"Haze here. I got compromised. I'm setting off an explosive distraction in the vehicle yard. All teams, use it to your advantage." It all happened so fast, as situations like this were wont to do. Iosif winced as one of the trucks exploded in a glow of sudden, bright light - before recoiling yet again as a loose piece of shrapnel from the blast skimmed off his suit's kinetic shielding. Would be nice to have an advance warning in future, he noted.
"For fuck's sake, Haze, more than five bloody seconds next time!"
Tanya's clear, unmistakable voice barked at them over the comms seemed to indicate that she shared his sentiment - though they had bigger problems now. Peeking out from his prone position, he lined up the optic of his M-8 within a few feet of one of the guards and opened up with a burst of fire in conjunction with Tanya's movements, aiming to give her a little covering fire as she made her way to the technical that hadn't yet been trashed. Once he'd seen her make it, he let up - though he had little other choice when relativistic grain-sized metal projectiles were shooting overhead and all around him.
"Iosef, your call on this one. Either we turn the remaining technical into a siege ram like our original plan, or we can commandeer it and make use of the gun." He only just made out her voice over the comms, yet his response was practically drowned out by another close-call that grazed his shield and made it ripple with a numbing, resonant buzz, forcing him to stick his head back down again, instead of moving like he'd hoped to. "If one of you guys can distract those bastards, I can get suppressive fire downrange. I'm pinned." From here, Iosif could've had a shot on the four-eyed bastards but every time he tried to peek out from behind cover for more for a split-second, he felt more relativistic shots whizzing past his head, far too close for comfort - it seemed one of the bastards had seen him and knew exactly what they were doing.
Luckily, the two alliance vets found their salvation in another; "He seems fine. I'll get you a distraction though. Make the most of it, yeah?"
This time, when he took another chance and peeked out from behind cover, he bore witness to the bright, blue biotic glow that subsequently reduced one of the pirates to a cloud of red mist, then another, then watched as she formed some kind of whip and proceeded to deliver a painful lesson on why biotics weren't just for show. In the chaos that ensued as she drew their concentrated fire, Iosif seized the opportunity, pulled himself from the dirt and pressed on to another point of cover whilst others remained awe-struck, firing in short bursts in an effort to keep the enemy's optics down rather than sighted in on him. He was closer to the truck now, and could spot Tanya still in cover behind it, conveniently positioned just below the mounted machine-gun turret when a snap idea quickly came to mind.
"Tanya, take the MG, got an idea!" Iosif blurted at her over the comms, keeping it short and simple. A faint glow erupted from his forearm as his Omni-Tool came to life, before his gaze fixated on the driver's access point on the technical. He leaned out from behind cover, followed it up with another burst, then made a frantic, desperate sprint for the driver's seat and all-but dived into the technical, only for a lucky shot to punch through a gap in his shields at the last minute and graze his thigh. "Blyad..." That one fucking hurt, but the adrenaline kept him going - he hissed and grit his teeth through the pain as a quick application of medi-gel kicked in, before his Omni-Tool glowed once more as a favourite app of his got to work on jumpstarting the engine.
And I'm going to quote this because 5 guys is way too many for a "mop up". Once again, treating the bad guys like they're push overs isn't really fun for anyone, and if anyone's going to try to take on those odds, they will be facing some injuries, to say the least. Hell, go play paintball and try running into a room full of people and see how that goes. Even if it's a bunch of squeaky 12 year olds, it doesn't take much for one or two of them to turn around and turn you into a colourful bukkake.
Anyways, this is part of the reason why I kind of want to push you guys to start taking on individual posts instead of big collabs because it's moving things along really fast and we're starting to get into pissing contests with each other. Team work, everyone. Remember we're a bunch of ragtag assholes and not a special forces outfit taking out a bunch of goat herders.
Just gonna say this from the perspective of an airsofter, this is 100% true. It's all well and true playing rambo yet all it takes is one or two guys you miss out for a split second to mess up your day with a lucky shot and it's not as if our characters are spec-ops units here.
Meifeng plopped herself down on Lihua's chair, leaning in as she let out a sigh of release as she let out all the negative emotions she felt today. The Vuhongs and the sole Baozai were gathered in Lihua's office - which was thankfully untouched by the attack by the sole virtue of being out of the way. Today was not a good day. Everything's wrecked... but everything looks up in the end.
Mika wasn't that far away, sitting on the sofa with Lijuan in her arms. The infant was happy, reaching up towards Mika's collar. Meifeng didn't say a word to her older cousin as she just went back to leaning back in her chair.
Thank God they've managed to get a break - but they're going have to get to work later. Meifeng was ready for it. Hopefully they can put an end to all of this. Lots of people died here, but Meifeng was going to make sure that nobody else died. Not on her watch, of course. Then she was going to take on the Hands, Changelings, and whoever the hell else gets in her way. That was a promise.
For now, Meifeng was going to relax and hope that nothing else crops up.
The door suddenly opened and Lihua charged on into the room. Without a word (From Lihua - or anyone really) she walked up to her desk and pushed aside Meifeng as she reached into her cabinet. She grabbed a bottle of whiskey and moved over to one of the seats in the room and sat down.
Meifeng raised an eyebrow as she looked up at her mother. "Shouldn't you be cooking up a plan with the rest of them?" She asked, skeptical.
Lihua herself was taking one long gulp of the alcohol while . "We're taking five - but there's something I wanted to talk to you girls about."
