Avatar of Zombiedude101

Status

User has no status, yet

Bio

User has no bio, yet

Most Recent Posts

Yo, Dervish - long time no see!



Name: Iosif Sevchenko, (Alias: Lyosha)

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 31

Class: Engineer, Pilot and part-time Navigator.

Appearance:



Standing a a rough height of about 5'11, Iosif possesses something of a wiry frame that's been honed by years of training and experience in the field, but is otherwise of an average physical complexion. Due in part to his having ventured out into the galaxy on his travels, his skin tone appears to have taken on a darker complexion than most slavs. Accompanying this are numerous faded scars of varying severity running across his torso, whilst across his back is a criss-cross of faded lacerations which resemble wounds caused by flogging. On the back of his neck is a faded barcode tattooed into the skin with several Batarian numerals and letters etched into the skin beside it. That aside, Iosif's left arm is clearly alien to the rest of his body: from the shoulder-down it appears that his arm is a cybernetic replacement, complemented with a synthetic white coating. Elsewhere, Iosif's pale blue eyes and the pronounced features of his face do well to point out his slavic heritage, with brunette-colored hair that's kept short with a crew cut whilst his jawline seldom develops anything more than a hazy stubble.

Background:



Weapon List WIP

Elkoss Combine M-8 Avenger Assault Rifle


M-6 Carnifex Heavy Pistol


Modified Elanus Risk Control Services M-3 Predator - the weapon has been trimmed down into a compact form, sacrificing performance so it can be concealed


Mark 14 HE Grenades


Equipment List

Elkoss Combine Cipher Omni-Tool
Handheld Fusion Welder (This also doubles as a crude weapon when used in close quarters)
Elanus Risk Control Services Light Guardian Armor


Powers:

Power List

Overload
Incinerate
Cryo Blast
Tech Armor
Disruptor Ammo
Fortification

Talents:

Fitness
Electronics
Damping
Assault Rifle Training
Pistol Training
First Aid


“Did you find them yet?”

”Kid, I'm a ghost not a metal detector. If you hadn't lost the damned things in the first place we wouldn't be in this mess, ‘Detective’.”

“I thought I’d left them on the desk this morning.”

”Anyway, what happened to that trademark Nathan Bishop sixth sense you usually have going on when you’re working?”

“Oh come on, don’t start on th-”

Nate halted himself mid-sentence when he noticed the keys resting in one of the open drawers of his smudged metal desk. He blinked for a moment to make sure he wasn’t just seeing things again - he’d already checked there earlier - and there they were. Glancing over to Gabe, who seemed to have something on his face, he realised he’d been had.

“You moved them.”

”Well, that depends Mr. PI,” A familiar shit-eating grin popped up, ”Am I under oath?”

“Ha-ha.” Nate folded his arms, grabbing the keys off the desk and popping open the filing cabinet adjacent to his desk. Another sheet of casework was still left in the printer beneath his desk, so he pulled it out and quickly stook it in a folder before locking up the cabinet once more.

”What?” Gabe outstretched his arms, playing innocent. ”Must be a ghost that did it, I’m sure.” The way he said it laid it on thick.

Nate smirked, “Yeah, maybe I ought to go around knocking over a certain ghost’s gravestone in town - walk over a burial plot or two.”

The dead man shrugged. ”Ah, c’mon. I needed an excuse to pick something up - being dead can drive ya’ a little stir-crazy sometimes.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to feel that second-hand..” Nate shot back, before chuckling and pulling up a seat. Inside the same drawer where his partner had stuck the keys was a bottle of tequila that he’d yet to touch. Deciding now was as good a time as ever, he cracked it open and grabbed two glasses from the same drawer. Pouring just one glass, he pushed the empty one towards Gabe with a smug look on his own face. “Thirsty?”

”Hah, fuck you too.” The late detective saw the funny side in that one. ”Last time I tried that was a waste of good scotch.”

Nate shrugged, before wrapping his fingers around the glass. “In that case, don’t mind if I do.” He offered a toast to the spirit and would’ve downed it were it not for a shadow passing by the shaded windows and twisting the door handle. “Yeah?” He called out to the mystery visitor, setting down his glass.

“Nate?” A familiar face addressed him as she stepped inside. A girl, no older than eleven, with a messenger bag hanging off her shoulder. Her name was Sarah Knights; a local kid. Or, well - that’s what she seemed like.

“Sarah,” He arched an eyebrow as she stepped inside, cross-legged with her hands closed together as if she was entering new school for the first time. Damn, even after knowing her for almost a year, she still almost had him fooled whenever she walked through that door. “What brings you here today?”

“Got something for you.”

Reaching into her messenger bag, she withdrew a small digital camera and set it on the desk. When Nate leaned forward, he found a couple of photos pertaining to another case he was working on. “Nice work.” He pushed a small wad of dollar bills her way.

“Aw, don’t I get a higher allowance?” Sarah pouted.

”Kid makes a good case. What is this, nineteen eight-nine?”

“Hah. Yeah, fine - here.” Nate pushed a couple of more dollar bills this way. “Not like you’ll spend it all on candy or anything.”

“Nope. I kinda grew outta that about a decade back.” She grinned a toothy grin, a sharp smile glistening.

If there was anyone who fit the combined definitions of honeytrap and jailbait, it was Sarah. She was a vampire who'd been turned before she progressed through puberty, an unfortunate and troubling predicament that she had learned to turn to her advantage by targeting the seedier denizens of the city, luring in would-be child molesters and other predators.

Nate had come to conveniently ignore that fact; he held no love for the kind of quarry Sarah fed on and regarded it as a lesser evil. Besides, she wasn’t that bad of a kid, even worked as an informant for him from time to time - stopped by the office and slept in the back on occasion. Well, what could Nate say? Both he and Gabriel held a soft spot for kids.
“So, got any other info for me?” Nate finally asked. Truth be told, he was hoping for a lead on the Somabra Slayer - Gabe shared the same sentiment.

“Nope, sorry. Buuut....” She leaned forward after glancing over her shoulder. “I found something that might help. Someone I know with the Nyctari; they’re looking for someone who’s good at keeping tabs on other people, if that makes sense.”

Nate furrowed his brow. “Nyctari? What? No. Hell no. I might not be a cop anymore, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have standards.”

“Look, I knew you wouldn’t like the sound of it, but.. trust me, it’s not that kind of work. It’s keeping an eye on other stuff, like the Rats and the Bloodblooms. Not hurting people, I know you’re not like that.” Sarah explained.

Nate was about to speak up, when someone else cut him off. ”Hate to be the devil’s advocate, but this might be our best shot.” Gabe finally spoke up.

”Forget about the pay, forget about the suckers - no offense, kid - think about the opportunities this might provide. You don’t think I never had to get my hands dirty, in all my years of work? Over twenty-five years I’ve been on the force, there’s been times I’ve had to deal with people I’d sooner put in a cell in order to get results. We could track down some leads on the Slayer with this info, even gain an insight into how those Nyctari bastards operate as well, for future reference.”

Finally, he relented. “Alright, fine. I’ll consider it. Sarah, give me the run-down on this.”

Sonya Mayfield, Lihua Vuhong, Quentin Taylor & Task Force RAVEN.




Fortunately for the botched evacuation, NEST still had a defensive position back at the Headquarters (They still needed a base of operations to launch counter attacks against the Devil). All they could do was awkwardly stuff the surviving citizens back into the tents and buildings. They ventured so much, and lost far more than they gained.

Task Force RAVEN, who, at this point, were the only thing standing in the way of a total massacre, were assembled in their Meeting Room. Silently sitting in the chairs, staring at each other, at a total loss of what the hell to do. Maximilian seemed to have been hit the hardest by the recent events. He was standing, hunched over the table, with his hands pressed against the table. He was vaguely mumbling - only Sonya and Savannah (Two with keen hearing) could hear him mumbling things along the lines of "why didn't they give me more time", and "we were almost out". Other than that, the silence was certainly awkward.

Up until Leon broke the silence when he loudly cleared his throat, and all eyes were on him, "... Well, this looks bad." He said.

"This looks bad?" Helena parroted, almost in utter disbelief. "We're trapped in here with a bitch with a chip off her shoulder, that just so happened to win the god damn superhuman lottery - and not only that, we gotta deal with the Changelings and the Hands on top of that."

Leon threw his hands up, leaning back in his chair. He casually said, "You should relax... you're always so... high strung."

