of those things to come back and finish the job? Honestly, she didn't know what else to do. Until the regenerative process finishes - which could take ages with wounds this severe.
Footsteps came up, and Jennifer closed her eyes. She knew that it was the end. She figured that she should just take it with dignity.
"Good grief," Lihua said as she stood over what had to be Jennifer's corpse. This wasn't good at all, if they took Caspin, and killed her... that doesn't bode too well for Meifeng. While she didn't have the highest opinion of the girl, she couldn't help but feel a little bad for her, and her family. Meifeng's certainly going to take it hard. Lihua knelt down, and examined her corpse - specifically the hole. Going off the blood splatter, and bits and pieces of the organs (Heart, lungs, and so on) behind it, it was more than apparent that something impaled at high speeds, then it was either pulled out, or went clean through her. And then Jennifer dropped dead. It had to be something with an insane amount of force behind it to create such a wound, but at the same time, the wound was rather... clean? Like, the wound didn't look as nasty, or jagged as it did before.
"Wait..." Lihua thought out loud as she noticed something. The wound was closing. "Caspin must be a Metahuman. Or must have been." Lihua thought out loud again, not even sure if she's dead, or alive, or is going to come back.
She was going to investigate some more, but Caspin's eyes opened - not that Lihua was surprised or anything. It just further convinced her that she was a Metahuman (There's no way in high hell that a baseline human could survive that).
"I... " Lihua was a little lost for words here. "... Can you hear me Caspin?" She asked, feeling as if it'd be a waste of time.
But, Jennifer nodded her head, slowly, but still showed a response. She managed to groan, "I-I... will survive...."
"Good to hear that." Lihua started off... there's no way that Caspin registered in the NEST Databanks, so she theorized that she was one of the people that the girl from before empowered. How convenient she gets a power that saves her life. "Can you tell me what happened, where's Meifeng?"
Coughing a bit of blood (some of which landed on Lihua's already bloody suit)."I..." Jen had to cough up some more blood to the side. She took in two deep breaths. This would be a tough one, she was trying to gather the air just to talk, and with every few words, she had to stop and take a deep breath, "We... broke out of the b... b-base - no, cage... and we... we ran into these monsters. I... I... I saw one going for Meifeng... then I took the hit for her.... I... do.... don't... know where she went... but... they went after her...." She pointed down the hallway where she last saw the monsters go. Before her hand dropped, and she put her head to the side.
"Thank you, Caspin." Lihua said. Now that Jennifer had told the story, she's now one step closer to helping Meifeng. Still, she felt the need to help Jennifer here. She knelt down, and grabbed Jenny by the leg and tried to pull her somewhere safe so she can finish this... process.
"No... he... help Meifeng.... I'll... I'll be fine." And she wasn't even sure about that.
"Alright, Caspin, I hope you're okay." Lihua said, before she ran down the hallway
"There are more of them. You cannot be serious right now...." Lihua muttered to herself, as she stood there as the Ghouls began their unholy charge. Meifeng ran forward, and spun her body around, putting her leg out for a roundhouse kick. A wave of water followed the motion in a wide arc.The Ghouls stopped, and split around it, clearly going to meet at the center in a pincer manuever.
"You're being impatient. They're far quicker than you are. You have to wait, and find the perfect moment to attack them." Lihua told Meifeng.
"... And wait for them to kill me?!" Meifeng shouted, looking back at Lihua.
"Focus!" Lihua said, pointing her shotgun forward, and aiming it at the Ghoul approaching Meifeng. Hoping to time it just right. Let it go into her crosshairs. She pulled the trigger and... nothing. She used all the shots. Perfect. Lihua quickly rushed over, and pushed Meifeng out of the way, and put her shotgun up. The Ghoul slashed at it, and left several scratches in it - but nothing that'd ruin it - before running off past them, and turned around.
Meifeng put her hands out, and started shooting off a barrage of ice at it, as Lihua turned around and noticed the other Ghoul standing on a pile of crates, ready to leap off. She did a motion like she was punching the ground, and the earth underneath it the crates started shaking, making the Ghoul fall off. It landed on it's feet, before running off backwards, and coming back around past some crates.
"Meifeng... hold onto something, and stick close to me." Lihua warned Meifeng in advance, because what she was going to do was going to leave everyone... quite shaken. Lihua raised her fist high up into the air.
"Wait-" Meifeng looked over her shoulder at the same time as she stopped the (useless) barrage.
Right at that moment, Lihua brought her fist down and hit the ground. It sounded like it hit the earth with far more force than it actually did - because there was a loud crashing sound. The rest of the area was hit with explosive force, and a fierce shockwave vibrated through the area. Meifeng let out a yell as she fell over - managing to catch herself, by putting her arms up. It's effects on the Ghouls were more apparent, it made them trip over in their advance, and turn invisible. One had grey skin, and the other had disgusting fleshy red skin.
Quickly acting, the Vuhongs launched their attacks. Meifeng gathered water and sprayed a hail of needles at one, while Lihua slammed her foot into the ground, and created a hail of concrete spikes out of the ground. Which managed to connect, and impaled the Ghoul in several areas. The tips of the spikes were stained red with blood, as the creature let out it's death cry. Lihua retracted the spikes, and raised her hand into the air, and dropped it. Causing a block of concrete to come down, and smash it's skull with a sickening crunch.
Meifeng managed to impale the creature with the thick needles all over the side of it's body. The wounds were oozing blood. Her hands were frigid... felt like they were about to fall off, but Meifeng wasn't going to stop here. She reached up above her, and more of the pipes started shaking. They quickly broke open, and rained water over the Ghoul, drenching the creature in water. Meifeng pulled as much of the water together as she could, and ran for it. Her feet were splashing in the puddles of water, which quickly turned into a cascading tower of water that elevated her into the air.
It gave her enough lift as she cocked her fist back - gathering all the water she could into an orb. As she descended, she aimed for the Ghoul to deliever this awesome finishing move.
The Ghoul, quickly moved out of sight, and Meifeng quickly moved the orb underneath her feet to stand on. She looked around for the Ghoul... however, she barely had seconds to react before the Ghoul came from behind the crates. "Huh?" Meifeng said as she heard the jet of air.
In seconds, she was face to face with the now visible Ghoul, it quickly raised it's claw and brought it down for a slash. Meifeng moved her head backwards fast as she could - which helped... but it wasn't enough to stop the Ghoul's claws from digging into her flesh underneath her eyes, and slashing downwards to her breasts. Leaving a fleshy four claw-point scar on her face.
Meifeng let out a violent scream as blood was splattered all over the place.
"Meifeng!" Lihua shouted, she quickly rushed over.
The Ghoul stood there, preparing for another attack... however, it was covered in water, and within range. She shot both her hands out, and the Ghoul froze solid. The water that drenched it formed a solid layer around it that it just couldn't break out of... at least in time to avoid Meifeng's next attack. Meifeng let out a heartfelt scream as she gathered all the water she could, and ran towards it. She wiped her arm upwards, and a barrage of water tendrils hit the Ghoul with immense force. She wiped her other arm upwards, and did the same thing. She brought her arms down, and the water formed a giantic orb which slammed into it, sending it flying as the ice broke.
Finishing it off, Meifeng ran at it, screaming, until she got close. The water formed a orb around her as she started spinning around, the orb turning into a massive vortex of water that had immensely strong currents. With shards of ice flowing in the vortex, the Ghoul was ripped to shreds as it was being violently carried along. Meifeng let out one final cry, as she stopped spinning, and shot both hands out. Causing he vortex to stop, and explode. Sending the deceased Ghoul into the wall.
Meifeng immediately knelt forward, panting heavily. She dropped to her knee, and with all her willpower, tried to remain awake. She was exhausted, in pain, and dehydrated. Her face was bleeding profusely... and she was dizzy. The room was spinning, but... she won. She killed the bastard that killed her friend. Her body was filled with an odd satisfaction. Though, with all of her will, she remained on her feet.
"Meifeng! Are you okay?!" Lihua ran over to Meifeng, and put her hands on her face. Turning her daughter's head so she could get a good view of the wound. She got her face slashed open, fortunately her eye seemed to be untouched. The thing missed it, she moved out of the way, or just luck (Or all the above). She was still glad her daughter still had her vision.
"I... failed. I should have been the one to fight this battle. Not you... I shouldn't have-" Lihua was cut off by Meifeng putting her own hand to Lihua's lips.
"Mom, it's fine..." Meifeng put her hand to her bloody oozing wound.
"Agent Vuhong." Lihua's earpiece came alive.
She put her fingers to her earpiece, and said, "Agent Vuhong, speaking."
"There is a team in the base as we speak detaining many scientists, and extracting anyone that has been kidnapped. Where is your location?" The man on the other end spoke.
'We're..." Lihua looked around, looking over to Meifeng for a moment. "... Heading back towards the entrance as we speak."
"Affirmative. Agents are en-route to your position. Out."
"Agent Vuhong out." Lihua announced to the group, "Alright, everyone gather together, we're leaving here."
Meifeng's dress was stained with her own blood, from two different wounds. Along with the dehydration, and exhaustion. She doubted if she could carry Anna out of here. She hobbled over to where Anna was, and said, "Hey, mom, can you give me a hand?"
"Yes." Lihua said, as she walked over to Meifeng, and the two of them together lifted Anna up, each of them was under one of her shoulders. Anna had regained some of her own strength, and with great effot could almost stand on her own two feet. She relied on Lihua's steady grip, since Meifeng was fairly weak at the moment. "Let's go." Lihua said.
Stumbling footsteps and light breathing could be heard coming from the hallway. Which prompted Lihua to let go of Anna, and aim her shotgun at the approaching party. Whether it was a scientist, or a NEST Agent, Lihua wasn't the type to take risks. Especially if there's another monster. She doubted if anyone had the energy to face another down.
Blood dripped down her figure as she walked into view. Jennifer Caspin, heavily breathing, and she leaned up against the corner of the doorway. Taking a moment to breath. The hole that was her chest had pretty much closed, and all that was left was a small, quarter-sized, hole.
"Jen!" Meifeng shouted and ran to her friend, leaving Anna stumbling to find her balance. Lihua doubled back and caught her, before she fell, and siddled over to Jennifer. Meifeng wrapped her arms around her friend and held tightly, getting some of her gore on her. Her body could barely produce tears, as she heartfully said, "I thought I lost you for good..."
"I... took the hit for you...." Jenny moaned, being able to breathe better.
"Thank you..." Meifeng replied. "... but, don't ever do that again, Jenny...."
"Let's go." Lihua said, hoisting Anna out of there. Jenny followed behind them, fast as she could.
They moved as a group, Lihua doing her best to carry Anna despite her own (self inflicted) wounds, and exhaustion creeping up on her. Meifeng was doing all she could to hoist Anna under her shoulder. Jennifer was doing her best to keep up, but her body hadn't quite repaired itself yet (Close, but not quite). She was a few steps behind the rest of them, but was doing her best to keep up the pace. Lihua was leading them (to the best of her ability) to the exit, though, it was a little hard to remember because of the maze-like labyrinth that this place was. She was ready for anything.
The halls of this place started seeming a little more familiar, and that's what Lihua used to push them towards the exit. A mass of footsteps heading towards them, and Lihua came to a stop, part of her wanted to grab her shotgun. It was a squad of NEST Agents, armed with assault rifles, hauling many Scientists by the arm. One soldier noticed her, then gestured for the rest of the squad to notice.
"Agent Vuhong?" He asked.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Lihua said, "Yes..." Lihua lead the group over to the NEST Agents.
"Come this way." The NEST Agents surrounded them, and took Anna off their shoulders, and also grabbed Meifeng and Jen. Leaving Lihua to walk on her on her own (Which is fine). She followed the group until they were pulled out of the sewers, and back to the surface. Which they were immediately assaulted by streetlights, and rain. The area around the manhole was covered of NEST vehicles (trucks, cars, and so on), ambulances, and VPD cars. Droves of NEST Agents, were questioning kids and arrested scientists. Anyone who was injured was being placed into ambulances, and quickly hauled off.
Lihua let out a low groan as she hunched over, clenching the fleshy wound done to her arm.
"Agent Vuhong," A female NEST Agent in armor addressed her, as she walked up and asked, "Do you need to get on one of those ambulances?"
For a moment, Lihua put her hand on her head and looked over her shoulder at the agent. Almost like she was considering it. Before she swattered it down by saying, "No, I am fine."
"Alright, then." The NEST Agent said - but Lihua by her tone that she was skeptical of her claim.
That wasn't what Lihua was concerned with, she was interested in knowing what is going down in the base. Before the Agent could stumble off, Lihua asked her, "Agent, what is going on inside the base?"