That was enough to get their attention.
"For starters," Lihua let out a sigh. "We have reason to believe that that there's a traitor in our ranks."
"A traitor?" Mika asked.
"Who the fuck would work with them?" Meifeng asked. "That's just asking for-"
"Again, watch your mouth." Lihua was quick to say, before she took a long gulp of her alcohol. "I've been going over Dana's run down of what happened... and it's clear that someone is working with them. Things just worked out too well for them."
The two girls were silent as Lihua explained.
"And part of the problem was that we kept underestimating them." Lihua sighed and shook her head. "We kept crossing them off as nothing more than violent animals that we can easily outsmart... We never realized how crafty they can be, getting overconfident - and we got punished for it." She took another sip of her alcohol.
"Despite that... we could have easily trumped them if we had our full force." Lihua explained. "But... like I said before, they knew where to hit, and how hard. Knew a little too much. Someone could have been feeding them intel from the inside."
"Who do you think it is?" Mika asked.
"Let me start by saying that it's unlikely our mole is anyone in RAVEN," Lihua said. "It'd be contradictory to established behavior, and previous operations. However, I do believe that an agent was responsible... we had plenty of Agents that were working for the Hands and doing backdoor deals with the Changelings." Lihua shook her head at the shame of her organization holding these monsters.
"Who do you think it is?" Meifeng said, her eyes drifted out the window and saw the aftermath to the chaos. "... After what happened, we don't have a lot of people to choose from."
"I'll have to dig out the rat..." Lihua said, shishing around the bottle of alcohol in her hand and staring at it behind her glasses. "However, I'm not one-hundred on this... It could very well be someone in RAVEN that got desperate, or roped into it."
There was a brief pause as Lihua looked between her niece, and her daughter.
"What I'm saying is that we're crossing the point where we can't trust the others." Lihua said. "Everyone is getting pushed up against the walls, and desperation is at an all time high, and everyone is reaching new lows... and people like the Changelings know how to take advantage of that."
All this talk about traitors and Changelings made Mika nervous. Especially given her "encounter" with the Unit. "Auntie, there's something I need to talk to you about." Mika stood straight up, and caught everyone's attention.
Lihua was taken aback by Mika's interruption, but kept her composure if only to hear her niece out. "What is it, Mika?"
"During their attack... I ran into them." Mika said, somewhat frightened to say the words. "Or, more accurately, they ran into me."
"What happened?" Lihua immediately said. "Are you okay? They didn't lay a finger on you, did they?"
"That was what I wanted to talk to you about," Mika said. "I was in the hallway outside of here with Lijuan, and... they just walked by us. Doing nothing." She was awestruck, and didn't know what to even say. "Then, as they walked off, their leader - Luis I think - said, "the boss would have a fit if we touched her.""
Mika hung her head.
"... I hope it doesn't mean what I think it means."
Lihua, too, was surprised. For a large number of reasons (Starting with why Lijuan was with Mika). She didn't know what to say... up until she thought of who this "boss" could be and she was immediately set on a different mode. She put the bottle down and stepped over to Mika and pointed a finger to her.
"Listen... this information doesn't leave this room, got it?" Lihua said to the two girls, who nodded in agreement. "And two, I have an idea of who this person could be... but we'll discuss this matter later. We have more important things to deal with for now."
Letting out a sigh, Mika nodded her head as she said, "Very well."
"Say..." Lihua turned around as the thought occured to her. "You said that you had Lijuan with you, correct?"
"Yes, Cindy passed her off to me shortly after you left." The explaination made Lihua clench her fists tightly.
Lihua's fists were clenching for a reason. She placed her trust and faith in Ms. Keagan only for the bitch to pass her off the first moment she got, and she could have gotten injured if it wasn't for Mika (and her apparent ties to the Changeling Unit). Which is why she's going to seek out Ms. Keagan at once and give her a piece of her mind.
Without saying a word, Lihua turned out the room and started walking down the halls.
Meifeng couldn't help but whistle. "... Cindy is going to get it." Meifeng said. "You seen the look on her face? She had that "you fucked up" faced on... and especially with Lijuan involved - phew." Meifeng said... she was disappointed in Cindy, but since the worst didn't occur, she found it hard to really care. Though, she knew that she should be angry with Lijuan's life on the line.
"Whatever happens with that girl is none of my concern." Mika said as she planted her behind firmly on the chair.
Meifeng rolled her eyes up into her head. "Know what?" Meifeng pushed herself up off Lihua's chair. "I'm going to check on Jen, and make sure that mom doesn't kill Cindy." She put her arms behind her head as she walked right out the room.
"... I just don't want to die a virgin, y'know?" Trevor said.
"Trevor." Cindy sternly said.
"When you, uh, think about it, we got a lot in common." Trevor said, scratching the back of his neck. "Me and Jen are good lookin' people, white and nerdy, and... big - y'know? Where it counts?" Trevor heartily chuckled as he put his hands together and pushed them apart as a measurement of his... you know.
The only appropriate reaction to this was a facepalm and a groan from Cindy. "I hope you're not saying she has what I think you're saying." Cindy said.
"Oh, no, no, no," Trevor waved his hands left and right rapidly. "But, I'd be fine with that."