"Who isn't?" Helena said. "The evac failed, and we lost even more Agents - without getting a single civilian outside city lines."

The next to speak up was a reluctant Lihua. Closing her eyes, and letting out a loud sigh, "It pains me to say this, but I have to agree with Helena on this matter." She opened her eyes, and realized that all attention was on her. "The situation is bad, but what I have one thing to say... one." She put her finger up. "With the situation looking oh so bad for us - this could very well be the end of everything we once knew - we have two true options."

"And those are?" Leon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Please, Leon, don't act stupid. Just. This. Once." The matriarch folded her hands on the table, and stared ahead - at Maximilian who was across from her - as she let her words hang up in the air for a bit. "It's simple... we either give up, and let that lunatic kill us, or we launch a counter attack against her, and kill her with the precision that NEST is known for. I suggest the latter... I refuse to go down without dragging that whore down with me to the underworld."

"Yeah, yeah, right, like she's going to just let us go in and shoot her in the head." Helena scoffed. "We gotta find her before we even try that.... Or have your lost your touch during your suspension?"

"Child," Lihua hissed through her teeth, "You're always running your damn mouth without having the slightest idea of what you're even going on about." Lihua leaned over towards Helena, and pointed at her, "Shut up, and let the adults talk, okay? Because clearly, you're just a gun. Stop trying to act smart, and just stick to what you know. Which clearly isn't all that much."

"Hey, screw you, Vuhong," Helena hissed in response. "Condescending bitch."

"Oh? At least I earned the right to look down on nothings li-"

"Enough!" Maximilian pounded his hands on the tables so loud that it almost sounded like Echo hit the tables. "Agent Vuhong, Agent Page, don't you think we have more important things to worry about than your stupid feuds?" He was damn near about to punch the table in half.

"She was the one who-" Lihua tried to retort, giving Helena a disgusted look as she threw a finger in her direction - but she was quickly stopped by Max.

"And you played much of a part in it as her." Maximilian was barely containing his anger as he spat out each word. He gave the room one long scan. "Now, if you two are done being children, Agent Vuhong, would you continue?"

It seems that Maximilian was barely containing his emotions... Lihua knew when to quit, and this was it. She calmly sighed, before saying, "I'll just cut to the chase when I say that I've been reviewing, and compiling, intelligence. I believe that the Devil is the one behind the... gruesome attacks on Metahumans."

"The ones where hearts of Metahumans get torn out by freaky-ass monsters?" Leon said, putting his arms behind his head. "Yeah, yeah... got some theories on that, too."

"So, we're on the same page here when I say that she's using them for something, Vahan?" Lihua tapped her fingernail against the tabletop, and gazed at her fellow agents. This was all or nothing. "I believe she's bringing them directly to herself - something we can take advantage of... For example, we can, perhaps, poison a heart and present it to her beasts - and if that doesn't kill the bitch, then I also suggest we place a tracker within the hearts so we can at least track her."

"Hearts don't grow on trees." Helena stated.

Leon scratched the sides of his head, as he said, "Well, they don't grow on trees, but they kinda gro-"

"Irrelevant. Vahan." Lihua said, dead serious. "Agent Page... have you forgotten that we, essentially, have a vault full of Metahuman hearts." She said in a near grandoise fashion.

"Huh?"

"Are you stu-" Lihua was about to say, before she cut herself off. "The morgue. We have dead Metahumans in the morgue." She rolled her eyes. It was like talking to an idiot sometimes!

"Oh."

"It's..." Maximilian said, "The only idea we have."

"One thing," Quentin chimed in, noticing the potential for a flaw in that plan. "What if she only takes live hearts?" He folded his arms, before opining, "Maybe it's time Heartbreaker had hers broken for a change." The tone he used made it difficult to discern whether or not he was being serious about that option or not. Maybe both.

At this point, Lihua would have been fine tearing out Heartbreaker's own heart, and feeding it to the Devil.

Helena crossed her arms, and gave Lihua a cocky smirk after Quentin said what he had to say. Raising a finger up into the air that almost made Lihua hop over the table and tear her hair out.

"Agent Taylor has a point," Maximilian said, "We may need a live donation." He said. "However... we still need Heartbreaker." He looked over at Lihua, then Quentin. "Even if they recover her, I gave her a little something that'll lead us right back to her."

"So, what about the other four lesser Changelings we have in custody?" Lihua mentioned, referencing Fig, The Witch Mother, and the Colossus... the last one would be the perfect bait. There wasn't anything they could get out of the giant.

"Oh, onto the next matter I wanted to discuss." Lihua announced, pausing - not for dramatic effect, but attempting to gather her words. Find the best way to phrase this. Because she was certain that not everyone would agree on her with this one. "The odds are overwhelmingly against us. Only a limited supply of combat capable Agents, against an enemy that, as we believe, can infinitely produce an army."

There was no doubt about that. Lihua knew that if NEST tried to go the direct route, they would fail so miserably that it wouldn't be funny. "As it stands, we're.against an army that outnumbers us, and will sure as hell outlast us. Every second, more people are dying... We're going to need everyone we can. I know this isn't a good idea - but, down the line, we're going to have little choice. The circumstances force us to." Lihua sighed, before coming out and saying it, "...I suggest that we get some of the younger Metahumans to help."

"Huh, you mean like the kids your daughter hangs out with?" Leon said, scratching his head. "Them?"

"Yes...." Lihua suggested. "They might not seem like much - but underestimating them would be foolish. They are much more capable than they seem, and, if I have to be honest with myself, if we fall, then it'd be down to them, and they won't last long."

"What I wanna ask is... yeah... do you wanna put your daughter on the line like that?" Leon said... knowing that Meifeng would want to help.

"I don't." Lihua blankly answered. "But I have no choice. I'm not asking to throw them into the front lines like it's nothing." She said, "They can be like... our deputies. Assistants, yeah. They work under our explicit instructions. Take that grey-haired boy - if it wasn't for him, more people would have died trying to kill that giant."

Daphne raised an eyebrow - she was amused that Lihua, who was always fierce to keep her precious children off limits to any kind of danger, would be willing to offer such a plan...but even more so at her praising Shizuka (she had heard from Akemi that the two of them had quite an unpleasant first encounter back when they were trying to get out of Chinatown to Knightdale together).

Leon, once again, leaned back in his chair, and quietly chuckled. "That's how bad things are? That we gotta fall back on kids, huh?" He had to state. "Up to Maxi." He snickered.

Everyone looked at Maximilian.

"Hey, Maxi," Leon said. "If you're gonna agree to any stupid idea," Leon paused as he shrugged. "Miiiiight as well be this one."

"Well, Maxi," Sonya finally spoke up, raising her hand as Maria sat next to her in her true form. "That Obott-boy sure knows how to handle himself. Needs a little guidance, yeah, but he ain't useless." Sonya supported Lihua's ideas.... mostly so that she can have herself a sniper protoge! "Though, he kinda pisses himself in the face of danger - but so do I! That's why my suit needs to be washed after every mission!"

"... So that's what I keep smelling." Leon said, raising a finger.

"... Stop calling me "Maxi", Agent Vahan." Maximilian said, before Leon and Sonya went off track. "In these desperate times... we'll need everyone we can. Because the rules have now been blurred - if they haven't already been crossed off. Yes, Agent Vuhong, we'll let the teenaged Metahumans assist in our operations."

This was what Lihua wanted to hear. "I'll even lead our little group." She knew that, under her leadership, they cannot possibly fail. "I'll go ask who wants to be apart of our little unit."

Daphne couldn't help but smirk to herself - she was pretty sure that hard-headed phantom boy would rather drive the tough matriarch through the roof than being a slave to her ruthless (and possibly suicidal) orders. Still... "As usual, I will assist in providing backup along with Grue.

"Also, another piece of intelligence that I have...gathered, is that the Devil is most likely hiding in the sewers, where there is a huge reserve of those 'substances' she can keep using to create her monstrous army." In truth it was a conclusion drawn from her own deduction (she was unable to locate the target on land, and unfortunately her ability had very limited range underground) plus some bits of Shizuka's theories she had eavesdropped on with her flora network. She made a mental note to treat the young twin for a feast if they could get out of this hell alive.