"Well... we're extracting the kids, and everyone they experimented on, along with detaining any and all of the scientists in there," The Agent began, she shook her head, before she began talking about personal thoughts, "This is... something else... we manage to bag a few mad scientists every now and then, but nothing this big."
"I know... I have a strong feeling this might be the beginning of something big... have you heard of the Hands of Science?" Lihua asked.
"No."
"Well, that's what these people are calling themselves... and I have the feeling that there's much more where they came from."
"Shit, we're going have to look into this."
Lihua nodded her head. "It'll be my priority.... however, I should tell you that I captured a group of scientists... trapped them in a concrete. You might need me to get at them, before they starve or resort to cannibalism. Also, I have to report four Metahumans that I have done battle with, and killed. Three off them are Ghoulish looking things, and another was a large monster behind a trench coat. They should be brought into the morgue immediately for examination."
The Agent nodded her head in return. "I'll grab another Agent and we'll escort you down. Let's go."
Right before Lihua had the chance to walk down, Meifeng moaned from behind her, sitting on the back of a ambulance, "Mom..." Her cheek had bandages over it, but the Paramedic was still treating her other injuries. Cleaning off her wounds, and applying bandages. I can stick my tongue through my cheek. Meifeng thought to herself as she realized that all she could taste was her own blood right now.
Lihua gestured at the NEST Agent, and she went off to go find the third member of their party. That left her to go talk to Meifeng. She walked up, and asked her (In Chinese), "What is it, Meifeng?"
"You're going to go now? I..." Meifeng trailed off in Chinese, looking away for a moment.
"I'm afraid I have work to do... there are plenty of other children down there that need helping."
Meifeng let out a low growl, and hung her head off to the side. "That's how it's going to be? You help me, then leave me to go do your job? Typical, it's obvious that you care more about your job up until I'm in trouble and "mother-mode" turns on and you start giving a shit." She hissed at her.
"I..." Lihua trailed off, "... Meifeng you know it's not like that."
"It always has been..." Meifeng let out another groan of irritation. "You do your job, then leave me all alone..." She grasped her arm, letting out a hiss of pain.
This is a bigger problem that has been swirling around them. Lihua was just standing over her, with her suit becoming more and more soaked with rain, washing away the blood and dust that had stained it before. Lihua let out a sigh, and walked over to Meifeng. Sitting down on the back of the ambulance next to her. Both were silent as she tried to find the right words to say.
"Is this the problem, Meifeng?" Lihua said in Chinese, "You feel I don't care about you?"
"Feel?" Meifeng snorted, "I know."
Lihua let out a sigh. "I do admit that there have been faults in my relationship with you... many faults. But, I am trying. And I am doing my best."
"Okay, if you're doing your best, then why are you so quick to walk off when I'm here choking on my own blood, after I was thoroughly convinced my best friend was killed - which I watched, by the way - and kidnapped."
"Because..." Lihua trailed off for a moment, cutting herself off from her previous line of though. ""Because I wanted to bring the men and women who hurt you, and your friends, to justice... but, now I see the fault in that logic. I now acknowledge that I need to help you, too.""
"Mhmm..." Meifeng groaned again, when the paramedic. "Aren't you real sentimental all the sudden?" She rolled her eyes.
"We can talk about it." Lihua said, ignoring what Meifeng just said. "I'll be here, by your side."
Meifeng let out a sigh. "I don't even know what to talk about... they... didn't even do anything to me, but they did so much to my friends, and..."
"And how does that make you feel?" Lihua asked.
"Angry. I wanted to make them pay for that, thinking they could do whatever the fuck they want. I don't know how to put it. I feel like I could have helped them if I was faster, stronger...."
"I understand your anger... I am quite angry myself for what they did to the people I saw down here. I, in turn, felt a similar rage that almost compelled me to cut down each and every one of them. I restrained myself." Lihua said, nodding her head. She put her hand on her shoulder, and gave her a smile. "But that is what I, and your friends, love about you. You have a fierce and passionate love for the people around you that drives you... you are an incredibly compassionate person."
An empathy... a humanity... I feel I long lost contact with. Even with you and Lijuan... I feel so disconnected, feel so less. Lihua thought herself right after she said.
"And you fought valiantly so they could get out safely. Opposed to taking the coward's route, and fleeing... I am... quite proud of you."
Meifeng didn't even know what to say. Maybe, that was what she needed to hear. Assurance. For once. Instead of getting talked down for doing the reckless thing. Meifeng looked up at her, and said, in English, "Thank you. Thank you so much for what you've done."
"I promise I'll try to repair the gap between us." Lihua also said in English.
Their moment came to an end once the NEST Agent Lihua was talking to before walked up with another NEST Agent. Both of the Vuhongs looked up at her, as she said, "Hey, we found the place you were talking about, but unless you want to whip out the power tools, we're going to need your hand."
Lihua and Meifeng exchanged glances, before Lihua nodded at her. "... Take me there." She said, as she stood up and went after them.
"Hey, mom, can I borrow your phone? They took mine." Meifeng asked before Lihua before she walked off.
Not even saying a word, Lihua reached into the pocket of her suit, and handed Meifeng her phone. They looked at each for a moment, before Lihua turned away and followed the two NEST Agents.
Letting out a sigh, Meifeng wondered if she could even remember his number. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. She typed in his cellphone number into her phone, and hit call. She put the phone to ear, and waited as the ringing became more and more worrisome.
"Heeeeeeey! Who's this?" A boy loudly said on the other end of the phone, wondering who the hell was even calling him.
"Hey, Trevor, it's Meifeng..." Meifeng trailed off the second he answered.
"Did you get a new phone?" Trevor asked.
"No, no..." Meifeng groaned, "But, I really need you do me a favor. Can you come over here?"
"Yeah, sure, anything for you." The boy said. "I dunno if the buses are out at this hour, but I'm sure the big sis will lend me a hand."
"I'll text you the number now."
"Are you okay? You don't sound all that fine..."
"Just... come over here. I don't want to talk about it right now."
"Okaaaaaaaaaay.... On my way. Bye!" Trevor loudly said, and hung up the phone.
Meifeng looked at her mother's iPhone for a few seconds, the text that said call ended. Before letting her hand droop, and letting out a sigh. As the rain fell in front of her.
Heartbreaker.
"Awwww, crap." Heartbreaker muttered under her breath as she slammed her back against the wall - with an armored briefcase in hand. She peaked around the corner, and saw a team of NEST Agents climbing down the ladder, then running into the base with their weapons drawn. That means that the job just fell through. This could also bode badly for the Hands of Science... but not the Changeling Unit. Well, yeah, it could too, since the two groups work very closely together at times. Eh. Best that she didn't think too much about it for now.
Heartbreaker grabbed her hat, and tilted it over her eyes as she started running down the opposite end of the hallway before anyone notices her. She kept running, and when the tunnel dropped to into another area, she lept down. She wondered what happened to Berlioz, and what made NEST bring down the hammer on them. She couldn't deny how great it was that all this shit went down while she wasn't there. And she made it out with a shitload of cash.
Time to hit up her hideout in the Ghost town.
The Nemesis.
The Nemesis was down, but not out. Lihua and the others should have confirmed the kill, before running off. The Nemesis was heavily damaged, bleeding profusely. It pushed itself up to it's feet, and grasped it's other arm. If it could, it would be screeching in pain. It's longcoat was torn up to reveal thick gashes in it's flesh, and it's cracked bones. It's eyes were centered on the hole it was launched through. It slowly walked back over to where the battle took place, and walked over to it's helmet. It reached down, and picked it up. The second it put it's helmet back on, it's eyes started glowing that bright red color. It looked around, it's eyes scanning the area.
It seems the base has been compromised. It does not know where it's master is, but it knows exactly where to go in such an event. It turned around back towards the hole it was launched through, and walked right through it. It went through the halls of the base until it ran into another door. It could hear NEST Agents closing in behind it, so it simply opened the door with a key, and closed it behind it. Disappearing before the NEST Agents even knew it was there.
Inside the tunnels, it started going north up into the Ghost Town.
Act III - Closing The Curtains.
The next morning... 8:23 am
"Breaking news!"
Molly Schuler stood in front of the NEST Headquarters with a microphone up in her face. She was wearing a light purple pinstriped suit, with a black tie, and black high heels. She was facing the camera. She cleared her throat, before saying, "It seems that the combined efforts of NEST, the VPD, and the National Guard have put such intense pressure on the Fiends that they became desperate. They launched a surprise attack on the NEST Headquarters that left an insurmountable amount of NEST Agents, or dead. What is most interesting that the Fiends used a secret entrance to blindside everyone. NEST is launching a massive internal investigation to get to the bottom of this. However, during the attack, Khan, and Burnmark, identified as Saaya Ino, and Amy Carlton, have been eliminated by the Agents of NEST. Travis, and Sulfur have also been detained by NEST Agents. Which means that every major member of the Fiends except for Plague have been removed from the picture. Along with a great chunk of the Fiends that were involved in the attack have also been detained by NEST, and are currently being questioned as we speak."
After that block of exposition, Molly moved onto the next subject, "However, NEST Agents have uncovered a Metahuman kidnapping and experimentation ring that has apparently been going on for some time. More than fifty people, many of which were children, have been kidnapped from all over Verthaven in the span of a few weeks. However, this ring was discovered by NEST after one of the kidnapped apparently broke free and called for help. Further investigation has revealed that they were kidnapping regular children, and have been giving them powers through means NEST refuses to comment on."
She looked off, before facing the camera. "Our hearts go out to the families of the fallen NEST Agents, and the people that have been kidnapped. This is Molly Schuler with the morning news."
Lihua Vuhong.
I could be opening the floodgates here. Who knows who's on the side of the director... and just who they may retaliate against.
Lihua sat there. Her chair and computer were fortunately untouched by the Fiends (Well, they used it to look up sex toys, and mail order brides). They didn't waste no time in committing adultery on the carpet. There was still a massive stain in the carpet, and the smell... Oh God, the smell. She was going to take time off until they clean up the room (Maybe spend it with Meifeng like she promised). But, that wasn't the issue. The real issue was that Lihua was sitting here in the chair, staring at the computer, with a official report with all the evidence against her open and ready to be sent straight to High-Command for them to sort it out.
These Hands of Science... they might be a lot bigger and nefarious than they believe. Lihua was more than capable of handling herself. She was worried that Meifeng or Lijuan would be on the receiving end of their wrath, opposed to someone capable of handling such a thing. The mouse pointer was hovering over the send button, which would take one muscle movement to get the Director arrested for conspiracy, along with a large amount of other charges. She wondered what was stronger here, her (faint) morality, her worry for her family, or her desire to receive a reward for what happened.
However... it might be best if Lihua just tells high command and gets it over with. If the Director finds out that Lihua knows something, it might not bode well for any of them (Possibly worse than the retaliation from whoever the Director is working with). She let out a sigh, before she pressed send, and quickly signed off the computer the second she received the confirmation that it had sent. She leaned back in her computer chair, and spun around somewhat in the chair. She wondered if she had done the right thing. She kept assuring herself that the Director just couldn't get anyway with helping such animals, and orchestrating the attack on the Festival (which caused tons of damage).
"Let's just hope that the reward is greater than the price...." Lihua moaned as she got up from out of the chair. She walked through the halls of the Headquarters. The ruined halls. They were still cleaning up the mess. Lihua had to step over and walk around blood stains, rubble, bullet holes, and love stains (And she did so without even paying it any mind). There were various NEST Agents (I.E Janitors cleaning up the mess). She walked through the halls, and peaked into the meeting room. Where the Director was sitting, with other NEST Agents. Probably giving a job well done on the job forged with the blood with the innocent. She... couldn't even look at the woman. She had earned so much ire from Lihua that it was getting harder to resist just walking up and slapping her. Which is why Lihua would not be joining her.
She merely shook her head, sighed, before walking down the hallway. She turned to the left, and looked down through one of the windows. The mighty is so willing to just sacrifice the rights and needs of the weak. Lihua thought to herself as she watched the city simply move forward. So impartial to what just happened. She guessed that's just the way the city worked.
A group of footsteps rushed past her faster than she could react. She only got a glimpse of heavily armored NEST Agents as they pushed into the meeting room. Lihua turned around towards them, and took quick steps. She peaked into the room. As all she heard was the loud command of,
"Director Miranda Caryl, by the order of NEST High Command, you are under arrest!" The men said, pointing guns at the Director.
"Wait, what?!" The Director said, as she raised her hands into the air. An Agent ran up behind her, and quickly grabbed both of her arms, and then wrapped them behind her. Before applying cuffs, and hauling her out of the room. The former director peered at Lihua... who only feigned a face of surprise which matched the other Agents.
Now, it's not going to be long before news of what happened reaches the rest of the branch... she was personally curious to see what the other Agents have to think about this.
"Agent Vuhong," A tall man in a suit said to her. "NEST High Command received your evidence, and immediately decided to take action against Director Caryl."