The two were sitting in one of the hallways of the NEST Headquarters... in front of a broken window, watching the rain. Trevor himself was sitting on the "windowsil," looking back at Cindy who wasn't stupid enough to sit this close to the edge. That crazy white boy was going to fall, and she wasn't going to catch him.
Instead of scolding him for his perversion... Cindy really didn't have it in her anymore. After all this bullshit, for nothing, she really didn't care. Because she just feared that her father was killed by the Changelings. It'd make sense, wouldn't it? They just came across him and killed him without a second thought. And just like that, a great man was cut down. For no fucking reason.
Cindy was depressed about it, yeah.
"Know what?" Cindy said. "Fuck it. Just go for it, Trev. Just like you said, it's the end of the world. So if you want to try to get some tail from Jen, then why the hell not? I doubt she doesn't give a shit either anymore. Even if she does, your white ass can probably find some other chick who's that desperate."
Trevor was honestly surprised about this turn of events. Usually he gets shot down by Cindy, and called annoying. "So, things are that bad now?" Trevor asked. "You don't even care?"
Cindy sighed. "... At this point, I'm finding it hard to." She denounced. "Sorry, but I don't feel like our first-world-problems mean shit anymore." Cindy shrugged.
Trevor figured that it was time to take his chance, he scooted over to Cindy and said, "So hows about me and you make an oreo-"
"No." Cindy immediately cut him off.
"Okay." Trevor slid his behind right back over to his previous spot. He didn't want their conversation to end like this. He turned his back over towards Cindy, "But, let me put it like this; the situation is so bad that it can't possibly get any worse from here, y'know?"
"... And you just had to say it." Cindy facepalmed again.
"No, no, I'm serious." Trevor said. "Think about it, we're trapped in here with all sorts of loonies - and I'm certain that the loony-meter just went up even higher, too - but, from here on in, it's going to be smooth sailin'." He did a gesture with his hands mimicking waves. "Can promise you that much."
Well, either Trevor just jixed them all, or he might have a little bit of wisdom left in that head of his. Cindy took in a deep breath of air and cleared her mind. Trevor, for a fool, knew how to at least reassure the girl. Even when the situation is the worst. Cindy nodded her head.
"So, want to know some ways to bag Jen?" Cindy asked, going along with it. "Just don't be direct... ease her into it. Don't be too direct, you gotta make her want to do i-"
Their conversation was cut off when she heard the loud footsteps of Lihua's boots coming up on them. Cindy turned her head over and...
"Ms. Keagan," Lihua said with pure venom in her voice. "I specifically asked you to stay behind and keep Lijuan out of the fight," She leaned forward and stared the teen right in the eye. "And I hear that you passed her off to Mika literally minutes after I left? What kind of responsibility is that?"
"Well, I..." Cindy trailed off, scratching the back of her neck. She really dropped the ball back there. In fact, she didn't even think of Lijuan up until now... Now she feels like a giant dick.
"And, not only that, but you have the audacity to steal my alcohol so you can go fool around with your friends." Lihua poked her finger into Cindy's chest, her nails dug deep. "Meanwhile, Lijuan and Mika barely avoid danger by the very skin of their teeth."
"Wait, what happen-"
"It doesn't matter now." Lihua stood straight up, and rolled her eyes up into her head. "You apparently don't care enough about about her in the first place-" Lihua shrugged. "-so why should I bother even telling you?" She asked, rhetorical as ever.
"That's not true."
"Then why weren't you acting like it?" Lihua asked, and Cindy couldn't honestly answer. Lihua turned halfway from Cindy and crossed her arms over her chest. "After I place so much trust in you... I'm just so disappointed."
Cindy couldn't muster the words.
"That is all." Lihua let out a deep sigh. "I'll be heading back to the planning room... you'll be needed tomorrow." She immediately turned away from Cindy and Trevor and paced back down the hallway she came.
Cindy sighed... feeling a familar sense of shame.
"... Phew." Trevor said, grinning like a fool as he stayed out of that one. No offense to Cindy, but he knew Cindy enough to know that she got had this. "She was really laying it into ya', huh? Worse than how I usually get it." He shrugged. "Eh, don't worry about it. No matter what happens - it ain't like she gonna hate ya' forever, right?"
"Hate? No." Cindy quickly replied.
"Trust... now that's a whole different discussion."
Jennifer Marissa Caspin, & Meifeng Vuhong
With everything going to shit, Meifeng was going to make sure that Jennifer was okay. Her chance encounter with the Changeling Unit probably didn't do much for the girl's health. Meifeng walked up to Jen's door and tapped on the door with her knuckles. "Jen... you in there?"
Hearing Meifeng's voice made Jen wrap the blankets her body tighter in shame. She didn't want Meifeng to see her now of all times. She wanted to pretend to not be here, and let Meifeng walk off. The self-condemnation was just too strong.
Unfortunately, Meifeng just opened the door and looked inside.
"Jen?" Meifeng asked, taking slow steps over to Jen's bed and sitting on the edge. "Is everything okay? Why didn't you answer the door?"
"Just..." Jen tried to come up with the best answer. ".. Tired."
"Heard you were coughing up blood... you sure you're okay?" Meifeng said as she reached over and put a hand on Jennifer's shoulder. Giving her a slight nudge. "You okay?"
"I..." Jen realized that she can afford a little of honesty here. "... I don't know. I don't know about anything anymore. I only had this power for a month, and it already feels like my body is turning against me..." More tears ran down her eyes as she lied to her friend - the person who believed in her the most. By a reassuring pat calmed her down.