Lihua was about to say something snarky at Daphne... of course she's hiding out in the sewers. Who didn't piece that together? It's the perfect hiding spot - it's out of the way, and she basically has pathways to anywhere in the city. The problem for NEST was getting down there... of course. She had every advantage in the sewers. The best bet for NEST was bombing the area from afar.

Quentin rubbed his jawline with a palm as he considered what to say next. If he was ever going to be level with them, he may as well have done so whilst it could still make a difference. "Should've mentioned this hell of a lot earlier, but... my power? It's not replication. It's transfer." He let off a wearied sigh, gaze shifting across the room. "I can pick up other powers and use 'em to a degree, yeah... but I can also give them to others. Sometimes even pull them away, though that's a whole other matter. If it's going to help, well... this is as good a time as any."

Everyone looked at Quentin, with a curious look on their faces - save for Lihua, who was already informed in a oh so off handed manner. So, all Lihua did was lean back in her chair, and give them a look. Time to see how close you are to your new friends, Taylor.

"Agent Taylor...." Maximilian trailed off. Feeling a little betrayed that Quentin hid this from them, but understanding why. "While I am surprised at this new revelation... you still have the full support of RAVEN."

"... That could have been good to know a while back, Taylor." Helena said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I should've mentioned it a long time ago, but... well, back then I wasn't sure what to expect with NEST. With you." Quentin's expression was sincere and for once, he was confident in what he'd said. "I was wrong, I earned your trust - and you earned mine."

"Hey, hey, hey, now!" Sonya loudly said. "Can't speak for the other lads, but you you always had my trust." Sonya's tongue flopped out of her mouth. "Did you think we would turn on you because of one simple white lie? Nope! It doesn't matter if you didn't tell us before anymore, Taylor."

"Wait," Helena said, raising a hand, "What about the Hands and the Changeling Unit?"

"This is bigger than the Hands, Helena..." Lihua started off, "We're talking about a Metahuman that can possibly destroy everything - we can afford to ignore the Hands and their aberrations just this once. Once this is over, then we'll go after them. For now, we'll have to let them go.... unobstructed." She sighed afterwards, she'll get her revenge eventually.

Leon let out a sigh. "Hate to hear that, but looks like we got no choice." He shrugged.

"Speaking of the Hands..." Lihua said, tapping a finger against her jawline. There was another matter that they had to attend to, that they had no choice but to address. "We still have our metal friend in custody, right?" Lihua said.

"That is correct, Agent Vuhong," Maximilian responded, shaking his head.

"That's a loose end that'll need tying up." Quentin noted.

"Agent Taylor just about summed it up. We need to address the matter of what we're going to do about him." Lihua pressed her finger against the table top. "As we know, he's incredibly powerful, and I doubt that, in these times, we can afford to have him removing more our Agents from the equation if he breaks free - which is much more likely. Both the Changeling Unit, and the Hands have a teleporter in their ranks." She said. "Which is why I'm suggesting that we dispose of him soon as possible. He's just too big of a risk."

"... Which is what we should have done from the get go." Helena spat out, crossing her arms, and leaning back in her chair.

"You sure it... 'he' can be destroyed, though?" Quentin raised an eyebrow, something else cooking in that head of his.

"NEST Headquarters has heavy duty equipment in the basement." Lihua said. "Drills, saws, etc. Just in case something like this happens. I suggest the smelters."

"Still, that's a lot of effort to go to when we're under siege," Quentin poked a hole in that idea. "And the way I see it, we've got a golden opportunity. Something like that's going to draw a ton of attention. Why not use our friend as a shield against these things whilst we move against the bitch? She'd probably do the job for us."

Lihua, who personally just wanted a front row seat to see the bastard die, didn't take too kindly to this idea. "Is that a risk we want to take... Agent Taylor?" She asked him, giving him a doubtful look. "He's with the Hands. Worst outcome, he goes back to them, and we gave them back another weapon to use against us." And I'm done fighting him.

That put a halt to his train of thought. He definitely didn't want to put something like that into those bastards' hands. "God-dammit."

"... Not necessarily, Agent Vuhong." Dana said, as she rolled into the room.

"Daaanaaaaa.... hey!" Leon said cheerfully at Dana. Daphne quickly fell in behind her direct superior - she was glad to see her alive and well.

"I've been reviewing the interrogation - which was thankfully recovered - and I deduced that he's not as loyal to the Hands as you think." Dana said to Lihua (But, it was directed at the entire Task Force). "He only joined with them so he could continue his research... Which we recovered when we launched the raid on their headquarters."

"Oooooh, are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting, clever girl?" Sonya said with a wide smile on her face.

"Yes." Dana said. "We offer to give him back his research if he plays nice, and agrees to fight the Devil for us. If he doesn't play ball, then we destroy him."

"if we do, then we're taking some precautions," Quentin said, "His powers. I'm going to.. borrow them, figure out who to pass them onto and make sure we have something on him."

"A lovely idea, Taylor!" Sonya said. "Why didn't we do that in the first.... Oh, oh yeah, you never told us!" Sonya's tongue flopped out of her mouth with her cheerful smile on her face. She was joking of course.

"Yeah, yeah," Quentin snorted, "Strongest powers I've ever touched are the ones I got when NEST first found me, courtesy of that big bastard in the mask. No idea what something like this could do." He wondered where the Nemesis was now. Probably reducing some of those things to a puddle of goo.

"While Agent Vuhong raises some points... she's forgetting her own point when she said that we "need all the help we can get"." Maximilian said, briefly turning towards Lihua. "We have to at least try Quentin and Dana's ideas. As Dana said, if PR-1 doesn't play ball, then we'll just destroy him - but, we'll at least have one powerhouse."

Lihua sighed. She was still heavily against the idea of doing anything other than destroying Peter - just because of the off chance that he gets away with all of this - but it seems that she's... outvoted. So, she'll play along, just this once. If it blows up in their face... well, with that super weapon bearing down on them, she likely won't even get the satisfaction of saying "I told you so". Though, she didn't want to say this, but she agreed with Quentin's idea - up until you considered just who he was going to give the power to. "... Very well."

"Alright, meeting adjourned." Maximilian said as he stood straight up. "Let's get to work, RAVENs."


Sonya, Lihua, Meifeng, Mika, Jennifer, Cindy, Trevor, Shizuka, Quentin, [Put other characters here] & Task Force RAVEN.




"C'mon, darlings, you'll miss the big announcement!" Sonya said, as she pushed Cindy through the doors of the assembly room, with various friends - Consisting of, of course, Meifeng, Jennifer, Trevor, Shizuka, and Mika - following behind her.

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Cindy pleaded as this crazy frog woman damn near threw her into the room.

The assembly room was what you'd expect an assembly room to be like; a large rectangle-shaped room, with plenty of chairs that sat on both sides of a path that lead directly to a large wooden stage (With a finely carved wooden podium). Which had Maximilian, Lihua (With Lihua standing behind the podium), Quentin, and Adam, standing on it. Sonya hopped from the door, over to the stage - earning a look from everyone as she awkwardly shuffled over to the fellow NEST Agents, and folded her hands behind her back.

Lihua rolled her eyes, as she said, "Everyone have a seat, please."

Everyone sat down in separate parts of the Assembly room.

Alright, let's get this over with, shall we? Lihua thought to herself as she saw the crowd of people. "Hello, children, I have assembled you all here today to discuss the poor situation that we're in, and how we can possibly get out of it." She closed her eyes, and let the words hang in the air.

"Yeah, how so?" Cindy asked, crossing one leg over the other. She looked up at Lihua over her glasses, "... And how does it concern us?" She had to ask.

Lihua sighed. "... I know this is very unreasonable of us to request of you all - you should be able to live without worrying about such matters - but, due to current circumstances, we are dangerously low on NEST Agents, and, due to... obvious reasons...." She let the words hang into the air, "Those numbers aren't going to get any higher." She shook her head.

"So... are you suggesting...?" Jennifer asked, putting her hands on her knees.

"Yes," Lihua said, giving Jennifer a simple nod of her head. "Each of you contain an ability that is very useful to NEST. Whether it's Cindy's glass manipulation, Shizuka's intangibility, or Trevor's drug. And we need them... now more.than ever."

The room continued to be silent as everyone contemplated the implications of what Lihua said.

She let out a sigh. "What we're asking is that some of you assist NEST in our operations against the Devil of Verthaven. If you choose not to accept, then that's okay. No one is forcing any of you to do anything. But, if you do, you'll be helping us save thousands of lives."