"I see." Lihua had to resist the urge to roll her eyes because she could tell.
"But, that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about," Lihua nodded her head as she wanted to hear the big news. "We wanted to discuss more about this Hands of Science group."
Lihua nodded her head.
"Our Agents have been interrogating the captured Scientists, and we are finding some disturbing news. This organization is much larger and dangerous than we thought. They branch many cities and states and have a considerable amount of resources overall... we're still interrogating them. We're going to bring the telepaths in... we might have to reach out to other branches, because we're down a few."
"Which means we just have to stop them." Lihua said. "There's no way we can let an organization like this exploit the general populace. Just let me get to work, I'll do what I can." Lihua turned around and began walking down the hallway.
".... We have to keep quiet about the Director's involvement." The man just blurted out.
For a moment, Lihua was surprised, but then she realized it. "... Because, if it gets out to the general populace that NEST had a hand in one of the worst terrorist attacks of all time... well, it goes without saying that it doesn't make the organization as a whole look good."
"We're going to tell everyone that the Director was busted for embezzlement and conspiracy."
"Sounds good, now let me get to work. I'll get everything I can on these people... I'll see if I can string in more of them by thoroughly going through each and every detained scientist's records, and see if it leads anywhere."
"Sir! We got a problem!" A young NEST Agent frantically slid into view, and shouted, "There's been a heavy leak. Someone submitted everything we knew about the The Hands of Science, and the Director, and they know about a third group called the Changeling Unit."
"What?!" Lihua said, before she squeezed in by him, "Get me to a computer!"
They quickly ran through the offices, and Lihua immediately planted her butt firmly on the seat as she began typing away. Whoever this leaker was, he was determined to make sure that the world knows about the Hands of Science. He leaked it to Facebook, Twitter, Wikileaks, and every major and minor news site there is. Local news channels were now playing the video which Lihua found in the base last night. Lihua immediately went to work trying to find out the source of the leak so she could find out who the hell this person is.
It also mentioned a group known as the Changeling Unit. A little further digging through the files revealed that they're a baby kidnapping ring that has been operating since the beginning of time, kidnapping tons of Metahuman infants. "... Changeling Unit? You have got to be kidding me." This made her worried, worried about Lijuan.
Right when Lihua was using the tracking hardware, the leak was apparently coming from Singapore. Then it bounced to Australia, and a few moments later, it appeared in China. Which meant that she had a snowball's chance in hell in finding an accurate location.
"... Oh, God..." Lihua moaned, putting her hands over her face. She realized that, now that the world knows about the Hands of Science, NEST's job was about to get a lot harder.
Megan Jervious.
"Hello there my little technopath." Megan said on her phone, leaning up against a wall someone in Central Valley.
"Megan. What do you what?" A weak sounding, nasally teen, spoke from the other end. "Has plan A fallen through? Otherwise. No reason for calling. Unless you want Plan B."
Megan shrugged her shoulders up, smiling awkwardly. "I know it's short notice, love, and I know you'd rather stay in that Academy and make trinkets... but a friend in NEST is telling me that they're going to stingy about the Hands of Science, and I kinda stumbled a bit..." Megan trailed off, "... I forgot to fake my death like I planned."
"Unfortunate. But. Expected. Told you. Plan's odds of failure. Equal to success. Could have gone with my plan. Yes. My plan."
"C'mon, Rush," Megan said. "Gimme a break here, I knew it would be a waste of time... but I thought I could do something slightly subtle, you know? Not do something that's blatantly "we leaked it!"." Megan rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms.
"Understood. Shall I commence?" Rush said.
"It could possibly get you in harm's way... I don't know...." Megan moaned.
"Megan. Are you forgetting? World's greatest technopath. NEST bends to my fingertips." The voice on the other end boasted. "So. Will begin immediately."
"Wait-" Megan couldn't get out the words before she realized that it was futile. She quickly checked her phone, and realized that Rush was doing his work. The internet was being manipulated to his will, gladly sharing all the evidence on the Hands of Science, and the Changeling Unit. Tumblr, Youtube, Google, and every social media and news website out there, was now proudly displaying the information on the front page. Along with plenty of people receiving it personally in emails, and TV stations playing the videos. It wasn't long until people took notice, and spread the news... and created a storm.
Megan let out a sigh. "... You know this means they'll be after us. They aren't dumb, they'll know that the one person behind all this is me."
"Aware."
"... Which essentially means I have to cut ties with you, Rush, and go dark. It's for your safety... I'm sorry it had to come to this, this was supposed to be a last resort."
"In the end. It was just that. Very well. Megan. Destroy the Hands of Science. People are counting. On you." Rush said before he hung up the phone, and destroyed it (with his penis).
Megan dropped the phone onto the ground, and kicked it into a sewer grate. She let out a sigh. It's time to become someone new. Megan said, as she walked into the nearest alleyway, then came out a different person. A small freckled man with curly brown hair, and a hoodie. She stepped into a crowd and disappeared.
Quentin had known it was coming one way or the other, getting out of that hellhole wouldn't have been an instant "get out of jail for free" ticket. NEST agents had flooded the place not too long after the one with the concrete powers had turned up and the ordeal with that... thing had left him exhausted. Everyone had been taken in for questioning and he'd been no exception, yet sooner or later something suspicious about him was bound to pop up. He hadn't told them he was a Metahuman just yet, though.
Part of him was uncertain of what awaited him, afraid. For years he'd dodged the government register, avoided having himself outed as "one of those people", partially out of fear of being labelled or placed on a list of people to be kept under tabs and partially because he was his own man, free from some kind of list. Part of him was consumed by... guilt? He'd seen things in that hellhole. Been made a part of them by those bastards. And now he was being questioned by the kind of organisation known for putting a leash on people with abilities like his, and he wasn't sure what to expect.
The door opened, and the NEST Agent who was doing the interview was Lihua Vuhong. Stepping in wearing a black pinstriped suit, with a red dressshirt that showed a bit of cleavage, and suit skirt that went down to her knees. She placed a steaming hot cup of coffee on the table in front of her, as she sat down, and crossed her legs underneath it. She looked at Quentin. Not saying a word as she reached and grabbed her cup of coffee.
"We're a little short handed at the moment, so I'm going to be questioning you about what happened...." Lihua trailed off as she took another sip of her coffee. She saw a little bit of him when she killed that monster. It didn't take a genius to note that he was apparently fighting it. But without a weapon? Quentin Taylor isn't registered with NEST, which is why they're testing his DNA. Thank God the Fiends didn't smash all the machines. However, she wasn't going to be direct. Never be direct..
"Now... I'll ask you the usual questions. What did you see down there? What did they tell you? What did they do to you? And when were you taken?"
Quentin had filled out a vague cover story for himself, one that seemed believable at that "I'd just got back home from work and realised I'd forgotten to stop by the shop to get my bike checked out, so I figured I'd get it out of the way and drop it off and call a cab home."
"... And which shop is that?" Lihua asked. Hoping to find a correlation of some sort.
"Levi's Autos," he answered, plainly as could be. Getting caught in a lie would be costlier than if he gave them a convincing explanation for why his bike had been left outside the place.
This was interesting. Lihua quickly looked up the location on her datapad, and got the location, the owner, etc... Except, the owner was recently murdered. Alec Lebedev. Quite brutally. She looked a little bit more into it and his cadaver appeared mutililated by a animal of some sort. Alec Lebedev also had plenty of crimes under his belt, and was associated with a few crime rings. Dealing arms. Which made Lihua question how close Quentin was to the group.
"...And are you aware he was murdered a few nights ago?"
"Murdered?" Quentin asked, arching an eyebrow. Even now, Quentin regretted the man's death, if only a little.
"Yes. I'll spare you the details... It wasn't pretty." Lihua turned the datapad off, and put her hands back on the table. This is something NEST will definitely have to look into. "Now, continue with your story."
"Can't remember much after that except those people - the ones running that place your people pulled us out of - they jumped me at gunpoint, dosed me with something potent. One of them was some crazy bitch, uh... I never heard a name. Other one there was that big bastard, the thing you smashed with a chunk of concrete.."
"Hmmmm...." Lihua thought for a moment. Other interogations with the scientists has brought up the woman who infiltrated the NEST Base. It was a stretch, but maybe this was the same one? She pulled the photo of Heartbreaker one of the cameras got out of her suit, and put it on the table.
"Is this the woman?" Lihua asked.
Quentin took a couple moments to match the photos to the brief glimpses he'd got of the woman whilst being held up at gunpoint, before he finally nodded, "Yeah, that's her."
Lihua pulled the picture away. Okay, she was with the Hands of Science, but who is she? The second Lihua finds out, there isn't anywhere she can hide where NEST can't find her.
"Anyway," he continued, clearly disconcerted at the notion of recalling the events that had transpired in the lab, "First thing I could remember after that was someone in a doctor's coat looming over me. It was.... surreal, I guess, like being someone's personal snuff movie. Guy had an accent that was strange, too, can't put it down.... European? I guess that's what it was, something like that."
"You're our newest asset, Quentin Taylor. You're going to be doing much work for us..." was what he'd said, and he kept his word. Quentin remembered what they'd made him do in that fucking hellhole and with every word he spoke his tone became disgusted, angry. "He knew my fucking name, of all things. Where I lived, the contractor I work for, even my fucking family!"
One thing that Lihua could understand was his anger. She had a similar anger inside of herself that they took her daughter like she was some dog on the street. She was more capable of controlling her anger, and directed it towards bringing down the organization. However, Quentin's anger only got in the way of the interview (Which meant she couldn't get as much useful information out of him).
"Simmer down. Would you like something to drink before we continue? Coffee? Water?"
Quentin stopped himself from going any further and took a deep breath. "Water would be appreciated, please." He couldn't recall the last time he'd drank something that didn't taste like the lining of the pipes leading into that cell.
Lihua raised her finger, and a NEST Agent behind the door peaked in for a moment. "Cup of water, please." The Agent closed the door, before she came back a minute later with a cup of water. Which she handed to Lihua, and Lihua handed it to Quentin. "Here you go." She said, before Quentin continued.
Finally, he began again "Look, I want to help you. I saw the things they did to people inside that place and I can't get any of it out of my head."
That's the sign of trauma, of course. Lihua thought to herself as Quentin spoke about what happened. She wished to help him only so that she could get more information out of him. She was no therapist, and didn't intend on trying to be one. She was wondering if she should show him the picture of Berlioz after... someone did work on him.
"Now..." Lihua said as she reached into her suit again. She slipped out a picture of Berlioz, taken from the morgue. A blue sheet had covered him, and covered the wounds done to his neck. However, it showed the nasty injuries to his head. "Is this the man? We've identified him as Berlioz Auxere, he was murdered by one of the escapees who we're trying to sort out."
"Yeah," Quentin answered coldly, recognising the corpse almost immediately. Seeing him dead gave him little joy, save for the relief that the bastard wouldn't be coming back to haunt him.
Now that she had her question answered, she pulled the photo back, and put it back in her suit. Personally, she was just stalling at this point for the Jarheads to come back with the test results. She already knew what happened after he escaped, she was just confirming a few things before she got to the real questions.
"Now, can you tell me how you escaped, and what happened afterwards." She asked, continuing with the story.
"Two girls found me in a cell, locked up. The one you knew, your d-," he stopped himself from getting personal out of some unspoken form of respect (Which Lihua appreciated), "The one with the water abilities broke me out. They were carrying another girl with them who was out of it, given an even stronger dose than they gave me." Meifeng said she'd been experimented on, yet Quentin had been made no part of it.
"Anyway, we headed out when the big one turned up, whilst at the other end we had these other.. things, turning up. Don't know what they were but they weren't human. One of the girls, the other one - she got attacked. It was a mess, shit.." Things had progressed so quickly, it had felt like a literal blur.
Recalling his fight with the Nemesis, he'd no idea how to explain the situation save that he'd probably been running on adrenaline at the time. "The big one attacked me, tried to smash me against the wall. Can't remember much after that, other than that you turned up and smashed it with a chunk of concrete."
Lihua was already fully aware of what happened. Though, standard for such situations, everyone had their own version of the story, and others noted things that others missed. Lihua took a sip of her coffee, and wondered if those jarheads would get finished with the test already. Things might be broken, but she couldn't continue to stall much longer.
"Understood." Lihua said, leaning forward, and wrapping her fingers around each other.
Someone walked up to the door, and started knocking on it. The Agent from before opened up the door with a hand full of papers. The Agent leaned in and whispered, "Here are the results...." and Lihua and the NEST Agent exchanged papers.
Good. This will decide whether or not this was a waste of my time. Lihua thought to herself as she raised a finger, telling Quentin, "Hold on for a moment..."