"Hey, calm down," Meifeng said in the most soothing voice she can muster. "How about we get you checked out by a doctor tomorrow? See if they know. If they don't know - then how about we see if we can get Trevor's drug to patch you up?"
Jennifer sighed. "Okay." She had to find some way to weasel out of this one. Perhaps even get the Changelings... No. Jennifer would never resort to them.
"Now, you had a long day, yeah?" Meifeng said as she stood straight up. "How about we hit the showers and relax for the rest of the day? I think all our enemies are just as tired as we are." She followed that with a loud snort.
"Wait, together?" Jen asked as she got up.
"Sure, why not?" Meifeng shrugged. "The world's ending... do you think anyone gives a shit if two best friends shower together? Besides, that damn gym teacher made us all shower together after every basketball game."
Jennifer shook her head.
Meifeng pulled her out of the bed. "Alright, let's go then." She pulled Jen over along to the showers.
The Changeling Unit.
"Welcome, welcome, welcome!" Luis said as he clapped his hands together. They were in a large dark room - likely a cleared out warehouse - and before him was the various prisoners that he had "recruited". Behind Luis was his assembled Changeling Unit. "Before you can be inducted into our ranks... we have to run a few tests, first." Luis began walking up, with his hands behind his back. "These are simply just ways we can gauge your loyalty to the Changeling cause... see if you're the right fit."
They all looked confused, before someone piped up and said, "What kind of tests?" He asked.
"Well..." Luis stopped and looked at him. "The trials will be decided by our members... they can be anything they want. Even give you a special one." Luis tilted his head towards the side slightly as he stared down the group. "Don't worry... they're all fair - But as a little fun thing we like to do, the less we like someone, the more tests we'll have them do. Just making sure that, despite our doubts... you'll still go that little extra mile."
Heartbreaker started twirling her revolvers. "But don't worry... failing one fuckin' test doesn't mean that you're going to die or something." Heartbreaker said. "But, if you decide to be a pussy and give up, then that's when you die." She narrowed her eyes, that grin getting wide enough to flash her white teeth.
"And boy, I don't want to tell you what some of the others will do to you. I'll just shoot ya' and get it over with, but some of these guys," She threw a thumb over her shoulder. "They'll make you wish you never crawled outta that whore."
"So, who wants to opt out now?" Luis asked with a devilish grin on his face.
Someone raised their hand - and didn't even get a second before Heartbreaker pulled the trigger and put a hole through his chest. He dropped dead, and bled out.
"God damn it." Luis said, annoyed. "Someone will have to clean that up... unless you want to eat him for your first test, HAHA!" He began crackling like a hyena
Everyone looked around awkwardly.
"So..." Luis rubbed his chin a little bit. "This is a tough one... we never had this many recruits at time." Luis clapped both of his hands together. "So, we'll be going one at a time... should be fair, right?"
"Oh, oh, oh!" Heartbreaker said like a giddy schoolgirl as she skipped over to Luis. She had one leg kicked up into the air. She whispered something in her ear, before she pointed at one of the former prisoners. After she was done, she leaned back and took a few steps back.
"...Starting with you." Luis said, pointing at the same person.
An average heighted woman with shiny red dyed hair - that was beginning to fade back into it's natural brown color - her build was somewhat bulky. A sign that she was bulking up in that jail cell. She took a step up and said, "Me?"
"No, the person right to you." Luis rolled his eyes as, literally, the person next to her stepped up. "Of course I mean you!" And the person stepped back, saddened he didn't get to go first. "But let me know who you are."
"... Emily." The woman - now properly introduced - said.
"We got two Emilies now?" Heartbreaker laughed.
"No, no, no..." Luis raised his hand up into the air. "Flashbang renounced that part of her. There's only Flashbang now."
"Riiight, right right..." Heartbreaker said, remembering Luis' retarded rules.
"Now, are you ready."
Emily clenched her fists tightly, and said, "Yes, yes I am."
"Splendid, then let's get to work! Everyone else can watch."
The lights went off in the room.
A few moments later, everyone heard a creaky wheel rolling into the room, finally ending in the center of the room. Then the lights flashed back on and everyone was assaulted by the brutal lights as they were given little time to actually adjust. By the time everyone got a chance to adjust, the Mannequin's tall form gave everyone a spook. He was hunched over an operating table that was hauling various surgeon tools and... a perfect replica of the Mannequin's mask. Except the mouth area was much bigger. Almost like it was accommodating for a different mouth, and was flexible around the cheeks.
The doll pointed at Emily, and she took a few steps forward towards the Mannequin. Who, strangely enough, ran it's ceramic fingers across her face.
"You are beautiful..." It's voice was a monotone whisper. "... Among the Changelings... beauty serves no purpose."
He reached back and grabbed the copy of his mask.
"Abandon your beauty..." The Mannequin said, leaning forward until he was seconds away from touching her.
Emily nodded her head.
Without saying another word the Mannequin pressed the mask against her face, and reached back to grab some bone screws. A little screwdriver came out of the Mannequin's finger and drilled the screw through her flesh. Emily winced in pain as the first screw went into her body. The Mannequin grabbed another, and drilled it into her, and another. The pain was like no other. Blood was dripping down her face, and she felt the metal inside her body. The Mannequin's mechanical grip stopped Emily from moving, not even to make this more comfortable.