They were silent yet again. Lihua continued her speech, nonetheless.

"I know what you all are thinking - that we'll be throwing you in the face of danger. Not true. We'll be doing our best to keep you out of danger as much as possible. You'll be assisting NEST... specifically the RAVENS, as they do the dangerous tasks. And you'll have them as cover. You have some of the best Agents helping you... and I honestly can't say that any of you are completely helpless."

She took a step back from the podium, and put her hands up. "So, I'm going have to ask; who's with us? Like I said, we aren't going to judge you if you decline."

Meifeng was the first to hop up, without saying even a word. "I'm in." She said, so utterly sure of herself and her actions. She was made for this. She wasn't going to just stand by as everyone in this city dies.

The next to stand up was Trevor, slinging his bow over his shoulder as he slammed a fist up against his heart. "Agent Trevor, reporting for duty." He said, in a near-sultry tone as he looked up at Lihua. This was going to be the start of his NEST training.

"Where ever they go," Jennifer started off, and finished it with, "I'll follow. I can't fight, but... I know I can at least try." She wasn't sure if she should even be saying this. She was never a warrior... but, it was something about these fools she calls friends that made her want to at least try. In hopes of at least getting out of here, she was going to try to be a warrior, and try to keep them alive.

Lihua felt like she wasn't getting enough of them. She needed Cindy and her raw destructive power above all else. "... Did I mention you get to stay in the nice and comfy NEST Headquarters, and not on an uncomfortable cot in the slums out there?"

Cindy then raised her hand. "It ain't because of the showers... but I'm going to help."

"Sorry Auntie," Mika stood up, and began walking out of the room. "I'm not a soldier. I don't think I'll ever be one."

"I'm not expecting you to, Mika." Lihua nodded her head, "Someone needs to watch Lijuan."

"Wait, so you're just gonna bail on us like this and stand by as people die?" Meifeng asked, in utter disbelief. "This is your whole fuckin' problem, Mika. You still have that same bullshit "every man's an island" idea in your head."

Mika stopped and looked back for a moment. Almost like she was considering it."... Sorry, cousin, but you won't be able to guilt me this time." She said what she had to say, and then turned around to walk out the door.

Meifeng shook her head. "That girl's a piece of work..."

Shizuka watched the Asian girl - whom they called Mika - leaving the room; half of him wanted to follow suit to reunite with his aunt and twin, but he knew that his brother was right...besides, the probability of them getting out of this shit would be much higher as a collective whole - the previous battles had shown him how little he (and the rest of the Metahumans) could do with their powers. All alone.

"I guess you can count me into the suicide squad, then," he finally spoke, shrugging. "But if anything bad happens I'll save my own skin first." He narrowed his eyes at the NEST agents. "Even if it means defying orders."

Lihua couldn't help but roll her eyes at the comment. Oh you poor misguided fool. Lihua thought to herself. It's clear that Shizuka just says whatever is on his mind - because what would it accomplish by telling your team mates that you won't help them? It's only damaging cohesion.

"Child," Lihua said, "If you disobey an order, you'll be punish, simple as that." Lihua sternly said. "Because, if you were in an actual military of any sort and disobeyed an order..." She gave him a very narrow look. "... You would figuratively get your teeth kicked in." While Shizuka was acting quite obnoxious, she wasn't having any of it. Because the enemies she's faced... this boy wouldn't last ten seconds against what she has. Merely because he thinks he knows everything. People who think they know everything tend to get a reality check the hard way.

Shizuka raised both of his hands. "Whoa there, ma'am - I'm under the impression that I'm only here as a mere volunteer." He returned Lihua with an equally hard look. "Not a child soldier."

Everyone looked at Lihua, then back at Shizuka.

The first to break the silence was Cindy, scolding Shizuka, "Yeah, I'll definitely keep that in mind when your ass is in the fire." Cindy rolled her eyes at this comment. Her opinion of Shizuka went from being the "loony boy" to actively detesting him.

"Whatever the case, I'm sure some of you have abilities that'll be highly valued." Quentin stepped forward, arms folded. "Right now you've got the chance to share those abilities with someone who can pass them onto others."

Cindy and Trevor immediately gave Quentin a curious look. Being quite unfamiliar with the NEST Agent - compared to Jennifer and Meifeng who had some fond respect for the man.

He could tell by the looks on some faces that a few had their doubts. "You won't lose your powers and it won't be anything invasive of harmful, like what you've heard about from the Hands of Science... that's a promise from me." His gaze briefly met Meifeng and Jennifer when he got to that part.

"I don't know..." Cindy said, looking off to the side.

"C'mon," Meifeng said, "You can trust Quentin - he helped pull our ass out the fire when we needed it the most."

"I agree..." Jennifer said. "He's... not bad. Not bad at all. You can trust him."

"... So, what are you even plannin' when you mean "share those abilities"?" Cindy said. "Who are you even going to give our powers to? How are they gonna use it?"

Quentin paused for a moment; she'd made a good point, who was he going to give these abilities to? Fuck it. He'd figure it out sooner or later, and said "People that I'll trust. And they'll use it just like many of have; protecting yourselves and those around you from harm."

"I refuse," unlike the other teens, Shizuka was quick to decline, his arms crossed before him defensively. Lending a hand to whatever feeble tactics these adults might have was the only service he was willing to offer. Sharing his ability with random strangers? As if he would loan out his power to anyone like that! "It's not just about trust issue with that Metacop - my ability isn't something that should be shared openly." His power might not be anything flashy like Cindy's glass manipulation or that Vuhong woman's concrete ability, but in the wrong hands...

He shook his head. Everyone in this goddamned meeting had their mind fixed solely on the Devil - they wouldn't understand the need to take precautions in case of unforeseen circumstances. Now that all of them were trapped in this city, the mindless slimes wouldn't just be the only thing they had to fight against... A crowd of psychopathic survivors would probably be as bad, if not worse. He could care less about how much of a dick he's acting before the rest in the room - well, if it would make them chase him out of this stifling place and be back with his family, why not?

"Fine, that's your call. Like I said, I'm not going to force that choice on people." Quentin kept his arms folded.

Cindy was about to say something - but, for once, she kept her mouth shut. Despite being blunt, she realized that Shizuka was a real piece of work. They needed everything they could to survive - and having a power that's "not to be shared" openly was a stupid reason not to give them every edge they needed - which is what Cindy would be doing. Her glass powers would do a great deal helping clear groups of the bastards. Though, it might have been pride.

Lihua shrugged - it was just more stubborn stupidity on Shizuka's part if he doesn't want to share the very useful ability to cut the monsters off from their network. Though, she kept her mouth shut about it, since no matter what she'd say, it wouldn't make too much difference. The boy will learn things the hard way.

That's another story - however. Lihua wasn't going to mull about him that much longer. She had people with bright futures ahead of her. "Everyone stand up." She ordered them, and the group did as they were instructed. "From this day fourth... you all are deputy NEST Agents, and honorary members of Task Force RAVEN. You will be doing all you can to bring order to this city, and saving all the lives you can. It won't be easy - but I have utter confidence that, under our guidance, you can make a difference."

Lihua finished her speech with a nod. "Get going - we have arranged for your own sleeping quarters. Get lots of rest." Lihua said. "Because, tomorrow, we're going to get to work."

Everyone split up, and started heading out of the assembly room.

"This is great and all..." Jennifer stated as she got up. "But, I think I'm gonna start looking for my family." She got up, and started walking off.

"Alright, Jen," Meifeng nodded her head as she went another direction. "Stay safe."


Jennifer Marissa Caspin.



Stepping out into the cold rain, Jennifer was immediately reminded of how this city went from relatively peaceful, to a complete disaster, in no less than a day.

There were signs, of course. Signs everywhere.

Just that everyone chose to ignore them.

Jennifer simply nodded her head as she walked these wet streets. Quickly throwing her hoodie up as she started going from the grounds of the NEST headquarters, to the somewhat less crowded refuge the people of this city was forced to take. Jennifer, looking up, peered at the blue shield that was protecting the outside world (From them of course). She wondered if she'd ever be able to tell day from night now - though, that question was irrelevant with the storms and the grey clouds looming overhead. All she saw was darkness... hopefully some day she'd see the light that she started to crave since this disaster began.