The papers showed information on Quentin, name, date of birth, residence, and that sort of information. However... there was a stamp on the bottom of the papers under the testing informative.
POSITIVE.
Half-smirking, Lihua put the papers on the table facedown, and slid them up to Quentin. "Read this, and politely explain it..." She was interested to see his reaction, and what he had to say to it.
Somehow, deep down in his gut, Quentin had seen this coming. Reading through the test papers, he wound up staring blankly at them for another minute. It was all there. Where he'd been born, his brother, his mom... even the certificates to indicate that Uncle Cass had become his legal guardian when she died... and they knew. Knew he was one of 'those' people. A Metahuman. It felt like a part of him had just disappeared in a snap. His face suggested he seemed resigned to whatever fate awaited him. Shit.
"What do you want me to explain?" He finally asked, wondering how she'd react to that.
"You aren't registered." Lihua stated blankly. "You should just come clean, and just tell me what your power is." Depending on how he answered, Lihua would have a new opportunity for him.
"And if I do? Do I even get a guarantee that I'm not going to end up in the same place as before, dragged off to some hidden facility?" He was no fool. He knew what it'd entail if he did confess.
He had a valid concern, and even if she did try to reassure him, it'd only be her word. Lihua sighed deeply. "... Do you take us for butchers like the people who took you?" She asked, blankly. "I shouldn't be telling you this early, but... we have a deal in place for you should you cooperate. A deal that should protect you, and your family, from the likes of those monsters. That is your guarantee."
"I get that in writing?" He asked again.
"We are formal, after all. I'll have that Agent get the paperwork, now." Lihua raised her finger in the air, and the NEST Agent (from behind the mirror, of course) nodded her head and grabbed the paperwork for the desk that wasn't too far away.
"You'll get your answer when it's here." He finally answered, knowing his options were limited.
It wasn't long before she came around, and handed Lihua the paper work, and a couple pens. Before she shoved it in Quentin's face, she figured that she should just say, "Verthaven's NEST branch is very short handed right now, and we're going on a bit of a "recruitment drive"...." She trailed off as she put the paperwork on the table, and slid it over to Quentin. "If you join NEST, we will keep you and your family safe. This will be preferable to jail time, if you value your freedom."
Quentin took his time to read through the paperwork, taking care to look through the smaller sections of print when they came up. It checked out, more or less. Just for good measure, he read through it again before he finally nodded, ready to sign.
She pointed at the line that said "Sign". "Just sign here." and handed him a pen.
After a moment's contemplation, he signed his name across the line. No going back now.
"You want to know what I can do?" He arched an eyebrow, before continuing "I can take other people's powers and use them." His answer was blunt and to the point.
"Power Replication....?" Lihua said, her eyes were more focused on the papers he signed. "... You'll be a great addition to NEST." She added on. Now, her job here was one. She raised her finger in the air one last time, and the NEST Agent came in.
"Quentin has accepted our offer." Lihua said to her as she got up, grabbing her cup of coffee. "I have other business to attend to."
"Oh Good." She said, facing Quentin. "If you'll come with me, I'll get you all sorted out..."
By the time Anna made it outside, much of her vision had returned. An epileptic shuffle of flashing red and white nearly blinded her as she was escorted to an unfolded gurney. She looked around, staring wearily at the myriad of other victims NEST has rescued from that vile dungeon. She realized most of them were metahumans as well and her heart sank as two EMT's lifted her into the back of an ambulance. They fixed her with a saline drip and she urged herself to sleep and forget the horror. The sirens blared as the wagon sped through traffic to the hospital.
That was the last thing Anna remembered before waking up two days later inside an intensive care ward. All manner of monitors and medical equipment. She lied awake for hours trying to sort through her own memories of the past few days. Many of them were fractured and elusive. With determined effort, she did manage to piece together a rough series of events, but much of it still a hazy mess in her mind.
- - -
Anna could hear her father's muffled voice and worried tone from behind the thick glass windows of her room. She couldn't make out the words and only a glimpse of him was visible between the slightly parted curtains, but someone was riling him up. He had a firm, imposing stance as if he was trying to ward off a predator.
"As her legal guardian, I deny you permission to speak with her. She doesn't need the likes of you complicating things while she's trying to recover." He fixed a hard stare on the suit-and-tie agent standing before him. "You may leave."
"But sir, listen," The NEST Agent held up a hand, while looking Bruno in the eyes. Attempting to urge him to see reason.
"-I've listened to all I need to!" He said firmly. His eyes narrowed.
"Your daughter is a Metahuman, our tests confirm it. She has to register under our directory. You have no choice." The agent said.
"I always have a choice. And I'm choosing to not register her. What threat does she pose that she has be tagged and labelled like a criminal?"
"... It's the law, sir. Every Metahuman living in the united states has to register, regardless of the threat they pose."
"And under whose authority did you conduct the test? You sure as hell didn't get my consent, so where's your court order?" Bruno channeled his wife's pointed ire and legal questioning. He knew enough to act the part.
"Orders came straight from High Command, sir. You'll have to bring it up with them." The Agent said, putting his hands behind his back.
"Then your high command violated my daughter's right to private medical information, and you as their lackey are just as liable as they are."
"Sir, you have to understand that we're doing our best to protect you, and your daughter. You have to understand some of the..."
"Protect? PROTECT WHAT?! If it's your job to keep her safe, then how did she end up in a dungeon with god-knows-what drugs put in her? Was that YOU protecting her?" His face was tense. "A fine job, you and your boys did there."
"We may have been able to do more if we've known about her status." The Agent said.
"May have been able to do more, hunh?" He parroted mockingly. "Now you're just covering your ass. Come back when you've got something in writing that doesn't violate my daughter's rights!"
"... Good grief." Lihua said, as her heels tapping were prominent as she walked up to the scene. Most notably, she had a backpack slung over her shoulder. With one roll of her eyes, she assessed the situation. "Does anyone in this organization have any tact?"
She looked down on the NEST Agent, as he looked at her. "Agent Vuhong?"
"I'll take it from here. You are likely needed elsewhere." Lihua spoke to him, and he nodded his head before walking off. Now, to defuse this situation, this legal disaster waiting to happen. She put her hand out for a shake. "Mr. Aikau, pleasure to meet you again."
"Nice to see you as well." With folded arms, he looked at the outstretched hand and then back at Lihua. "I mean no offense, but I'm not in the mood for a handshake."
Rude. Lihua thought to herself. Now, she should get down to business. She put the backpack down, and kicked it to the side with the back of her foot. She let out a sigh, before she began, "I fully understand your anger about what happened down there, and it is something that blindsided me as well. Perhaps the last agent could have worded the situation better, because he has clearly left you with little... patience." She nodded her head. "The reason why the orders came through to have your daughter tested were purely... incidental. I saw it with my own two eyes. Did you see the device hanging off that man's belt?"
Bruno did his best to give Lihua the benefit of the doubt, but not without a strong conscience effort. He had seen the device, but disregarded it as a tool of the trade. He glanced past Lihua as if the previous agent were still around and nodded in confirmation. "Just tell it to me straight. I don't need it sugar-coated."
Alright, the direct course, Lihua's favorite. "Well, you see, the people down there have been giving their test subjects powers through means... I cannot disclose. Normal people were taken, as well as Metahumans. After we've extracted everyone, there was the whole mess of who should take care of who. That's where the device comes in. It is a special tool that helps track Metahumans.... While they were scanning through the abductees, it lead to Anna - however, she was not registered. Orders came through from High Command to have everyone down there tested, and registered for their powers." Lihua shrugged. "Personally, she's been through enough, and I'd rather not add NEST bureaucracy to it. I would gladly let it slide if she wasn't already tested... but, unfortunately, that Agent was correct about one thing, she has to be registered. I wish it could be different, I know, but it's illegal otherwise at this point."
He told her not to sugar coat it, and there it was. He can get mad all he wants to, but it is a crime to hide Metahuman powers from NEST. And going off Bruno's stance, it wouldn't be Anna going down for it.
"I appreciate your honesty." He let out a deep sigh, one of begrudging resignation. "I know NEST has a purpose and serves whatever it's government mandates are. But... That doesn't mean they can just skip past legal procedure and unlawfully test my daughter. I can't stop her from being registered, but I will give NEST hell for overstepping their authority."
"Testing her like that wasn't the best move.... Usually we ask for consent, but with everything happening... never mind." Lihua adjusted her glasses as she stopped her trail there. "I cannot give you any reasonable excuse for it.. What I can give you is assurance" Lihua stated. "Assurance that NEST will do everything in their power to protect your daughter, and help her learn as much as possible about her new gift."
"And what if she chooses not to? Can you assure her that she can lead a normal life?"
Lihua ruffed her hand through her bobcut, and said, "Of course, that is NEST's job... and if she chooses to reject her ability, then she may opt to be collared, and that'll be the end of it."
Of course it won't deter those men. They know about her, and her ability, and what it can do... All they have to do is remove the collar. Though, I am underestimating NEST's ability, again. Efforts are going to be going towards destroying them, so they cannot commit an atrocity like this again. Lihua monologued. Her best choice is to accept her gift, and learn how to use it, at least.
"And so she trades one prison for another with softer beds and a toilet seat." Bruno grimaced. Everything was a mess, and making decisions when every option sounded awful would never be easy. "I miss the old days..."
- - -
The white room. It was strange to Meifeng, yet so familiar. She's seen this room plenty of times after bones were broken during her many competitions, or whenever she got into a particularly bad fight (Got her nose broken, lost teeth and gained wisdom, etc). Her eyes opened, and she felt grodily. Most likely from the morphine they've been feeding her. She felt something odd on her face, breast, and side. It felt like fabric taped to her... the familar feeling of a bandage. Meifeng's recieved plenty, this is nothing new. Yet, she used a hand to explore her face, and trace over the bandages. She reminded herself of what happened last night. Oh God... Meifeng thought to herself. She was honestly surprised that she could even go to sleep last night. After seeing that madhouse, and what happened to Jen... oh God, Jen. She prayed that her blonde-haired companion would still be walking. As thoughts ran through her head, realizations rushing in, she was just sitting up. Staring aimlessly at the wall with wide eyes.
"... Oh, miss, you're awake? How was your rest?" A nurse said as she walked in.
Meifeng didn't even acknowledge her. She felt that she was missing something. Something important. Something she abandoned - but could get back. She recalled Jen, Ratchet, her siblings... Anna. Yeah, Anna! She was so out of it in there... that Meifeng only felt rage towards those captors. Rage that was tripled when she thought that Jen died. Then it became sorrow when the battle was over. She shouldn't have left her behind like that. Jen and Ratchet could wait, she had to find Anna. Meifeng, despite the urgings of the nurse, simply just reached in and tore the IVs and tubes that were connected to her right out. Letting liquids spill as she kicked the covers from over her. She then realized that she was wearing a hospital gown, didn't care. She could go without decency just this once. She got up, and started walking into the hallways.
"... Can you at least put some clothes on!?"
This place was different to Meifeng... she's been in the base, but she's never been in the hospital wing (She didn't even know they had one). And it was obviously uncomfortable to traverse the place wearing nothing but a hospital gown. She sighed in aggravation as she realized it could take forever to look in every room. Though, she wasn't the type to give up like a bitch because things seem a little hard she was going to find Anna if it's the last thing she does.
"Miss-" A passing nurse said to Meifeng as she was promptly ignored.
Through the halls of this hospital, Meifeng eventually reached her clue leading to Anna. The big old X on the map... Lihua and Bruno having a "chat" outside one of the rooms. The one that obviously had to be Anna's. Geez. Bruno doesn't look all that happy. No one was, really. And how could they? All Meifeng wanted to do was talk to Anna. Just once. She feared this might be the last chance she got. Letting out a sigh, Meifeng walked up to the door, swung it open, and stepped inside without giving Bruno or her mom a second thought. She closed the door behind her with her bare foot as both adults gave her a odd look.
There Anna was on the bed. In the same gown she was wearing, it would have been worthy of a joke if she wasn't in such a glum mood. Meifeng ran her hand over her forehead, and stepped over to her, "Hey, Anna..." For what felt like the first time in her life, Meifeng stumbled for words.
Anna found them. "You should've brought popcorn. My dad's been chewing through NEST agents all morning. I guess the word is out." She laid back and stared at the ceiling. Still overwhelmed by all that had happened, she still couldn't quite believe it. "My mum's coming to town. In fact, this morning was the first time my parents have talked in almost two years. Something about a class-action lawsuit... Everything's all weird now." She sighed and turned to Meifeng with a tired smile. "How are you feeling?'
"That's... heavy." Meifeng said in response to Anna talking about her parents meeting. It made Meifeng briefly muse about how she never actually met her father (Or hear Lihua even mention him), but she didn't want to depress herself anymore. She stepped over to the bed, and sat down on the side. Facing away from Anna, and with her head arced to the side. "Well... for starters, I got all these cuts from the fight... and I feel awful for letting Jen get hurt like that on my behalf... so, I can't say I'm doing good."