Once the "procedure" was finished, the Mannequin let go of her, and Emily dropped to the ground. Grabbing onto her mask as she realized the depth of what she has gotten herself into.
"... You know," Luis said as she walked up to the girl, standing over her. "We should save Mannequin's body alterations for later in your tests - but nope! You're mutilated right off the bat." Luis started laughing. He snapped his fingers, calling for one of his associates, "Witch Mother!"
The Witch Mother scrolled on by wearing her white cloak, and grabbed onto the top of Emily's head. She infused the woman with her biological manipulation - closing the woman's wounds, and strengthening her antibodies to godly levels so she doesn't get infected.
Luis squatted down. "Oh yeah, forgot to tell you..." Luis started grinning. "Every test you pass, our resident healer will put you back on your feet... depending on how well you preform, of course. She might decide to heal you half way, or leave all the bacteria in your wounds, if you do a shitty job."
Luis loudly whistled as he wheeled in a person on Alice's former wheelchair (Might as well put it to good use!). A young girl that was around thirteen years old, had black hair, and was wearing clothes that was soaked with water.
"... We found this girl retreating from your-best-friend NEST's little safezone with her family. They thought they'd have better chances on their own." Luis said as she walked over. He came to a stop and had the girl face Emily. "Her family? Dead. We killed them. Save for her. Heartbreaker wanted her."
Heartbreaker walked up, twirling her revolver. Grinning like a fool.
"This? This here is an important part of our tests." Heartbreaker said as she leaned up against the wheelchair, propping her elbow up on the girl's shoulder. "We need to make sure that you won't pussy out at the last second if you see some cute little girl. So, all you need to do is torture her... make it nice and slow."
The girl started panicking as soon as Heartbreaker explained just what was going to happen to her. Screaming loudly.
"Just one thing; don't kill her. We need to send a message." Heartbreaker said was she walked off to the sidelines with Luis. "Haaaaaaave fun, you two!"
Emily walked up to the girl and stared at her.
Her screams echoed through the warehouse and Luis and Heartbreaker watched with delight.
Hours later...
Luis and Heartbreaker was watching the new recruits from the sidelines. They made a Changeling out of Emily, and several others, including some ex-cartel assassin. They've gotten some members to make up for the loss of Shade and Wraith. Now it's up to the others not to pussy out.
One of the recruits was engaging in a fight with the other Changelings, a part of Primitive Light's test. A man, muscular, with super strength threw a punch at Primitive Light that she caught. Doing literally nothing but making her stronger. Primitive Light returned the favor and threw a punch that left him skidding across the floor into the Berserker - fully transformed. The brute raised her foot up into the air and tried to slam her foot into the ground on him. He rolled out of the way, and her foot went through the ground like it was nothing.
"Screw this, I'm out of here!" The man rolled up to his feet, and jumped up into the air like it was nothing. Heartbreaker was about to shoot him, but Luis raised his hand up into the air. Leaping up into the air with him was the Berserker, who reached his level in less than a few seconds. She grabbed him by the head and he let out a surprised yell when they started falling to the ground. The moment the Berserker's feet hit the ground, she used the momentum to slam him head first into the ground, and utterly crushing his head underneath her palm as if it was a fruit.
The Berserker stood straight up, and let out a loud jet of air out of her mouth.
"Well," Luis shrugged. "That's like the fifth person we killed."
Heartbreaker shook her head. "They don't make psychopaths like they used to."
"They sure don't." Luis said. "Now... I don't think I talked business with you, Natalie. We were sooo busy with the new recruits that I forgot."
"Yeah, about fuckin' time." Heartbreaker said, rolling her eyes up into her head. "Let's go."
The two started walking in the back towards a door - Luis opened the door for Heartbreaker like a gentleman. Heartbreaker stepped in, but Luis poked his head through the door and said, "You all hold the fort here for now, okay?"
The two stepped into the back room. "Nice fuckin' place you got here, how'd you pick it?"
"Oooh me and the Mannequin just found this little abandoned warehouse and we set up shop if you know what I mean." Luis snickered like a fool. Looking around at this place.
Heartbreaker walked in more, a hand was holding her revolver as she walked with a light swagger in her steps - up until she saw the people tied up in the room (And they saw her, looking at her like she was Beelzebub in the flesh). Heartbreaker raised an eyebrow, and pointed at them, "What's going on here? Did you do a BDSM night without me and these are the leftovers?"
"Nah, nah..." Luis put his hands up into the air. "They're our... leverage to keep one of our new friends in line."
"Ooooooh, you got someone?" Heartbreaker asked with a wry smile as she crossed her arms tightly. "Who?"
"Oh nobody important..." Luis offhandedly said. "Just their family member who has ties with the big shots at NEST. Think her name is... Jennifer Caspin."
"Oh, I don't plan on laying a finger on her." Luis said. "You... you should honestly worry about yourself for the time being."
"Jennifer Caspin..." Heartbreaker thought of the name. "Yeah! That was the blonde haired broad who the Hands bagged when I was rolling with them." She whistled. "Small world, huh?"
"If it wasn't for her, you'd still be rotting in that cell." Luis said.
"I'll have to congratulate her for that next time I see her." Heartbreaker laughed like a legitimate fiend. "So, what's the plan? You got me out... we're trapped in a fuck-dome with a bitch that wants to tentacle fuck everything in sight... and we have a drove of new recruits. The fuck are we gonna do?"