Where do I even start? Jennifer asked herself as she looked around. The only thing she could think of was asking. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out her cellphone. She went through the pictures until she found a photo of her family (Or at least what's left of them without big daddy Caspin). It was a picture of Jen in between her two younger brothers - who both had the same blond hair and blue eyes that Jennifer had - while they posed. Smiling cockily, and throwing peace signs. Both boys were the same age, twelve, and were both short and fiery as ever.

Her sister, Kaitlyn, was standing in front of them, and had her arms crossed as she gave the photographer a narrow look. She was only two years older than Justin and Cody - but her hair was worn out longer, and was much more flowing and graceful. Behind them was undoubtedly the matriarch of the Caspin, much taller than all of them, and yet shared the same features as them. Which heavily implied that they got their looks from their mother. She was just standing behind them, with her hands on Justin and Cody's shoulders, a warm smile on her face.

Sighing, Jennifer knew that this was a stretch. She just prayed they were one of the survivors of everything that happened. Only one way to find out. Jenny, using her phone, walked up to one of the NEST Agents that had been guarding the tents - wearing the standard battle dress with a helmet. "Hey, um, excuse me?" She said to get his attention, "Have you seen them?"

He shook his hand. "No, ma'am." He stated.

Before Jennifer shook her head, and let out a defeated sigh. She kept walking around, showing the photos to people, with no luck thus far. There was nothing more she could do, other than give into despair.

However, Jennifer approached a black haired teen that was standing on one of the corners, and tried her luck with her.

"Hey, have you seen any of them?" Jennifer asked as she showed the picture to her.

The black haired teen seemed to be more interested in Jennifer than the photo - but for the sake of concealing herself, she took a good hard look at it, and shook her head. "No, sorry." She said. Jennifer turned away disappointed - the teen grabbed onto her arm, stopping her. "But, wait," She started off, "Send it to me, and I'll keep it in mind and call you if I see them."

"Really?" Jen asked, surprised.

"Really." The stranger replied, "Now give me that phone."

The two quickly exchanged phone information, and the photo ended up on the stranger's phone.

"Thank you." Jennifer said as she walked off.

"I'll see you around." The stranger said with a smile that turned out to be false when she turned off and walked into an alleyway. The teenager pulled that phone out her pocket, and put on a devious grin as she punched in the numbers for her boss - being none other than The Contessa. She put the phone against her ear, "Hey boss," She said,

"... I got us leverage."
I've already got an IC post in the works, but I'm just trying to think of a means of working my detective duo into the current plotline.
Name/Nicknames: Nathan Bishop, Nate
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Race: Human - Spiritual Host
Appearance: An african-american of relatively average physical build and only just evening out at 5’10, Nate was probably the less imposing one of the two when he and Gabe were partners in the SSPD. In line with his cop days, he’s kept his hair fairly short whilst doing the same for any facial hair that dares crop up without his consent, leaving his face nicely smooth and clean-shaven and going well with his calm, hazel eyes.

Whilst in theory he has the appropriate shirt, tie and matching coat to give off the traditional appearance somewhere in the closet, Nate usually tends to stick to something simple; shirt, cargo pants, work boots and a black coat that reaches down to his waist. Tucked in under his pants is a holster for a CCW.

Personality: Whilst prone to the occasional sarcastic or joking remark, of the two detectives it’s Nate who could be considered the more light-hearted, yet focussed of the two. Despite having left the force well over a year ago, one thing that definitely hasn’t changed since he quit the force is his strong sense of justice, which he shares in common with his late partner.

In contrast to Gabe’s cynical, pessimistic demeanour and the spirit’s sarcastic remarks every couple of minutes, Nate’s the friendlier of the two and more agreeable at that - one more likely to compromise than the other and less likely to resort to throwing around objects (though having someone who can do just that on hand always helps) when looking for results. That said, he’s quite driven when he wants to be and when motivated can be just as persistent as his late partner’s stubborn.

Having come from a poor background, he sympathises with those who’ve had to deal with the same kind of upbringing and worse, taking an extremely dim view to those who’d take advantage of them with narcotics and would-be gang initiations. Likewise, whilst not exactly prejudiced, his caution towards vampires and werewolves stem from many years of dealing with the likes of the Nyctari, the Nyte Kyngs and the Hunters and likewise his partner’s dealings with the occult have led him to take an equally dim view of such matters.

Bio:

Nathan 'Nate' Bishop was once an up-and-coming detective among many working for Santa Somabra's finest with a career path that seemed to head skywards, having crawled his way out of the gutter of one of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods . Partnered with and mentored by one Gabriel Ward, a senior detective who saw something in the kid, the two made a fine duo, cracking cases left and right together. Yet there was one case that had for many months proved impossible to crack, despite a wealth of information - a series of ritual murders that looked outside the typical MO of the Nyte Kyngs or even the Nyctari

Gabe took a particular interest in the case due to its similarity to a cold case from the earliest days of his own career, even going so far as to chase up his own leads outside of work in an attempt to find out what the hell was going on. It proved to be his undoing - within a few weeks, the senior detective disappeared overnight and a few days later, Nate received a phone call in the early hours of the morning delivering news that he refused to believe. Arriving at the scene, he found his partner dead - killed via the same disturbing, ritualistic method as all the others.

Despite being told by his superiors to let it go, Nate refused to allow the trail to go cold and spent months sifting through case files and evidence lockers, desperate for any lead even if it meant he hardly ate or slept because of it. Eventually Nate's superior ordered him on a paid suspension for several weeks to stop him from working himself to death, yet even that didn't deter him - instead he went and chased up his own leads as Gabe had, ignoring the immense risk he was taking - not just to his career, but to his own life.

Out of options, he tried revisiting where they'd found Gabe's body - the scene of the last murder. It occurred to Nate that there had to be some kind of connection that he could grab onto here, if only small, yet instead of a lead he found something better. For a moment, he'd have sworn he heard a familiar voice - was he losing it? He thought so, yet the voice spoke again and he recognised who it was. He turned around to face the voice and found a familiar, albeit ethereal face. Gabe.

For a moment Nate thought he'd finally lost it, or that his lack of sleep had took a toll. He panicked and made a sharp entry yet on the way out he forgot to look before he crossed the road and wound up having a disagreement with a station wagon as it turned around the corner. Blacking out for a few minutes, when he woke up he found two people standing over him - one was obviously the driver of the station wagon, the other was Gabe. Seemingly unharmed by the encounter, he quickly dismissed the driver of the station wagon and went for a long walk - hoping to shake whatever it was off. It was only when Gabe finally spoke again and this time explained his predicament:

The grisly method of execution the killer had enacted upon him was a ritual which left his spirit bound to the crime scene. Since Nate was the only one who had such a close connection with him, Gabe was able to appear - if only for a brief moment - and would've tried to explain the circumstances had it not been for the former running off. That knock on the head he'd took from the car had almost killed him, enough to briefly separate his spirit from his body if only for a few seconds. With that window of opportunity, Gabe had jumped onboard Nate's body like a passenger in a car, jumpstarting his body up in the process and pulling the two of them into a new world.

Aside from reminding Nate that, yes, this was one hell of a strange city, his presence had bestowed him with a number of tricks, one of which was the ability to immediately distinguish between the mundane and supernatural.

Under (literal) spiritual guidance, Nate used his newly-found perspective to track down his old partner’s killer - a demon’s blood addict who restrained his victims and then used precise incisions with a ritual knife to drain their blood into a circle below, where symbols were drawn. It was this addict’s delusion that, through tribute to an ancient demonic entity, they would be made a warlock, trapping the spirits of the dead at their respective murder scenes as a side effect of this tribute. Unwilling to be taken alive, the would-be ‘warlock’ was killed in the subsequent exchange of gunfire.

Of course, a fair bit of scandal ensued - Nate hadn’t exactly been subtle in his questt and when a local journalist leaned on the department about a cavalier cop who’d embarked on an unauthorised pursuit whilst already suspended, he was all but pushed into leaving the force under the implication that he’d get a payout for resigning. Yet, that didn’t mean that either he or the spirit of his partner were done. In fact, Gabe found that his so-called unfinished business wasn’t particularly tidied up just yet and with the payout he’d earned, Nate found he was able to open up a PI agency - one that turned out to be quite the successful endeavour if only by a margin.

Well over a year later and with the ‘Sombara Slayer’ roaming around, the two couldn’t help but take an interest in the case. After all, given one of them had already been taken out through the tortured logic of a serial killer, they sure as hell weren’t going to sit on their asses and watch another run free.