"I have a suspicion Jen would've felt awful if she hadn't done that." Anna countered. "And you don't grow back." She giggled.
"I know, but... it really looked like it hurt her, and I honestly thought she was dead - Hell, she could have been." Meifeng voiced. "I don't think she should have taken that risk for me. Especially when I could have handled that myself if she just... ugh..." She looked off to the side.
"I think you give her too little credit. She's much stronger than she looks." Anna's expression was soft and calming, like she already knew where Meifeng's thoughts had trailed off to. "Have you talked to her about it?"
"Not yet. I don't even know where she is. I was going to find her later, I guess." Meifeng shrugged nonchalantly.
"And I don't really think you get it," Meifeng started off, letting out a sigh as she realized she was going to share some of her inner struggles with Anna. Should she? Was their bond good enough that she was willing to make herself weak? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. "You see Lihua there? She wasn't there for a lot of my life, and I was just stuck in China with my too-old-to-give-a-shit grandfather. I grew up on my own. Which meant I have to be strong. And when she actually came into my life, that got worse. She taught me that I have to fend for myself, protect other people, really. Handle your own problems. It just... feels wrong - really wrong - letting one of my best friends nearly die because I couldn't handle myself."
Anna leaned over and wrapped her arms around Meifeng with a warm, but gentle hug. "That's my Meifeng... Trying to take on the whole world by herself." She sighed with a faint chuckle. "Those shoulders are going to get pretty tired, though. It's gotta be tough carrying that much weight." An impish grin started to form. "It's silly, but to be honest... you wouldn't be you, if you didn't keep trying."
She didn't know what was in that hug, but it warmed up something inside of Meifeng, and hearing her talk made her feel better. "I know, my shoulders are just... strong." Meifeng started off. Though, there was something else, she wanted to share. She wanted to get off her chest. "You know... this is probably a real no-shitter, but I was pretty lonely up there in China. It felt like no one really gave a shit about me except for... me. Until I came to Black Fall... then Verthaven, and things changed. Everytime I talk to you, Jen, Trevor... things start feeling a little less lonely, you know?"
Anna didn't say anything, she just squeezed a little bit tighter. She and Meifengs would always be together--she will always be there for her friends--and Anna was certain her feelings would reach her without having to say a word.
Meifeng didn't say a word either - at first. She merely looked straight through the window at Bruno and Lihua talking. It was subtle, but they were keeping an eye on the room. Then the thought occurred to her, something inside changed. "... You know? I promise... I promise I'll protect you, Anna." Meifeng said. "Protect you from those bastards that kidnapped you, and every other maniac that decides to make you their target." She let the words hang in the air.
Anna looked up to meet her friend's bold expression Something welled inside Meifeng; a powerful urge compelled her. With a gentle finger on Anna's chin, she closed the distance between them. Their lips met in a soft caress. Meifeng was so engrossed in the moment, she hadn't even realized she'd done it until their lips parted.
An electric rush coursed through Anna, heightening her senses. The could see with more clarity Meifeng's blush skin and could feel the warmth of their kiss still lingering. Her mind was blank and she struggled to remember how to speak. She wasn't sure what to feel. There are few things in the world which could leave Anna awestruck: firework shows, watching a summer storm roll in from the sea, the vastness of the cosmos. She could add one more to the list.
"Anna... you light a special kind of light in me, and I never want to lose you again...." Meifeng said, with her heart pounding hard. She felt genuine attraction for Anna - which she's felt for several girls, but Anna now felt different. Everything else was unimportant. Lihua, the Hands of Science, NEST... she would beat them all in the name of Anna. This is what it feels to love somebody. She thought to herself.
Lihua's mouth was agape. She literally had nothing to say. [i].... Oh my God, my daughter's a lesbian.[/i The thoughts immediately overwhelmed her mind. She just stood there, staring. Trying to process what she just saw.]
"What's wrong?" Bruno looked at Lihua and then at the girls inside. Both Anna and Lihua looked so surprised. "What happened?"
Lihua gazed at Bruno, and then said, "No." Before grabbing the backpack and walking off into the halls of the hospital.
"I think we traumatized my mom...." Meifeng trailed off with a giggle in her voice. "It was great, though."
"What d-" Anna struggled to find the rights words. Why? What do I do? I don't know anymore! Having no idea what to do or say, she was lost amid the confusion; she felt trapped by it. Nothing need be said. Everything was plainly revealed in worried expression. The muddled mixture of emotions made her feel more conflicted in her life than she had ever been. She looked at Meifeng with pleading eyes as if her dear friend would have the answer.
Calmly putting her finger to Anna's lips, Meifeng was smiling slyly ear to ear. She chuckled, and playfully said, "We kissed, dummy."
She was so calm, and happy about it. Her heart was just full of butterflies. She opened herself up, and got so much in return. Though, she knew that if Lihua reacted like that and left, she's probably coming back with a weapon. Meifeng didn't know what, but it was a weapon. She slid off the bed, and her bare feet hit the ground. She looked back at Anna, and said, "I think I should head back to my room, and let you get some rest.... and my mom's probably going to get a fire axe." Meifeng took a few steps forward, before she swung her head around - ponytail swinging - and gave Anna a look, "... I'd like to try it again later... if you're interested."
Meifeng walked out as Bruno soldiered in, giving her an askance look as they passed one another. "Anna? Honey? Are you okay?"
"I can't believe this!" Michelle shouted, putting her sole hand on the side of her head. Her other arm was a tightly wrapped gauze bandage. She'll remember what Big Dong did to her... and she wanted to make him pay, but it was already over. She already defeated him. She was standing in the ruined lobby of the NEST Headquarters. Fortunately, this was once of the first places they cleaned up, so the rubble and bodies were gone. The front desk was still blown in half, though. Honestly. Michelle couldn't give a fuck about the state of the building. It turned out that everyone in NEST was being strung along by the Director's game. That bitch organized a terrorist attack just so NEST could look good destroying them. And now the Hands of Science were pulling everyone's strings like they're fucking puppets.
"It was great working with some of you, but I'm out." She reached for her chest, and put her badge on one side of the desk. Michelle couldn't take the level of corruption and the blatant disregard for the people at large (Like they're cogs). Right when Michelle turned around, she heard someone walking up. She recognized her scent, too.
"... But Agent Gallus, we need you more than anything." Lihua said as she walking up, swaying her hips. She stopped, and looked up at Michelle. "You know that there's corruption in the Agency..." She tilted her eyes down a little, and let the sunlight reflect off her glasses. "... A deep rooted corruption."
"And? I doubt you give two shits that I'm out - you're probably glad I'm leaving." Michelle hissed in response. What was her angle? Michelle and Lihua didn't get along all that much.
"On the contrary, I value your addition to NEST. Because it's apparent now more than ever that NEST needs reliable Agents that have not been corrupted. And we are interrogating the Scientists, and there are at least ten other Hands of Science facilities in Verthaven."
"You just care about your job, right?"
Letting out a sigh of exasperation, Lihua crossed her arms and closed her eyes. Am I this obsessed with my work...? She thought to herself. It always come back down to her dedication to her job.
"... Yes, it is true that I am dedicated to my job." Lihua started off, and seemingly confirmed what Michelle was thinking - but she doubled back and said, "But, I also care about bringing order to the city, and taking the Hands of Science, and the Changeling, out of the picture. Because what they've been doing is utterly inexcusable, and they're a threat to public safety." And both organizations are a threat to my daughters. Lihua thought to herself.
"Hmph." Michelle said, briefly wondering if Lihua here was just pulling her heartstrings. "Maybe you're right, but..." Michelle turned her head over to her gauze-wrapped bandage, and the stump that used to be her arm. "... I'm out of commission until I get the good old arm back - which the doctors say could take months."
"Even with your injuries... you can still contribute to NEST, and once your wounds heal, you'll be back in business. Believe me, everyone hates what Caryl did - even me - but we can't just give up when there's an even larger threat pulling the strings." Lihua put her hand up triumphantly. "Who knows what they'll do if we don't stop them."
Michelle walked back over to the desk, and put her badge back on. "Yeah, yeah, I get it... save the valiance for later. I'm still on the force." She laughed.
"Very well." Lihua said, "Now, there is other business I have to tend to if you excuse me."
"I'll hold the fort here." Michelle said, crossing her arm.
Lihua walked up to one of the elevators, before she pressed the button to take her to the eighth floor. Where the hospital was.
Heartbreaker, and...
1:26 Am, the next day
".... So what do ya' say, Nemesis?!" Heartbreaker put her hand out to the holding mass of anger right in front of her. Her other hand was occupied by holding the briefcase full of all the money she received from the job. Both of them were standing in complete darkness on the stone sidewalks of the ghost town (Since it was abandoned, they didn't have to turn on the streetlight). "Join the Changeling unit? We could use a strong silent type like you."
The Nemesis was motionless, like a statue. As it's eyes flashed a bright red color. It turned around, and began walking away.
"Ugh, Nemesis, what do you expect to live out the rest of your life in this shitty ghost town?" Heartbreaker said, taking steps towards it, raising her finger. It made the Nemesis stop, and look over it's broad shoulder. "Don't you understand there ain't no future for you out here? Worst case, NEST finds out about you, and then you're going to be covered in containment foam, and you're going to be rotting a NEST cell - that is if you don't get handed over to the good old ISD for them to prod your ass."
The Nemesis didn't even acknowledge her. It merely began it's march into the ruins of the Ghost Town.
Heartbreaker just shook her head, and said, "... Good luck." As the brute walked. Because you'll fuckin' need it. Heartbreaker thought to herself. Well, if that freaks wants to go it alone, then fine. He was none of her business, and the same goes for the Changeling Unit. She just tipped her hat, and walked down the nearest alleyway. Thank God that people fear this part of the city, otherwise she'd have to worry about being subtle.
A blue swirling portal opened up in front of her, and lead into a dark room. Which Heartbreaker gleefully stepped through.
Though, the Changeling unit was going have to use a lot more subtly from here on in.
The room was dark, and Heartbreaker just stood there.
"... I take it we gained something out of this, Natalie." A voice in the shadows said, as his figure was illuminated by a lighter. A cherry smoke filled her nostrils as she looked at him. Tall-ish, had European facial features (Obviously Spanish), and was pretty muscular. He had curly black hair that had a few strands hanging in front of his face.
"Yep, Luis, I got us a few grand." Heartbreaker held the briefcase in air, and Luis walked over to her, and grabbed the briefcase with one hand. He examined the case for a moment, turning it so he could take a good look at every corner. He put it on the table, and opened it, and just as Heartbreaker promised, there was a few thousand dollars in it. Excellent. However, he closed the brief case and threw it over his shoulder like he was bored of it.
"What the hell, Luis?!" Heartbreaker shouted.
"The money isn't important." Luis said. "Those H-o-S fuckers outed us. Which means our job is going to get a lot harder."
"I get the feeling that someone's trying to drag us down with the Hands. I don't fucking get it, we're just trying to make an honest business." Heartbreaker shrugged. "I bet NEST is going to be trying to set up traps for us."
"Exactly... Which is why we need a leverage." Luis said.
"Hm?" Heartbreaker asked.
"We may be powerful..." Luis walked a circle around Heartbreaker, "But, can't take on NEST on our own. The Hands might, but we're much smaller. However, if we had something that'd put us on even terms with them... hmmmm...."
"I don't know how the hell are we going to pull magic leverage out of our ass," Heartbreaker rolled her eyes. "But okay."
"The Changelings have business to attend to... but, I want you, and Mannequin, to go grab some of our members and... just keep an eye on Verthaven. Maybe play nice with the Hands of Science."
Heartbreaker smirked. "Sure, thing, boss."
"Let's go... the boys are playing poker in the back." Luis gestured for Heartbreaker to come along.
Lihua, Meifeng, Jennifer, Trevor, & Penny.
9:51 AM
It was a bit hectic, being questioned by NEST about what happened. Fortunately, Jen managed to spin a lie or two about her power, and convinced that them she isn't a Metahuman at all. Good thing, too. The NEST leak hit every major social media site out there, and it turned out that NEST was working with those Hands of Whackjobs. It really assured her that she was right in not going to NEST right off the bat. Now, Jen was in the NEST hospital section - well, outside of one of the hospital rooms. She was in the hallway, which, like the rest of the base, was not in good shape. She walked over to a fountain, and knelt forward over it to get some water. Dear God, every time she closed her eyes, she was reminded of the familiar pain of surviving what no girl should have. And that made her... she didn't know. Maybe she should just lock herself in her house, and never come back out again. That sounds like a good idea at this point.