"Go after the bitch that wants to "tentacle-fuck" everything, of course." Luis parroted the words. "She'll play a vital part in my plan to create the perfect world."
Heartbreaker snicked again as she put her hands on her hips.
"Oh, that?" She asked with a stupid grin on her face.
"We're going to have her. Whether she joins us willingly or not... we can lock her in the basement if needed." Luis stated his grand plan. "How are we going to find her?" Luis beat her to the question. "Simple, far as I can tell, NEST found her for us... Jen either tells us where they are, or - in the high chance that she gets found out - we keep a very close eye on them and follow them there."
"Sounds like a plan." Heartbreaker said with a grin.
Truth be told, Jennifer has already served her purpose and Luis doesn't really have any need for her. He can just press the button and kill her and everyone around her in a bloody blaze. But, Luis felt like she had a purpose that she wasn't even aware of.
A place within the Unit.
The Devil of Verthaven.
All chess pieces were falling together.
The Devil literally didn't need to lift a finger as her armies tore apart the people of Verthaven. Her lair was reconditioned with architecture made out of the same biological materials her monsters were made out of. A little trick she came up with. She had created a throne made out of the grey sludge taking a solid form, which had tentacles attached to her that allowed her to funnel the grey sludge into deep pools. These pools constantly produced the monsters to quickly replace the ones that were falling in battle, and more.
Large spires of the dark-grey flesh were also constructed around her and almost formed a sort of dome over her throne. She sat there and simply made more monsters for her war.
Though, she's been relenting. The Devil knows that if she kills everyone now, then NEST will just drop a nuke on her. Which is why she's been devoting efforts to two things; getting stronger, and finding a way out of this shield. Then they'll be powerless to stop her.
The Metahuman hearts were just rolling in. The Devil was utterly exterminating any Metahumans she could just so she could get their hearts and get strength. Hoping to overwhelm the shield with simple raw power.
Monsters were lining up to hand her hearts.
She was handed a heart, and it melted into a brown sludge before being absorbed into her body. She felt her storms strengthen - the storms over her was getting more intense. Thus destroying more of the city, and giving her even more opportunities to collect hearts. After all, they can't put up a fight if they're dead (And the Devil knows that a group of Metahumans can easily trump her strongest monsters).
Heart after heart... she felt the power surge through her.
One last heart, she grabbed it, and absorbed it into her body - and immediately felt that something was wrong. She immediately felt weak as her vision started to fade. Her head started to feel incredibly heavy, and her knees started getting weak. She gagged for air as she fell out of her "throne" and threw a hand to the ground to keep her from falling.
Something was wrong here. It had to be in the last heart.
Was the Devil so arrogant that she didn't expect for them to try something like this?
She started feeling incredibly weak - but still standing. The beasts that were forming in the pools started violently vibrating, before they converted back into the sludge and leaked into the pools. It felt like she was going to die here, but she refused to die. Not when she's this close to finally getting her revenge.
Worse of all, she lost her mental connection to both her beasts and Metahumans.
The beasts were going through the city, thrashing about, and destroying everything in their path (including each other if they got too close). Destroying the city in ways that weren't even constructive to the Devil.
The Devil gagged again. She quickly pooled the sludge at her feet, before she created a "shell" around herself made out of the grey sludge hardened to be tough as steel. This would be the shield to protect her from anything this city has to throw at her.
With anarchy taking reign all around them, the Changeling Unit needed to do little to keep NEST off their tails.
Luis kept marching with the Changeling Unit in tow. That meat cleaver slung over his shoulder as he ran through the halls of the prison. The place was rather... desolate. The Changeling Unit didn't let out any prisoners from this section yet. Luis would, but, as they were walking forward, they came across an impressive defensive line. Except, it was rather... undermanned.
"It's them!" One of the NEST Agents shouted as they took aim at the Unit.
"Berserker." Luis ordered, and just calmly pointed forward as the brute ran on past him. She was met with a hail of bullets that did absolutely nothing to her. The Agents did one last desperate move to get out of the way, but they had little time before the Berserker hit their defensive line and sent the Agents flying. The rest were cut down by the Changeling Unit's combined ability.
Luis loudly laughed as he took slow steps "Looks like NEST ain't as mighty as they make themselves to be!" There wasn't anymore NESTies to worry about. Just smooth sailing from here on in. Luis' plan stretched them too thin to properly handle them. Which meant there was no more opposition from here on in.
All they had to do was scroll up to Heartbreaker's cell, then just teleport out of here with Heartbreaker. They'll think about how they'll recruit the Devil later.
"Cell 379..." Luis muttered to himself as he counted cells. "380... 381...."
There she is, Cell 382. Where Heartbreaker is. Luis stepped aside, while pointing a thumb at the door. "Berserker, would you kindly?" He said.
The Brute walked up to the door, and slammed both hands into the side of the door. Before she grabbed it, and yanked it open. Throwing the door aside, it hit the ground a few times creating a loud metallic clang.
"Heartbreaker!" Luis said as he stepped into the cell. "Oh how I missed you...."
There was no one here.
"What the shit?" Luis said, as he finally realized that he's been duped. "Wait... the bastard was just begging us to stop. He had the balls to give us the wrong information?" He asked himself. "Or.... was he misinformed in the first place!" God damn it! That was their only lead-
"Watch out!" The Contessa shouted as she dove aside, using the cell as cover.