Other notes:
Nate's connection to a spirit allows him to immediately distinguish whether or not an individual or object is mundane or supernatural in nature. It’s akin to being able to see in colour in a colourblind environment, so to speak. This also gives Nate, to a certain degree, a sixth sense - allowing him to sense anything out of the ordinary in his environment.

Finally, this connection serves as a two-way street; basically, if he were to suffer a life threatening injury, whilst this won't heal him or give him a get-out-of-jail free ticket it'll certainly give his body a jumpstart and slightly tip the odds in his favour, as Gabe’s spirit helps anchor his own in this world.

Of course, there’s a certain side-effect to this connection; Nate’s occasionally picked up one or two mannerisms and ‘aspects’ off of Gabe due to their spiritual bond, to the point he’s gained fondness for things he once had nothing to do with (a newly acquired taste for scotch and tequila are examples) or, more noticeably and alarmingly, the colour of his eyes sometimes shifting to match Gabe’s.

  • Carries a concealed CZ75 compact as a sidearm, whilst keeping an Ithaca 37 ‘Stakeout’ model in the trunk of his car. He also possesses his late partner’s sidearm of choice; a Colt 1911, though that’s usually stored away somewhere for safekeeping.
  • He's quite the scifi fan and among other things he keeps a number of ‘classic’ films among his personal favourites, including Terminator and Predator among others. And yes, he's a Schwarzenegger fan too.


Name/Nicknames: Gabriel Ward, Gabe
Gender: Male
Age: 49 (At the time of his death)
Race: Spirit
Appearance: Whilst alive, Gabe stood at 5’11 and, owing to his stocky build, looked like he could knock an Orc down and then some. His hair had prematurely started graying as a consequence of his long and tiring career, though he kept it fairly short-and-simple on his head whilst across his weathered face was a neatly trimmed beard that went well with his sharp, blue eyes. As a detective, he was seldom seen without a pale-blue shirt with an appropriate tie and pants, and sometimes he was even known to wear a coat when it suited him.

Now, as a ghost - he hasn’t changed that much. Rather, he’s just gained an ethereal quality to his overall appearance, coming across as somewhat translucent with a vague unearthly outline. His eyes stand out more than anything now - having taken on an even sharper quality than they had in life, as if they were piercing into the fabric of one’s soul.

The only exception to this is when he’s pissed - in which case his form is twisted into something that resembles his body at the time of his death - complete with the haggard, blood-soaked clothes and ritualistic wounds.

Personality: Gabe has something of a cynical approach that’s complemented with sarcastic, pessimistic remarks and an incredibly dark sense of humour. If he and Nate were running a good-cop, bad-cop routine, it’s clear that Gabe would be the bad. Of course, it hasn’t helped that he’s dead - it’s not like it did him much of a favour. Without a physical body and kept within certain confines, it’s a maddening existence. Touch, taste, smell.. all of these senses and more he’s been deprived of and were he a lesser man he’d have become a bitter, unfeeling spirit that saw only vengeance, so this attitude is something of a coping mechanism for him to work through that and avoid going off that tricky abyss.

Whilst earning his trust can take some difficulty (communication issues notwithstanding), when it’s earned it’s damn-well earned and those he considers friends, he’d go to the far reaches of the underworld and back for - no matter what condition he might be in - and there’s no friend that he feels a greater degree of loyalty towards than Nate, whom he regards as family.

This all aside, he possesses a strong sense of right and wrong and a preference for justice (albeit on his terms), much alike his partner - though that doesn’t stop him from taking a ‘means to an end’ approach when it comes to putting a vice on certain perps - and has an overall sympathy for the destitute and downtrodden, despite remarks that might indicate to the contrary and shares sentiments with Nate when it comes to those who would take advantage of them.

Whilst not particularly prejudiced, he holds a particularly dim view for the occult and those that dabble in it, given the unfortunate circumstances which surrounded his death. That said, he can be sympathetic towards vampires, werewolves whom never wanted their conditions as well as the undead - having learned what it’s like to be forced into a state of being that unexpectedly altered his ‘life’ to radical degrees.

Bio: Born into one of the poorer, run-down districts of Santa Sombara, much like his eventual protégé, Gabe originally spent a few years in the military before heading back home and becoming a beat cop in the SSPD. When it became apparent that he had a knack for investigation and case work, he soon caught the eye of the detective bureau and before long was among their ranks. Over the years, he earned his place as a respected, veteran officer and eventually came across Nathan Bishop, where the events explained above soon unfolded.

Other notes:

Being a ghost with a non-corporeal form, Gabriel is capable of passing through any solid matter that doesn’t have some form of supernatural protection on it, allowing him to survey his surroundings without too much trouble - the only problem is that he’s limited in how far he can actually travel. Whilst Nate’s keeping him anchored in this world, it also means he can only move so far away from him before he’s unable to move any further - akin to trying to having an indestructible leash around his neck.

Also, being a ghost - he’s capable of causing a little poltergeist activity by screwing around with a few localised objects (unless they already have some form of protection on them) and, depending on the circumstances, he can possess the corpses of the recently deceased for a limited period of time, though in doing so he’s incapable of straying too far from Nate. Made for a hell of a joke at the funeral of some ex-big shot mobster once.

  • Has an ex-wife and daughter that survived him. Still keeps tabs on them by using Nate as a proxy, though.
  • Shares Nate's love for scifi and other cult classics. As it happens, being able to watch the greats in the office is a great way of relieving the eternal boredom that can come with being dead.
Got a sheet that's open to being a WIP, lemme know what you think.



Cassius and Reed Taylor, Lihua Vuhong, Meifeng Vuhong, & Mika Baozai




It took a few moments for Reed to fumble with the NEST agent's body, prying the dead fingers off the grip of his sidearm. It felt wrong, in one way or another - the poor bastard might have even been a cop before he'd joined NEST, once - just like him. But grave robbing was a necessary evil for now, he decided - better to disturb the dead and live than be among them.

Pocketing a few magazines retrieved from the agent's tac vest, he glanced towards Cass as the old man gazed out into the rain, trying to keep as distant as he could from the bodies that lay inside the truck as he regained his bearings. Now armed, he tapped on the old man's shoulder and, after a brief perimeter check, the two ventured out into the rain.

By the looks of things, their truck had hit the storefront of some overpriced Knightdale coffee shop yet the one that had actually exploded was even worse off; Reed could barely make out the smoldering wreck in the distance, debris strewn all over.

'Nobody could've survived that', he thought.

But why the hell could he hear voices?

"Cass, you hear that?" He arched an eyebrow, wiping the rainslick off his brow with his wrist.

"What, the rain? Can barely see shit in this weather, nevermind hear anything." The old man shrugged, still a little disorientated from his earlier tumble.

"Just.." Reed heard it again. "Come on," he gestured with the pistol, before heading towards the wreckage. Better to be safe than sorry.

Then, he saw it - a figure, human enough in shape and clearly armed. Approaching the figure, he was ready to announce his presence when he heard the familiar plod of one of those creatures in the rain-soaked street and saw yet another shape - yet he noticed how disproportionate the arm looked, and remembered how that first creature he'd ever seen had the same..

"VPD, watch it!" He shouted to the armed figure in the distance as the one-armed thing grew closer to it, before readying his sidearm. "Cass, got another one of those things!" He alerted his uncle, before opening fire - 9mm cartridges soon partnered with a spread of 12 gauge.




Lihua was doing the best she could to buy time for Meifeng. She knew that there was only so much time - and she was putting everyone on line here. However... she just couldn't leave Jennifer behind like this. She just couldn't. It was like that small fragment of growing humanity that was preventing her from leaving the Caspin for dead.

That said, she pulled chunks of stone the size of basketballs out of the ground when she raised her hand up into the air. While she cause considerable damage with smaller pieces, she needed to quickly and effectively remove them from the equation. The beasts were running up on her, and the stones were floating in the air. Lihua was unflinching as they approached. She pushed her hands out, and the chunks of stone shot out like rockets. The beasts were immediately launched back, some immediately began to dissolve.

There was a particularly tough one, that was three times Lihua's size, and had massive arms, tipped with enormous claws. The stone hit it in the chest, and it slid backwards, and drove it's claws into the ground. It didn't even scratch it. Which meant Lihua would have to go a little harder.

Peering over her shoulder for a second, she saw that Meifeng was still desperately trying to get Jennifer off.