She splashed her face with some of the water. She reached down just to drink a little bit more, before raising her head, and the first thing she saw as Penny, the girl who she helped nights ago, standing right there. "Hey, uh, Penny..." Jennifer said at a lost for words.
"Glad you're... alive." Penny said, looking away. "That means it worked."
"What worked...?" Jennifer asked, hoping to get the answer.
"Jen, right? You see, I... I can give people powers. Only physical boosts like strength, and regeneration - What I gave you." Penny let the words hang in the air a bit. "You were shot... and I... I... panicked and gave you the best regeneration I could."
That's what it was? Jenny thought that her latent power had just awakened the moment she needed it the most. She didn't know how to respond. She found herself stumbling for words. Before she gathered herself to say,
"Thank you."
Penny nodded, and answered, "Your welcome... I know it feels a bit awkward, but it feels great knowing I saved your life."
"Penny, I have some questions about you." Jenny leaned up against the fountain, and faced the youth. "What's your story? What lead to you getting chased by the Pure?"
"I... should start from the beginning..." Penny leaned up against the wall not to far away from Jen. "It started when my power developed a few years back... I was from Iowa, and I accidentally gave my mom super strength. It... felt amazing, actually. The ability to give people superpowers, and I wanted to share the gift. I gave it to everyone I could, family, friends, my teacher. NEST caught me, but then one of their Agents sold me to them." Penny looked away for a moment.
"The Hands of Science." Jennifer confirmed.
"It wasn't even all that bad, they treated me well. They gave me food, took me outside, and let me play games and stuff. They just made me give people powers - but I knew what was happening to those people. It tore me up knowing I was responsible for that kind of suffering."
"I can understand that." Jennifer added.
"They kept transferring me to other bases, for years in fact. Somewhere they messed up, outside of Verthaven, and I managed to get free. I started running around Verthaven, trying to survive." She continued her story, which slowly pieced together what happened to the girl for Jennifer. "I knew that NEST was on their side, so I couldn't go to them, I felt hopeless. Then, I accidentally gave someone powers, and they came after me. Then I met you that night..."
"That's... rough." Jennifer said, scratching the back of her neck as she mentally punched herself in the face for such a statement. "I... can put together what happened from there..." And the mere memory haunts me to this very moment. Jennifer thought to herself. So. It turned out that this girl was responsible for her power.
"You should stick with me. I'll keep you safe." Jennifer said.
"Really?" Penny asked. Before Jennifer stepped over to her, and gave her a hug - which the girl returned.
"Yeah..." Jen assured her. Wondering if she could honestly keep that promise. Especially when she can't stay safe herself. She just went with it. Tried to remain idealistic and happy. Holding her hand, Jennifer lead Penny back into the hospital room where Meifeng was.
They stepped through the doors, and they saw Meifeng, in a hospital gown, sitting on the side of the bed as she looked at her face in the mirror. Her eyes... they were filled with a sorrow. The subject of her examination was clearly the bandages on her face. An ugly wound underneath that ruined a beautiful face. Jennifer knew how Meifeng felt, feeling that it was redundant to even ask.
"Oh good. You two found me." Meifeng rolled her eyes, and sat down, and crossed her arm.
"Meifeng...?" Jennifer asked her, taking a few steps towards her (and away from Penny). "Are you okay?"
"I'll be honest when I say, no." Meifeng said. "My face almost got cut open, and I still can't stop thinking about what happened."
"I can't either... It..." Jennifer reached down, and put her fingers to her chest. "... Was fucked up." Jennifer swore to empathize her point.
There was still plenty Meifeng had on her chest, and "was fucked up" was just the start, really. "I really wanted to talk to you about what you did last night."
Oh, that? Jen thought to herself as she pulled on the collar of her gown. Harder than ever. She would rather not. "What about it?"
"I don't know what to think about it...." Meifeng started off, curling up, and hugging her legs around her arms. "Part of me thanks you... but another part of me hates myself for letting you take a risk that could have killed you like that...."
Jennifer didn't know what to say about it, either. Jen's eyes drifted downwards towards Penny, then to the other side. She was gathering herself. She quickly clenched her fist, and stepped up. Clenching her fist as she spoke so passionately, "I know it was stupid, but when I saw that thing charging for you, I didn't know what else to do. Tell you to watch out? That thing would have tore through you. I knew that if anyone had a chance of surviving that, it'd be me. I took the risk because I knew I couldn't live with it if I didn't!" Tears started rolling down her eyes. The water works continued as Jen continued her speech, "It hurt so much, but I knew it was worth it! Yeah! Because, I'm a cockroach through and through, Meifeng! I did it because while I can't die, it doesn't mean that you can't, either!"
Meifeng smiled. She hadn't felt so uplifted in ages now. She was filled with assurance from both Anna and Jen that made her happy. Hopeful for the future. She realized that, even with these scars, she gained wisdom, friendship, and a whole new level of understanding.
"Thank you." Was all Meifeng could say.
Jen stepped over and gave Meifeng a hug.
Their moment was touching, but it was interrupted by two people just barged into the room, nearly knocking Penny over with their triumphant entry.
"Hello, ladies!" A boy, that had black hair and blue eyes, that Jennifer knew was Trevor, loudly announced. "Missed me?!" Jennifer never really noticed how effeminate he looks with his long, womanly, hair, and soft facial features.
The other person who stepped in was a short woman in her early twenties with red hair. She had on a NEST Uniform, which had a Emblem on it that signified that she was a Private. She meekly stepped to the side, and put her hands behind her back.
Though, the room was oddly unreceptive to his response.
"What? What?" Trevor looked around the room, before he centered his gaze on Meifeng. "It's time for Dr. Obott to prescribe his special medication like asked!"
"Yeah, I hope it helps...." Meifeng trailed off, as she slowly undid the bandages over her face. Revealing the nasty wounds that she received. Crusted with scabs, it didn't look pretty. Jennifer wretched in the background.
He decided to lighten the mood, "You look like you got fucked by a Honey Badger." Trevor said to Meifeng with a wide smirk on his face, even going so far as to point at her.
Meifeng looked at Trevor for a moment, mouth open.
"Exactly." She replied. "C'mon, Trev, can you fix it?" She said with a side grin.
"Ooh, could I kiss it, or your lips if you're feeling romantic?" Trevor asked, smiling.
In response Meifeng gave him a light punch on the arm, smiling, "Don't push it, nerd."
He redirected his attention to Jennifer. "What about from the actual nerd."
"Uh, yeah... maybe after a date." Jennifer just said, unaware of the implication.
"Oh, maybe tonight?" Trevor said, trying to contain his excitement.
"I think I'll be busy... but-" Jennifer said, before Trevor's sister spoke up.
"C'mon, Trev, leave em' alone." Scarlet said, her accent was incredibly thick. "They've been through a lot last night."
"I know, geez... I'm just trying to lighten the mood you know... and maybe get a girlfriend. Both are good." Trevor answered, putting his hands behind his back.
"Yeah, thanks Trevor." Jennifer said, not wanting to be a bitch here.
What broke up the moment was the sound of someone knocking on the door... What Trevor should have done. A few moments later, Lihua Vuhong stepped into the room with luggage bad in hand. She placed it down by the door, before she walked up to them.
"Hello everybody." Lihua adjusted her glasses. "Are you all doing fine?"
"Yeah, mom." Meifeng said, stroking her facial scars.
"It's such a shame they had to put a scar on such a beautiful face..." Lihua spoke, "However, this isn't why I'm here."
She turned her body until she was facing Penny.
"You are the subject of my visit."
"Ummm... me?" Penny awkwardly put a thumb to her chest as she looked up at the scary woman. "Why?"
"NEST is heavily aware of your power now, and the huge risk it poses. We have very strict rules on Bestowers... along with the fact that the Hands of Science know about you, High Command has decided that the best course of action is that you should be placed under NEST protection. So you may learn to use your ability, and be in safety from all that wish to exploit you."
Penny let out a sigh, she knew this would happen. "Okay..."
"Penny wait," Jennifer said, putting her hands on her shoulders. "You don't have to go with them..."
"... She does." Lihua said. "Fun fact: she created over twenty Metahumans for NEST to take care of."
Once again, Scarlet spoke up. "Can't you just let this slide, just once, Agent Vuhong?"
"Look, it isn't up to me, orders came from High Commannd..." Lihua shrugged. "... and their word is absolute. If it wasn't me, it'd be someone else. And, personally, I agree with them. You are a huge risk to public safety."
Penny (or anyone else in the room) didn't appreciate the last comment. Penny looked away, and started rubbing her upper arm. "Okay."
"Glad to hear it." However, Lihua turned her attention to Jennifer.
"... As for you, Caspin." Lihua said, taking steps towards the regenerator. "You should know about the sweep they did while deciding who should go where?"
Jennifer vaguely remembered it, scratching the back of her neck. She tried to leave, but they wouldn't let her. "... Yeah."
"NEST knows about your ability. You have no choice but to get registered." Lihua let out a sigh. "I told this to Anna's family in the other room, I don't want to add NEST to your list of worries, but at this point, they are aware and demanding your registration."
Jennifer knew this day would come. She wondered if she could just have them slap a collar on her, and she'll pretend none of this ever happened. Yeah, she'll be a regular girl like before. You know that'll never happen, Caspin.
"Okay.... I'll get everything sorted out" Jennifer said, looking off to the side. Thinking about how her family will react.
"Good." Lihua blankly said. Before she faced the rest of the group. "Everything clear?"
"Yes, ma'am." Everyone said in unison.
"Good, that is all. Now would you come with me, Penny, we'll get started..." Lihua opened the door, and lead Penny out of the room. Penny and Jennifer exchanged looks for what had to be the last time. Before Lihua stopped, and grabbed the luggage bag. She threw it over at Meifeng with one hand, and her daughter had a hard time catching it. "Almost forgot, change of clothes for you, Meifeng. All of you will be sticking around in the NEST base for a bit, until your guardians come in. Meifeng, you'll be staying in the base regardless. The guards at the door have been ordered to open fire should you attempt to leave."
"Yay!" Meifeng raised her fists over her head victoriously.
Lihua simply nodded before Penny and herself walked out the room.
The room went awkwardly silent as everyone started looking around at each other.
"... Can ya'll leave, I'd like to get dressed?" Meifeng said.
"Hey, you wanted me to help you. Besiiiides, we can watch." Trevor said with a stupid smirk.
Meifeng merely grabbed a pillow, and threw it at him, with smacked him in the side of the head. "Out, you pervert! You can come back when I'm ready."
Jennifer immediately left. Heading for the waiting room.
Before walking out the door, the boy just couldn't leave well enough alone. He stopped by Meifeng, and whispered into her ear. "... Psst... your mom's hot." Before giving her the double fingerguns as she stepped out of the room.
Meifeng shuddered at the comment. She'll have to remind herself to kill herself later.
For now, she slid off the gown...
Two Remnants of the Fiends...
10:20 AM
"Big Dong's gone...?" A woman with pale skin, and dirty black hair said. Her features were barely illuminated by the shitty light of their run down apartment in Union Point Hills. She was sitting down, looking over her shoulder at the man behind her.
"Yeah, they say he got busted. They say that Khan and Burnmark are dead too, and Plague's no where to be found." The man said as he let out a sigh. Putting his hands on his bald, tattooed, head. "Shit's whack, man. The Highway Stars, and every other lunatic is going to be pushing into Union-Point hills trying to take a piece."
"What should we do?" The woman asked.
"Get the hell out of here. The VPD are still looking for us. We can skip town, and hope they don't find us."
"We don't have any money, Jason! You know that!"
"Hey, hey!" Jason said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You know we have a money maker."
"Wait, you can't be talking about..."
"Bingo." He walked over to the drawer, and pulled it open, and was immediately assaulted by the green light. Two canisters of the good old magical power granting serums that they swiped from Big Dong a while back. They were going to take it, then become top Fiends - but then they chickened out when they thought about what'd happen if they got a bad power. Since then, they've been stashing them in their apartment. When NEST began cracking down the Fiends, they were the first to bail out of the gang. Hoping that Big Dong wouldn't be too angry, but he was far more concerned with the police bearing down on them.
"We were going to hand those over to NEST if they catch us. A-A... leverage!" The woman said.
"Sarah, you know that NEST are just going to toss us in a cell, and take it." He grabbed the power serums, before getting a cocky grin on his face as he stepped back over. "We're low lives. They could do whatever they want to us and nobody would give a shit."
"I don't know... I think we should flush those down the toilet...." Sarah groaned.
"You know how much these rich fucks would pay for Superpowers?" Jason said with a wide smile on his face. "In fact, I got some rich-fuck's daughter to buy some. She's going to give a million dollars for each."
"Huh, really!?" Sarah asked, surprised. "Wait... I think this is a little too convenient."