Before the Changelings could properly react, a storm of glass shards had hit them. It would have made Luis grin - what were they expecting? Bullets did nothing to slow them down - if it wasn't for the fact that the glass had thoroughly penetrated Wraith. Instead of the glass doing little, she started getting woozy, almost falling over if it wasn't for Shade grabbing her.
That was when Maximilian's Echo flew in incredibly fast and delivered a massive punch straight to Wraith's face. The punch hit her so hard that her skull shattered into a million pieces, and blood flew everywhere. Shade was barely able to take the blunt of the punch and was knocked back. However, he was enraged by the death of his sister.
"Changelings..." Luis said as he jumped out of the cell. He stuck his hand out. "... Attack!"
Trevor Obott, Cindy Keagan, Quentin Taylor, & Task Force RAVEN vs The Changeling Unit.
NEST was able to catch up to the Changeling Unit, and fortunately, was capable of getting the drop on them for once.
They turned a corner. Maximilian put his hand up, signalling for them to stop. He peaked from around the corner, and saw that the Changeling Unit was just opening the door to Heartbreaker's "cell". Which meant they only had a brief window of opportunity to get them before they pull their next move.
And he had the perfect idea.
"Cindy, Trevor," Maximilian addressed them, "I'll be quick, Cindy put some of Trevor's drug on your glass shards and throw it at them. This might be our only chance to catch them off guard."
Both nodded their heads at Cindy produced some glass shards off her body - quickly creating a bowl, then filling it with glass shards. Trevor put his hands over it, creating as much as his drug as he could, and filling the bowl with it. Cindy swished around the glass so that it gets all over the glass.
"Good." Maximilian said. "Open fire on my signal." He stated, lifting his hand up into the air. Right when Luis stepped inside the cell. "Go!" He said.
Cindy didn't waste a second in making the glass float out of the bowl, and fly right towards the dastardly villains at high speeds. She was aiming for the center mass, trying to get many of them as possible. However, the person to take the blunt of the glass storm was Wraith, who was stabbed many times with the drugged glass. The only two to take the assault was, unfortunately, Primitive Light, and Count Vicious (Two people who wouldn't even be touched by the glass).
Maximilian capitalized on the ambush, and sent Echo flying at the Unit at high speeds. He threw one punch at the drugged Changeling, and killed her in one solid blow to the face. Even if only one of them, killing one of them was still an advantage. And, best of all, it was one of those telekinetic siblings that was a pain in their ass.
"Open fire!" Maximilian said, pointing his finger forward, and the rest of RAVEN opened fire upon the Changeling Unit. Quentin fired off an array of slugs in rapid succession, firmly racking the pump action of his 870 after each shot.
Count Vicious put his hand up, and focused to the best of his ability, attempting to catch the bullets, but he was only successful in grabbing a few. While Flashbang opened a wide portal in front of the Changelings, and a portal leading directly into NEST. It went without saying that the Agents stopped shooting.
"Berserker!" Luis pointed right into the portal that was created in front of them leading to the RAVENs. The Berserker ran through the portal, and landed in the center of the group, and went right through the floor.
"Oh shit!" Cindy shouted as she desperately tried to dive out of the way. She barely missed the Berserker's impact.
Helena grabbed onto Nikki, and the two flash stepped out of the way. While Scarlet managed to grab Trevor and Savannah and run off using her speed. The rest of RAVEN got out of the way.
Quentin had only barely pulled back the moment when he noticed the portal overhead, narrowly avoiding being crushed under the Berserker's mass. He was glad he'd kept one canister in reserve, because he had a feeling that he was going to need it.
The Changelings had no stake in this fight (Especially since they already lost one member), perhaps it was time that Luis uses that little leverage. However, they can't search with RAVEN bearing down on them like this. Time to pull a little trick... Luis leaned in on Flashbang, and whispered something into her ear.
The teleporter nodded her head, before dispelling both portals, and jumping inside.
Leaving the Changelings to face off against RAVEN. Luis faced them down with a devious look on his face. All they have to do is hold off NEST until Flashbang comes back with the surprise.
"Find cover." Maximilian ordered as he summoned his Echo to act as a shield for the other NEST Agents as they scrambled for cover. Cindy knew that her glass wasn't much, but she reinforced the panels enough to act as a shield.
One of the panels was taken as cover by Quentin, who pointed his 870 down towards the Changelings and opened fire, firmly racking the pump-action after each shot
Count Vicious produced metal walls to act as shields for the Changelings, which they promptly took cover behind save for Primitive Light, and the Butcher who stood tall in face of the danger. The Butcher looked down towards his leader - who simply pointed towards the RAVENs - and the metal brute nodded and proceeded forward. While Primitive Light was sparking with electricity, she pointed both hands forward and sent out several torrents of electricity at the fleeing RAVENs. The Mannequin hopped on the roof, and started crawling along it like an insect.
In the heat of the battle, Flashbang opened up another portal and walked back in, holding a strange device with a canister holding a purple gas. When Luis saw her, he grinned widely, and grabbed onto the device. Count Vicious guarded him with several metal spires spawned out of the ground. Luis said, "Let's see how they handle this...." He lustfully grinned. This was a little concoction that the Mannequin and the Witch Mother made up. This was going to be nasty once it's been deployed. He nodded at Flashbang as she handed him a revolver - one of Heartbreaker's spares (She'll have to suck this up).