It wasn't long until Lihua's opponent got his second wind, and charged at her, using all four limbs to run. This was almost trivial as Lihua stood there, narrowing her eyes, and going in focus. When the beast was close enough, she slammed her foot into the ground, and created a wall of spikes that shot out at high speeds. Turning this freak into a living pin cushion. Lihua swiped her leg across the ground, and detached the spikes and sent the beast tumbling over, a dissolving wreck.

She was wondering what was next.

"VPD, watch it!"

Lihua looked over her shoulder, and saw the beast prepping to attack. She could have attacked on her own, but she couldn't take the risk. She drew as much stone as she could and created a shield of stone - which took the full force of the blow, and made Lihua stagger a bit. However, her saviors were also opening fire, which put a couple holes into the beast. Giving Lihua a golden opportunity - she sent the shield flying at it in sharp shards of stone that sliced up the beast. It was sent flying, but not dead yet.

She looked over her shoulder again... VPD officers. She put her hands on her hips as she examined them - actually, she knows one of them. Cassius Taylor. Quentin's uncle that she had a few run ins with while on the job.

"Taylor," Lihua said, looking down at them. "A pleasure to see you."

"Vuhong?" Cass squinted, before he quickly snapped out of it and recognized the Concrete Dragon from her titular ability, having gained an acquaintance with her during previous cases which spanned across both VPD and NEST. "Yeah, yeah - good to see you too." He nodded, fishing out more shells from the small supply in his pockets and popping them into his Ithaca 37's magazine tube. It was good to find someone reliable, at least. "That bomb," he glanced towards the burnt out truck, "Fuckin' explosion threw our truck off the road. We're the only ones who made it out. You?"

Lihua stomped her foot, and pulled a chunk of stone out of the ground, and followed it up with a punch that sent the hunk flying at one of the approaching beasts. Which was enough to slam it against a wall, and cause it to disintegrate. It was hard to maintain a conversation, and fight off a horde of these bastards. She looked up at Cass. "Our APC also was sabotaged... we were heading to another one, when we got sidetracked..." Lihua looked back over her shoulder. "It's that damn Changeling Unit - they're responsible for this." She hissed through her teeth.

Reed's gaze briefly met Lihua as his Uncle greeted her, before it shifted back towards the hazy streets, opening fire yet again. "Did you find anyone in the wreckage?" He finally asked, question clearly pointed at the former of the two.

These two VPD officials could be helpful - Lihua would have been stupid to say otherwise. Right now... Meifeng could use an extra hand to get Ms. Caspin off the shrapnel. Which, if successful, would work out for Lihua, and get them out of here faster.

"Look," Lihua started off, she was nearly cut off by the beast approaching again. She shot a stone at it's feet to impede it's progress. If only to give Lihua an extra second or two. This is a tough one... Lihua said, "Remember that girl Jennifer? She's... pinned down by some shrapnel, and Meifeng is trying her hardest to get her off. Both of them could use some help."

The beast got back up, and continued it's mad charge towards her.

"... Now."

Without hesitation, the two of them rushed over to the wreckage of the vehicle where they met a few familiar faces yet again. "Meifeng, you remember us?" Cass tossed her an upwards nod, before taking a knee to glance under the wreckage where he saw the girl - Jennifer - trapped in the debris.

Meifeng paused for a moment, and looked up at them. "Yeah...." She said, starting off. "It's nice to see you two again, but I kinda wish we'd meet under better circumstances, y'know?" She noted.

"We get that a lot." Reed remarked.

It was bad. Cass knew that much. "Jen? Can you hear me? It's Cass Taylor, and Reed's here too. We're gonna try and get you out, okay? Don't move and just stay calm!" He called to her, trying to make as quick an assessment as he could of the situation, knowing the longer they took the worse it would get.

Jen's sense, other than the pain, was a little dulled after the crash. Her vision was blurry, and her ears were still ringing. She managed to make out two very familiar shapes, and vaguely familiar voices. "I... think..." She said, "Just get.... get me off this... please."

How was she even alive after such explosion? Cass wondered... then remembered how she'd been the last time they saw her, how she was bloody and torn yet has no injuries. Going on gut instinct, he glanced over his shoulder and asked, "What do you know about her? Anything you know, I need to know."

Meifeng was kneeling down, preparing to lift Jen up, when she heard Cass' question. She looked up at him, "She's a regenerator." She simply answered, nodding her head. She didn't care for whether or not Jen wanted to keep her power a secret, or if these two were against Metahumans. "All we have to do is lift her up, and she'll be good as new in no time."

After informing them of that, there was no time to waste. Meifeng grabbed onto Jen, and nodded her head at them. "Look, we gotta get Jen out of here now." She stated. "Come on and just lift her up. It'll hurt her, but she'll be okay"

Hesitantly, Cass affirmed her with a nod and pushed more debris aside, grabbing the upper half of Jen's frame. "Clench your teeth," he warned Jen, before firmly lifting her up with all the strength in him.

Meifeng did the same, and just dead lifted Jen with every ounce of her strength. Jen, clenching her teeth tightly as possible, could only let out hisses of pure pain as she was lifted off the debris. A trail of blood was left behind on it. It felt like it would never end, in fact. Up until she could no longer feel the metal inside of her, and only a hole. Which would normally be pouring out blood if it wasn't for the fact that her regenerative factor handled that quite well. Jen would have sighed in relief - but she barely had the strength to walk. She grit her teeth when she felt the momental pain of her regenerative factor going to work.

Cass took her in both arms, then looked to Meifeng and nodded to the Ithaca 37 resting on the sidewalk. "You know how to use one?"

"No?" Meifeng said, kinda confused.

"Your mom never train you? Ah.." Cass shrugged. "Mind hanging onto it for me? Might be useful later and my hands are kinda tied."

"Yeah, but we gotta go!" Meifeng said as she quickly ran over to the shotgun, and grabbed it by the barrel and jumped back up to her feet, following after Cass and Reed. Praying to God that Jen would be okay.

"Are we done?" Reed quickly asked, glancing over his shoulder as he kept watch.

His uncle gave him a nod and headed back towards Lihua's direction, ready to make an exit. "Vuhong," he called, "My other nephew's place isn't far from here. If you need a ride, you can borrow his."

Lihua finished off the monster by jamming a concrete spear through it's skull. She looked over her shoulder, and saw that Jennifer was being carried by Cass. She almost smiled. Looks like she did her job well. "Good, let's get a move on." Lihua said, "That shouldn't be necessary, there is another APC waiting for us north of here... The Changeling Unit has been removed as a threat, so it should be safe."

Giving her niece an affirming nod, they started running again.


Sonya, Lihua, Meifeng, Mika, Jennifer, Cindy, Trevor, Quentin, Cass, Reed, Haruka, Shizuka, Akemi, & Task Force RAVEN.



With the giant out of the way, the evacuation could go as planned.

It wasn't long before Lihua and the others made it to the designated APC meet up. Lihua almost laughed in relief as she ran in the heavy rain towards safety. There were quite a few of the APCs waiting, and NEST agents were guarding them, fortunately. The backdoor of an APC opened up - revealing Sonya Mayfield and Quentin Taylor as the former of the two gave them a wide smile.

"Made sure they waited for ya'!" Sonya enthusiastically shouted. "Hurry up, move it! We don't have much time!"

Sonya was right, which was why Lihua was the first to hop up on the APC, and pivot halfway to extend a hand to Mika. She helped Mika, and her infant daughter on. Meifeng was helping Cass get Jennifer up into the APC. Jennifer was laid down on the seats, the injuries in her body were rapidly healing - her power being the only thing keeping her alive at this point. Everyone was getting comfy in the APC as Sonya closed the door behind them, and the APC started moving.

"Alright, boys, convoy's giving us a one way ticket out of Verthaven!" Sonya shouted, "Just sit tight."

Lihua let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God, this hell is finally over." She stated, almost too relieved.

"Sorry for not lending you a hand." Sonya said, that oddly jovial smile on her face, and her tongue somewhat sticking out her mouth. She threw a thumb over her shoulder, towards Trevor and Scarlet, sittng in a seat. "Had to pull these out the fire. Heh."

"There is no need for you to apologize." Lihua sternly said to Sonya. "You can't be everywhere - and we're quite capable of handling ourselves."

"That's great!" Sonya said, "Either way, looks like everything's working out."