"What other options do we got? Wait for NEST, or any of the other gangs, to move in and kick our ass?"
"I don't know...."
Confident as ever, Jason strolled over to the closet, and pulled out a sawed off shotgun. Complementary of serving under Big Dong. He walked over to the door, and presented the shotgun to her in full view. "Look at it this way; if we get the payout, we'll be out of Verthaven in no time, and if we don't, we can just beat the broad's face in."
"Alright..." Sarah hesitantly stammered. She stood straight up, and walked out the door.
"Now that's the spirit!" Jason said, he went into another room, and pulled out a gym bag. He dropped both canisters of the serum into it, and his sawed off. He walked over to the door, and looked over his shoulder at Sarah, "Know exactly where the deal is, it isn't even far from here. Let's go."
Sarah knew that this was a bad idea, but they were a pair of desperate drug addicts. What other choice did they have? Though, they'll probably end up blowing the cash on drugs, and end up back where they started.
They were at the meeting. An alleyway in the Iron District, between two abandoned warehouses that used to belong to the Fiends. It won't be long until word spreads, and these spots are taken by the homeless (Then the gang members). Jason had already drawn his shotgun, and he had the gym bag over his shoulder.
Their little buyer was none other than Maxine Carter... who was standing on the other end of the alleyway with a cigarette in her mouth. Most notably, she had a briefcase in hand. Second Maxine saw them, she pulled the cigarette out of her mouth, and blew out a hot puff of smoke. "Good you're here." She said, smirking. "Got the goods, Jay-son?"
Something about this chick unnerved Sarah. She didn't seem all that rich and powerful like Jason said. She kept her mouth shut. If anything went wrong, she still had her piece in her waistband.
"Yup!" Jason pulled the gym bag, and then dropped it. Before he knelt down and unzipped it, and was immediately assaulted by the radiant green light. He pulled out one of the serums, and displayed it for her. "Two magic potions just for you... if you give us our fucking money, that is. Haha!"
Jason was being obtuse here. He's just holding it out for her to grab it. Sarah just stepped over to Jason. She stepped over to Jason, trying to grab it. "Um, Jason, that isn't..."
"Yeah, those are exactly what I'm looking for...." Maxine said, before she tossed a orange orb of fire at the ground at their feet. Before they could even react, it exploded into a thick cloud of black smoke. Which left them coughing.
"Fuck! She's a freak, run!" Jason shouted as she charged out of the smoke. He looked back for Sarah, and saw that Maxine had teleported over to him. While she was reforming, she reached over to the serum, and grabbed it, but Jason grabbed onto it tightly. Maxine simply opened her palm, and blasted him with a shotgun style blast of fire and hot ashes. His skin was burned upon impact.
"Aaaaaaaaah!" Jason let out the cry as he took a few steps backwards, dropped the serum, and kicked it during his backpedel. Which rolled over in the direction of Sarah....
She was coughing profusely, and strongly waving her hand around as she tried to get the smoke out of her face. She had grabbed the gym bag with the serum. When the other one just so happened to roll into her foot, she looked down, then at Maxine and Jason, then back at the Serum. The scene paused as everyone was staring at each other, certain that the serum would break.
Sarah quickly swiped it, and hauled ass in the other direction. Heavily panting with every step.
"You get back here!" Maxine shouted, as she put her hand out to shoot her in the foot - However, she forgot about Jason and his sawed off. He had aimed it at her, and pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through her body, and left several holes that started burning with a orange light. "AAAAAAAAAARGH!" Maxine screamed as she dropped to her knees. The regeneration part of her power should take care of this if this fuck doesn't shoot her dead.
"Take that you fucking freak!" Jason said, as he dropped the shell casings, and put in two more rounds. He was walking up to Maxine to put those two rounds through her head.
Maxine wasn't going to give him the chance when she swiped her hands out, and created a jet of flames that hit Jason in the legs. The jeans that he was wearing were literally burned off of him as his skin got a lot darker. He let out the pained cry as he dropped his shotgun, and landed on his behind to grasp his leggy.
"What?! Little pussy can't take a little fire!?" Maxine shouted as she put her hand out again, and created a large orb of fire and chucked it right in his face. It exploded into a cloud of smoke and fire. Which left Jason violently choking. He tried to crawl away, coughing more and more. He cried to claw his way out, tears were rolling down his eyes. Before he stopped breathing, he stopped, and dropped his head on the ground. Suffocated in black smoke.
Maxine didn't stick around to watch his death. She just ran after Sarah, pulling out her revolver, since she was running low on smoke and fire here due to her regeneration. She'd need to save a little bit just in case. She couldn't run fast with the injuries she sustained. She was catching up to Sarah.
"I knew this was a bad idea... I knew this was a bad idea..." She repeated the mantra over and over again as she was running. She was wondering where Jason was. She quickly turned the alleyway, and ran back around, it was risky, but she wanted to know if Jason killed the bitch, or ran. Yet, she learned that something worse had happened. Much worse. She saw Jason, face down, and his face looking dead. Sarah immediately grabbed onto Jason's head and shook it. He didn't move.
"Jason!? Jason?! JASON!?" Sarah screamed his name over and over again as tears started running down her eyes uncontrollably.
Footsteps were approaching quickly. She immediately looked up, and let out a shriek. Maxine was a Metahuman and Sarah herself had little defense against her. Well, she had something. She reached into her waistline, and pulled out a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 and aimed it right for Maxine before she could draw her own gun.
"You stay the fuck back!" Sarah screamed with ferocity. It was more than apparent that she was going to shoot if Maxine so much as moves. "I'll fucking kill you!"
"Oh shit! I... fuck... fuck..." Maxine said as she saw Jason's dead body, and her own heart sank. She killed him. Oh God. She didn't mean to. She just wanted to knock him out, not kill him. Oh God, NEST is going to be after her and everything. She had to make everything right.
"Hey, hey, calm down." Maxine said, before she dropped her gun, and put her hand up, as assurance."I... fuck... I'm... so fucking sorry. I never meant to do that! I just wanted to knock him out! I only wanted the serum!" She got more and more hysterical with every word.
"This serum!?" Sarah shouted. This Serum... it was the problem. It was the fucking serum. If they just tossed it like she suggested, this would have never happened! "Fuck your serum!" Sarah said... she wasn't thinking straight right now. All that was in her head was the feign hope that she could use this to save Jason. She unscrewed the top, and started drinking it. A pulse of green energy was sent through her body, as her nervous system started pulsing a bright green color.
She started shaking uncontrollably, she tried to catch herself, but only fell to her knees. She let out a scream as she grabbed onto her head. A clear icy-blue gel started dripping down from her skin as she started turning transparent. She kept shaking as the transformation caused tendrils made out the gel, with bones to keep them solid. Violently erupted from her back. She kept shaking more and more, as clouds appeared out of nowhere, and rain started to fall gently.
A tendril quickly took a lance shape, and flew straight at Maxine. She was too in shock from the murder she just committed, and this woman's transformation to do anything. It impaled her right through the forehead, splashing ashes that was her brain all over the place. Her eyes were still moving, shaking from left to right. The tendril pulled out of her skull, and Maxine dropped dead.
Sarah was panting heavily... she looked at her hands, and could see right through them. She was a monster. She was afraid of this! She could sirens in the distance. She had to hide. She slowly hobbled over to the sewer grate, and slunk through it as if she was liquid. Disappearing into the sewers as rainfall covered the city in wetness.
Today was the day a new monster was born. One that was more powerful than any threat that came before it. Verthaven would come to fear it's name.
Lihua Vuhong, & (Former) Director Miranda Caryl.
10:21 AM
Lihua gently stirred her hot cup of coffee with a metal spoon. Her gaze didn't leave the Director's - Oh, former Director - eyes, as they were only separated by a table... and some cuffs. She wanted to talk to the Director personally, now that she's just a broken pedestal of her former self. And to think that she was the Director's personal lapdog merely a day ago, trying so hard to get on her good side so she could rise up in the organization. Oh how things change in the blink of an eye. But, Lihua didn't come here to be conceited... she wanted to know everything. However, what Baron taught her was that subtlety was everything. She was going to break the woman down, and pick up the pieces of her many sins.
"Would you like some coffee? I have-"
"Cut the shit, Vuhong." Miranda immediately cut Lihua off. "I'm not going to be alive for much longer, so I might as well just tell you everything in hopes that you screw them over."
"Oh, well, uh," Lihua started off, disappointed. "Okay. Start from the beginning, please."
Miranda let out a sigh, and began the long tangent explaining everything. "It started three years into my tenure as a Director. I was approached by Dr. Cross, one of the Hands of Science Chairmen, or as I should say, women. She told me about a deal... a deal that could help NEST. She said that if we did some favors for her, if I turn the other way, she would help NEST."
This is interesting. Lihua thought to herself as she made a mental note to remember the name Dr. Cross. "What sort of favors, and how did she "help" NEST?" She asked.
"Simple. We made an arrangement to give the Hands of Science some of the nobodies we arrest, the people no one would look for, she would give NEST some gadgets. The first thing she gave us was containment foam. How to create it, and the blueprints to the dispensers. She also gave us the sleeping gas, and the top secret Shield of Light system, which is being set up in every major city."
"... Shield of Light?" Lihua had to ask.
"Sorry. Top. Secret." Miranda said with a smirk on her face.
"You're doubling back on your claim that you'll tell me everything?"
"Nope. Just not telling you this out of respect for High Command."
This is something she'll have to look into... if she even has the clearance. High Command is pretty high up on the NEST chain, and they're not exactly the type that'll listen to the ants of the organization.
Now, there are plenty of questions that Lihua had for Miranda. Mostly towards her conspirators. "What about the Hands of Science, and NEST's involvement? Who is Dr. Cross?"
"I don't know her real name, or her identity... I had Agents run through everything, there's nothing that fits her. Which gives me the idea that she hacked herself out of every system," Miranda started off, leaning up on the table, "But, continuing, she's a Hands of Science big wig, but I already told you that. What I haven't told you is that she has complete control over the Southwestern branch of the Hands of Science."
"The man you were talking to in the video?"
"Don't know. He's been trying extra hard to keep himself anonymous, but I do know that he's from China, or has ties with them, and runs the Northeastern branch of the Hands of Science... And before you ask, there's seven branches of the Hands of Science in total. One for each part of the US, two in Canada, and one in Mexico."
Seven branches of the Hands of Science. Lihua knew that all of them need to be destroyed. She nodded her head. "Who is this woman?" Lihua asked as she produced a photo of Heartbreaker running through the hallways, looking over her shoulder.
Miranda only looked at the photo for a few seconds before raising her head. "Natalie... or should I say, Heartbreaker. She's a member of the Changeling Unit that acted as an envoy for the Hands of Science. I paid her a large amount of money for her to make sure Khan doesn't leave the building alive. I should note that she's the second in command, their leader is much worse. I can give you identification on several members."
Changeling Unit... Lihua definitely has to look into them. "Are there any Agents associated with the Hands of Science?"
Miranda let out a sigh. "... Give me a pen." She groaned, looking down at the napkin underneath her hands.
"That'll be a little hard with these on, let me help you with that." Lihua leaned in forward, and produced a key from her breast pocket, and unlocked the cuffs. All while Miranda looked at her in shock. She handed Miranda a pen. Lihua interlocked her hands, and fingers, "Tell me, do you really think that I would undo your cuffs if I wasn't more than certain that you wouldn't be able to leave this room...?"
"... Good point." Miranda began writing names down on the napkin. At least thirteen NEST Agents. She pushed the napkin back over to Lihua. "Done."
God damn it. Lihua thought to herself as she looked at it. A few of these Agents were pretty high up. There could be the possibility that Miranda could be lying, but it wouldn't have mattered if she was. Lihua was going to launch an investigation of her own, and if she finds anything substantial, submit it to the higher ranking Agents and get them arrested. She slid the napkin in her pocket, and faced the former Director. It looks like that Lihua was done here.
Still, she had one last thing to say to the Director.
"But, let me tell you something, Miranda," Lihua started off, saying the Director's name like an insult. She took a pause to take off her glasses and rub her eyes. Before putting them back on, and staring the Director straight in the eye. "I promise you, I am going to put my all towards destroying everything that you and the Hands of Science built, and burn all the unholy research they made with the blood of innocent children. So, enjoy your time in a prison cell... and watch as I, and every god damn Agent with a conscience, ruin your conspirators."
Miranda shrugged in a very "I guess" manner. "... It's what I deserve, right?"
"It is. For letting your greed and ego drive you to commit such disgraceful actions. Everyone here at NEST will be repairing the damage you caused. Thank you and goodbye. We'll never meet again."
After that last word left her lips, Lihua stood straight up, and walked out of the room with the cup of coffee in hand. Miranda wouldn't go anywhere. If she was smart that is.
Now, her business here was over. She had her chat with the fallen Director, and now she's going to submit that information she gathered to the Intelligence Department. All of it could have been a lie, but it's a possibility. The Director wasn't going anywhere. Despite her claims, Lihua was going to make sure that the Director comes out of this alive. Extra tight security for her. In the end, it all fell down to the other NEST Agents, however. Her job was intelligence, not to guard prisoners, or order other Agents around. Just get to a computer.... Lihua thought to herself.
"Agent Vuhong?" The man said, walking up to her from behind. She turned around and saw an African American man with a bald head and a suit (Much like many of the Agents). He was holding a clipboard. Once he got close to her, he looked up at her and noted, "You're tall."
"... I get that a lot." Lihua rolled her eyes. "I don't believe we've been introduced."
"Oh, yeah, right," The man said, standing at attention, putting his feet together, and standing straight up. "Agent Luther Ross, I'm one of the NEST detectives they brought in from Seattle because of the shortage."
"Oh really?" Lihua asked. She put her hand out, and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"Yeah, I arrived this morning - the flight was a bitch, though." He said, Lihua took note of the crassness of his statement. "... I'll be working under you."
"... What?" Lihua asked, a bit confused about the last statement.
"Huh? They didn't tell you yet?"
"Tell me what?"
Luther nodded his head, and gave her a very playful smirk, "You're the new head of the Intelligence and Investigation Department.... should you accept the promotion."
That news came as a shock. Her mouth opened... before she snapped it close, and reverted to her usual emotionless demeanor. She had question, though. "What happened to the old head? Isiah Paxton?"
"Yeeeeah... they found out that he died. Fiends killed him, and cut his face off. Before they put it on a pizza and ate it." Luther scratched the back of his neck. "They offered me the position, but I turned it down. Didn't want to rob someone else... Eh, I'll level with you here, Verthaven scares the fuck out of me. So, I think I'll take the chance to get the hell out of here."
Believe me... Verthaven scares me, too. Lihua thought to herself. Though, the only thing that popped up in her mind was to accept the position. She was perfect for it. All these years of hard work and dedication are finally paying off! "I gladly accept the position."
"Good, I'll tell them soon as possible. If you'll follow me to your new office...." Luther started walking off, with every word sounding more and more appetizing to her. Sexy even. She wanted to drink, and party, now more than ever to celebrate her new position. As they walked through the destroyed halls of the Headquarters. Lihua just had to talk, "Can you run me through all the perks of my new position?"
"Heh, first you'll be able to order the Department around. Launch internal investigations, major investigations, and so on. Hell, you might be able to order around the rank and file agents. Second, and this will probably be your favorite; pay raise. Third, an even higher intelligence clearance. A level four clearance in fact. That's like two steps away from Top Secret intelligence clearance. Fourth, fancy new office, it belonged to the last guy... and I cleaned it up to the best of my ability... Oh, we're here."
They walked up to the door that had Isiah Paxton (Her old boss' name) written on the door. They'd have to switch that out with Lihua Vuhong, but later. They still have the mess the Fiends made to clean up. It won't be long until news of her promotion reaches the rest of NEST, and they start growling in anger. And Lihua didn't care at all. She earned it. Not just for herself, but for Meifeng and Lijuan.
Luther opened the door to reveal a office that was three times the size of her old cramp office. It had a nice blue rug with the NEST insignia on it, and fancy wooden walls. There was a large desk, and behind it was a large leather chair. On the other ends of the room there were filing cabinets. Best of all, it had a window.
Lihua couldn't help but smile ear to ear as she walked inside.
Luther nodded his head and said, "I'll leave you to your business...." Before departing.
The first thing that Lihua did was skip over to the chair. Now that Luther was gone, she could now express emotions that she wouldn't normally show when around other people. She flopped down on the chair, and leaned back in it (it leaned back, too!) far as it could go. Letting her head hang. She had the dumbest smile on her face, befitting a child, spinning herself around by kicking her foot against the desk. Yet, she didn't care. All she could do was laugh. And laugh, and laugh. Like she was a god damn super villain.
Only stopping to loudly say, "Life is good! Now, isn't it! HAHAHAHAHA!"
"... You havin' fun?" Luther said as he poked his head back into the room. With a sly smile on his face as Lihua realized he watched all of it. All of it.
That made Lihua loudly yip, and immediately revert to a normal, presentable position. Sitting straight up, feet on the ground, and fingers on the computer. "... If you tell anyone about that, I'll have to kill you." Lihua said, jokingly (???).
"Noted." Luther had to try hard to resist laughing. "Now, there's a double homicide over in the Iron District. One of deceased is a student from Academy 12. We could use the new Head of Investigation's talents."
Lihua smiled.
.........
The white room... it was home. It was something that she had gotten used to. The woman with beige skin, and curly brown hair, lying down on her bed. The light above her reminded her so much of the sun. They let her see it sometimes, but she always pined for more. A little more sun won't do anything, but they always tell her that it's dangerous to stay outside for too long. Didn't know why, she just always followed the nice lady's orders, and in return, she gives her things. Games to play with, nice food to eat, and interesting books. Yet, she was never given any freedom. She was compliant, they made her that way. Yet, she still wanted more....
The door open, which was hidden in the white walls of the room. It could only be opened from the other side. Which was a safety measure. A woman stepped through, and she nodded her head at the women on the bed.
"Dr. Cross?" The woman asked.
Dr. Cross was her Doctor. She was an older lady that had to be in her mid forties, that was somewhat short. She had neatly brushed back black hair that was greying in some areas. She wore a long labcoat that was left open to reveal her black suit and vest. She had on dress shoes. Almost like she was some big business woman that just threw on a labcoat to come down here.
"It's time, Alexandria." Dr. Cross said, as she gestured for the woman to follow her. She quickly climbed up, and followed Dr. Cross as they walked through the halls. Passing by other scientists hauling operating tables with test subjects, and other supplies. Dr. Cross lightly brushed her hand through her hair as she continued walking through the halls. Alexandria was her crown jewel - her magnum opus. She was the key to saving a lot of lives. She was a Metahuman who's biology could cancel out cancer, and any and all ill-effects from genetics. She's studying her power so she find a way to mass produce it and become a scientific hero.
While she was marching, a man clad in red and dark-blue armor and a gas mask walked with wielding a M16. He put his hand up, and she stopped, "Dr. Cross, Ignatius would like to speak with you in the communications room."
The Doctor closed her eyes, and then sighed. What does that fool want now? She nodded her head and ordered the soldier, "Escort Alexandria to the examination room."
"Understood." Both Alexandria and the soldier walked off past Dr. Cross as she made her way to Ignatius.
The doors opened as she walked into the dimly lit room. She could see Ignatius's silhouette - which was fairly androgynous. He was sitting in a chair, legs crossed, and fingertips touching... However, he didn't have a head. Dr. Cross rolled her eyes up into her head. That idiot's starting up with the theatrics again....
Coming out of his shadow-y figure was thin tendrils that popped out of his neck. The tendrils arced behind the chair, and came back with what had to be a head. The tendrils locked into the head, and placed it down onto his neck. His body drastically changed shape - it gained size, and his chest got really broad. Ignatius stood straight up, and walked over to Cross with his hands behind his back.
Dr. Cross was unimpressed, she crossed her arms and looked at him. He was quite tall, and wore a suit, with a long black overcoat hanging off his shoulders. He had a handsome face... that didn't belong to him. "What is it that you want?" Dr. Cross asked, annoyed.
"You should already know," Ignatius said as he stood at her side. "The Hands of Science are no longer in the shadows. Someone brought them out...."
"It was my own stupidity, really." Dr. Cross said, "I shouldn't have let Berlioz have his way... he was one of our best scientists, and yet he insists on working alone. And now he screws us all over.... Ugh!"
"If only he had a special team on to act as, maybe, security.... but that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about." Ignatius raised a finger up into the air. "Doesn't it sound a little too convenient for NEST that Berlioz was killed while looking at very sensitive files, and that two Agents just happened to find it. And our existence was leaked to the internet along with the Changeling Unit. Conveniently."
"I'd have to be stupid as you are to believe otherwise; someone's working against us."
"Oh, you're so mean." Ignatius said, feigning shot with an O mouth. "... and I believe that someone is Megan. Because, she hasn't been confirmed dead, nor can we find her."
"... It could make sense... she was one of our top scientists. She knew a lot about the organization."
"And what if she gained a conscious? Or never worked for us in the first place, but NEST? And decided to out us in hopes that NEST or any other group of fools would try to take us out. She could have been misleading us with the eccentrics." Ignatius theorized.
"God damn it... we need to find her at once."
"Mobilize REAPER?" Ignatius asked. "Oh yeah, that's another thing... now that NEST knows about us, we're going to need to defend our... assets. That's why we assembled REAPER in the first place. To combat NEST."
"I wish we had more time to get everything ready. At least the Mutagen is ready." Dr. Cross knew that the the Hands of Science would be exposed to NEST some day. That's why they prepared. They tested the mutagen on the Fiends, and gathered as many NEST rejects as possible so they could form the antithesis to them: REAPER. Usually mobilized to kidnap Metahumans, they're now going after NEST.
"At least we perfected the Mutagen." Ignatius said. "Now, I'm going to get the Slaughterhouse Squad ready. REAPER doesn't have as many Metas... but I'll make it work." Ignatius shrugged, before walking off. He gave Dr. Cross the two finger salute. "See you Dr. Cross. I'll have Megan's head by the time I come back."
Good grief. This is going to be the beginning of the end, and all Dr. Cross wanted was to continue her research in peace. Now they're going to war against NEST. Dr. Cross shook her head. However, a monitor came alive on the other end of the room. A man appeared, a silhouette just in case anyone's monitoring, on the screen, and started talking.
"Someone patch me to Dr. Cross." The man said with a Chinese accent.
"Well aren't you convenient." Dr. Cross said as she walked over to the monitor, and bent over it. From the accent, she knew it was the Chairmen of the Northeastern Branch of the Hands of Science. Dr. Cross herself was the head of the Southwestern Branch. "What do you want?"
"What the hell happened?" The man hissed. "How did the Hands of Science get exposed so easily?"
"We have a rat... we're chasing it down." Dr. Cross responded.
"This is not good news, the Hands of Science relied on it's anonymity... which we've just lost."
"Tell me something I don't know."
"We will have to gather the Chairmen and discuss what happened... perhaps in Verthaven."
"It will be the best location... come here in two weeks, and we'll discuss the next course of events."
"Very well. Signing off." He pressed a button, and the monitor turned off.
Dr. Cross sighed.
It begins.
Meifeng Vuhong. (The Credits)
10:41 AM
When I left China... it was so abrupt, Black Fall felt strange at first. Meifeng monologues as she walked through the roof doors of the NEST base (after breaking the lock), stepping onto the roof. She walked towards the edge. I barely knew anything about America, and couldn't even speak English. It was the first time I've seen Mom, like ever... and no one helped at all. America felt so alien to me, and all I wanted to leave. But I knew I truly stood alone. I would have to cut out my own piece of the place. For myself.
Meifeng kept walking until she reached the edge, taking off the bandages on her with every step. Thanks to Trevor's power, she was healed. Not without a little bit of scratches, of course. When she took off the bandages, she was revealing the ugly claw scars on her face. After the culture shock wore off, I started to appreciate the place, but I still knew it wasn't for me. That changed once I reached Verthaven. It was much different from Black Fall, and I thought that I'd run into the same problem as before. But, I met people like Jen, Anna, Trevor, Taylor, and Carole, the people that made the place a lot better. They helped me realize that I had a place in America, in Verthaven. And that made me aspire to make the city my true stomping grounds. All while dreaming of becoming a NEST Agent... Not like mom, she does the boring information stuff. I want to be out there and fighting, fighting to protect the people.
Holding the torn bandages in her hand, Meifeng slowly stuck her hand straight out, and held it there. Before she let go of them, and let the wind carry the grim reminder of her wounds into the distance. To be forgotten. Yet... the corruption sure runs deep. I would have to be dumb to believe otherwise... but, in the name of Greed and Ego, NEST danced with the devil. And for what? Money? No money is worth the pain they brought to innocent people. Nothing is.
Rain started dropping down, and Meifeng put her hand out and let the rain pool up in her hand. She quickly gathered all the water into an orb, and the orb started spinning. Rain... yeah... can the rain wash away the blood and corruption of this city and turn it back into the paradise I fell in love with? Make it great again? Heal it's wounds? No... it's not that easy.
"Meifeng!" Lihua shouted from the doorway. "Get down from there before you fall off and kill yourself!"
Meifeng let the orb of water fall from her hand, and she smiled as she looked up at the sun punching through the grey clouds.
... NEST might be broken. It might be corrupt. But there's nothing to say that it can't be fixed.