Quentin gave both his uncle and younger brother an affectionate pat on the shoulder each, remarking, "Second time I've said it, I'm glad you two made it out alright."

"You too, Quent." Reed reaffirmed him.

"All-Seer," Dana spoke into the comms. "Did we get everyone?"

Leon, in another APC, answered, "That's alive, yeah."

"Good.... we can push on after that little.... set back."

"Jen, it's going to be okay." Meifeng said, putting her hand on the side of her injured friend's head.

A loud whistle filled the APC, making Meifeng turn her head, and see that it's Trevor. Gently patting his hands on his knees with his bow and arrow on his legs. "How is she even still alive?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She's a regenerator." Meifeng said, "She'll get better, just give her some time."

"Hey, y'know I can just give her a little heal." Trevor said.

"Doubt it'd even do anything." Cindy said, not sitting that far away from them. "Trevor's power is a drug, right? I read somewhere that regenerators are immune."

"You kids know better than me," Cass opined, "

"... Looks like she's going have to wait this one out." Meifeng said, she looked down at her stomach, and saw that the gaping hole was a little smaller than she remembered. Which made her smile, Jennifer was getting a little better.

"Eh, we're already nearing the outskirts of Vert." Sonya said, putting her hands on her sides. "Just sit tight, we'll have some immediate support the second we get out of here."




In a different APC, Maximilian was sitting down. Taking a breather since he spent a lot of energy fighting the giant monster...it brought up the question of whether or not they could even beat another one without the help of Shizuka. And how many the Devil had in reserves. That'd be a challenge. On the opposite side, Haruka huddled close to Akemi, who had the still-unconscious Shizuka with his head on her lap. Daphne sat next to the family, fiddling with the assault rifle idly.

Maximilian's phone started loudly ringing, he grabbed it and looked, and the caller ID was High-Command. Briefly wondering what they wanted, he pressed answer, and put the phone against his ear, "Maximilian Cornell speaking."

"Mr. Cornell," A male voice spoke over the phone. "Are you aware of what's going on in other cities?"

"No?"

"NEST is recieving reports that these beasts are reaching as far as San Diego...and the storm is stretching far enough to encompass the entire west coast," the High Command chairman said. "This is getting out of hand, Maximilian."

"Look, I'm doing all I can. I'll handle the situation once the civilians are in the clear."

"You have one shot at this," the Chairman replied. "If you can't handle it, then we are."

Before he even got a chance to answer, the phone call ended.

It's almost like they didn't want them to leave. No matter. Maximilian was going to do the best to get everyone clear of Verthaven fast as possible, and handle the situation from there. Like Helena said, there might not be anything left to save. With a Metahuman that can end the world here.

The ground started shaking, and Maximilian immediately got up and hit the button on his comms piece. Akemi, who had been listening in at Maximilian's phone conversation, held her nephews closer to herself. Though she couldn't hear whatever the person the NEST leader spoke to was saying, she could read from the man's facial expression that it was probably more bad news for them.

"We need intel, where are they coming from?!" Maximilian asked.

Leon immediately used his power to see ahead of the group, and saw the ground breaking behind them, and on the areas around them...but not directly in their path. Monsters began pouring out the holes, and making a mad dash for the outskirts.

"Oh that's not good..." Leon said off the comms. He was scared to even report this, but he had no choice, "We got ourselves an army...but they're not going for us, looks like they're leaving. Putting us in the middle of their little escape."

"What?" Maximilian peeked out the viewing ports of the APC. "We...oh no." This was almost like... Oh no. He knew what the Devil was planning, and they had to get out of here. [i]Now.[/u] He immediately yelled into comms, "We need to get out of here, double time! Go, go, go!"

The convoy kicked into overdrive, going faster than before.




"Hey!" Meifeng shouted as the APC went double it's original speed, and it nearly sent Jen flying off the seat she was lying down on. If Meifeng didn't grab her, she would have flown off.

"Yo, what's going on?" Cindy asked, holding onto a bar.

Lihua narrowed her eyes... It's just one thing after another, isn't it? "...Trouble. Hold steady. They aren't ready to let us out just yet." Lihua said to them.

"Oh, shit." Quentin groaned.




In another city...

"We have no choice." A member of high-command, sitting in a shadowy room with only the large screen to illuminate the few members, and the table they sat on. The screen, however, was showing the situation in Verthaven as a literal army went right out of the city... Which was no good. With all this rain, they couldn't bomb them, and they would go on a massacre. Turning in his chair, the member of High-Command made a tent with his hands. "We have to activate the Shield of Light before they get out."

"But what about the people in there?"

"...We have no choice. There's a high possibility that the Metahuman who created them all is among their ranks. If she gets outside the Shield of Light, it could very well be the end of us all."

On the table, a holographic projector came out of the table, with various options. The member of High Command typed in something.

> Shield of Light System
> Black Fall/New York/Verthaven/Philadelphia/Toronto/Miami
> Verthaven
> /No/ Needs full council permission.


He nodded to the rest of the council members, before they, one at a time, pressed their thumbs on the projection, and got their fingerprints scanned.

> Approved
> Activating Shield of Light.


Inside of Verthaven, technology that was kept a secret from even the highest ranking NEST officials began to activate. Outside of Verthaven, trap doors in the ground opened, and satelie-like devices retracted. They all aimed towards Verthaven, and started glowing a bright blue color as an energy infused them. They fired beams into the city, that quickly formed a blue dome over the city that went over the clouds. Effectively trapping everyone inside. There was no weapon or super power that could break, or bypass, this shield. As it was created by studying the energies of many shield-based Metahumans, and creating an energy out of it. The projectors were glowing with the same energy, implying these were just as invincible.

"...May God help them."




"Almost home free! Just keep at it!" Sonya shouted into the comms from the safety of her APC. It was a little hard to hear because the APCs were firing their turrets, cutting through the hordes, on full auto. Or they were simplying shooting at the beasts out the ports. She looked up ahead, and saw they were leaving Verthaven! Good, good! Won't have to worry about this-

Right when things were looking up, a massive shield appeared in their way. The APCs in front had to come to a skidding stop. Everyone looked up at the shield, awestruck as it was forming. There was nothing but sheer shock.

"They didn't..." Maximilian said. Haruka gripped on his aunt even tighter, a mixture of horror and fury flashed across his pale face. Akemi turned to Daphne with a questioning look, but the chloropath shrugged and shook her head. Shizuka stirred a little from the strong jerk when the APC came to a sudden halt, but he still continued to sleep, completely oblivious to the the trapped scenario unfolding outside.

"Oh my God..." Cindy said, covering her mouth as freedom literally escaped their grasp yet again.

"Oh that's not good." That cheery smile was wiped off Sonya's face.

"Bastards..." Cass of all people could barely contain his disgust at the abandonment of all these people at the hands of someone hiding behind a screen, whilst Reed looked ready to ignite a burning rage and tear off that arm cast, slamming a balled up fist against the APC's interior in his frustration. In contrast, Quentin remained silent - both fists clenched, yet otherwise cool and calm.

"Auntie..." Mika couldn't help but say.

"What? So we're fucking trapped in here now?!" Meifeng slammed her fist on the side of the seat.

"...We're now caged with the beasts." Lihua said, clenching her fists tightly, and furrowing her eyebrows. This isn't fair. She just wanted to get her daughters out of here.

With the exit closed...the beasts turned their attention on the convoy.

The sounds of gunfire nearly filled the area. Powers were getting used left and right to cut waves through the monsters.

"Maximilian!" Leon shouted at Max. "We need a plan, they're everywhere!"

Maximilian was honestly overwhelmed. He...didn't know what to do. There was no escape.

"Maximilian!" Leon grabbed Max by the shoulder, and shook him a bit. "Snap out of it! We need a plan, or we're all dead!"

"All forces..." Maximilian softly spoke into the comms. "...Cut us an exit, and push for it! We don't have much time!"

The APCs turned their fire behind them, and sprayed down the street and cut a path through the monsters. Allowing them to turn around. The substained fire as they pushed away from the shield, with a horde of monsters following behind them.

"All forces, regroup back at Headquarters!"

Yo, is this still taking character applications? I have a good one nailed down that I'd like to put to use. Is the current setting for this around 2015-16?
Up to you. I'm down with either; though a bigger collab might place everyone on the same page in the long term.
Stay safe. Take it steady.
© 2007-2025
BBCode Cheatsheet