"Hello RAVEN!" Luis loudly shouted as he dove from behind cover and threw the canister at them at high speeds. "Here's a surprise for you!" He loudly shouted as he leveled the revolver at the canister and fired it. Piercing the gas containment part.
What was released into the air at high speeds was a dangerous acidic gas. A toxic substance that was capable of causing third degree chemical burns in seconds. The gas began degrading the walls and floor.
Right before the gas could hit them, the Changeling Unit retreated into a portal. Teleporting to a lower floor of the building. Luis didn't want to use the gas this early in the fight, but they needed something to buy them some time while Luis changes plans.
Trevor Obott, Cindy Keagan, Quentin Taylor, & Task Force RAVEN.
"RAVEN, retreat!" Maximilian said. He really wished that Adam was still here.
"What the hell is that?!" Cindy shouted as the gas pushed towards them at high speeds. Naturally, Cindy created a glass shield around them. Unlike the metal that was being degraded by the acid, it did little to the glass due to glass' natural resistance to corrosion and the sort. She let out a sigh.
However, going off the pained screams of Helena Page, not everyone got away in time.
Helena's right arm was severely burned by the acid. It burned right through her armor, and her hand was a fleshy red color. She was loudly screaming.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down lady!" Trevor said as he and Scarlet grabbed Helena and gently lowered her to the ground. Fortunately, he was able to dodge the super acid. When he put Helena on the ground, he managed to infuse her with his drugs. The liquid jump started her healing process, and she quickly regenerated.
Almost every bug that Nikki had was melted, and she felt a mental backlash like no other. Her nose started bleeding, and she fell to her behind. Quentin took a knee beside her to steady her fall, yet that brief moment of respite also reminded him of the needle lodged in his side as the pain flared up again - not that it was the kind of thing he could've forgotten anyway. Gritting his teeth to bear it, he looked towards Max.
"Dana, we need an emergency air jet ASAP!" He loudly shouted into comms as he composed himself.
"On it." Dana said as she started pressing buttons on her keyboard. The vents into the prison started turning and quickly sucking up the poisonous gas. However, the destructive acidic properties began to damage the equipment. A large red icon appeared on Dana's screen, flashing "Malfunction". "Oh?" Dana started off. "Oh no. Whatever that gas is, it just broke the decontamination... but it should be mostly clear."
"Damn it." Maximilian said. "Every time we think we got them, they just slip in between our fingers."
"One thing's for sure," Dana said, "They're not leaving without Heartbreaker."
"But can we let them keep tearin' apart the building like this?" Cindy critically asked.
"We'll have to stop them." Maximilian said. Luis' Changeling's are certainly something. They're no pushovers, that's for sure. Maximilian had a better time squaring off against the previous Changeling group.
"So now what?" Trevor asked as his drug did his work. "I see two people outta the fight for a bit, and we barely even made any progress against those bastards." Trevor stated.
"Dana, where are they now?" Maximilian asked.
"Oh..." Dana checked comms. "They're heading downwards... breaking every camera they see along the way." She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the monitors. "I don't know what their angle is... if they were planning on escaping, they would have just teleported..."
"Can you give us an idea of where they are?" Maximilian asked.
"They're heading for the stairs. Destroying everything in their way."
"Alright," Maximilian looked over his shoulder. With Helena and Nikki injured, and Trevor tending to them, that's at least three people out of the fight. Maximilian didn't want to leave them alone either. "Someone stay behind to keep an eye on them... the rest of you, with me." Maximilian clenched his fists.
"We're going to end this."
The Changeling Unit.
Luis was running down the halls with the rest of the Changeling Unit. Trashing everything in their path (Even the most unimportant locations). He wishes that he could get at the main database and trash that and at least ruin something for NEST along the way, but with all the heat on them, it was best if they get Heartbreaker and get out of there.
Fortunately, Luis had a plan.
If his prediction was correct RAVEN was hot on their trail - if he's going to make good use of that puppet of his, she'll need to get really close to Maximilian, or whoever the hell is their mission control. He's unsure of what exactly they're doing, but getting them together might be helpful.
Luis pointed ahead of the group, and said, "Take out the cameras ahead."
Count Vicious and Primitive Light started breaking the cameras ahead of them by being the metal, and shooting electricity at the cameras. Which gave Luis plenty of coverage as he sent a little text to Jen.
Hello my little humming bird - we're going to be paying you a visit. I hope you're ready!
Fortunately, Luis has Jennifer's cellphone tracked, so he can easily track down the Cockroach from anywhere in the world. How great is that?! Luis began running.
Funny, she was heading upwards.
That must be the next Changeling destination!
Jennifer Caspin, Reed Taylor, Haruka & Shizuka Takashiro
Maria pulled the trigger of her pistol, and the bullet rang out through the air and shot an escaped prisoner in the chest.
"Jesus, Dana!" Maria said as she pressed her earpiece. "It's a madhouse in here, what happened?!"
"The Changeling Unit released some prisoners from the D-through-E blocks to slow us down," Dana calmly noted. "Just maneuver around them - keep heading towards mission control with the civilians, and I'll take it from there."
Shizuka couldn't even spare a second to bitch about how the situation had gone down the bad route just as he had predicted - not with him in charge of making sure the useless Haruka and the injured cop were kept out of physical harm with his intangibility, but he also had to put his twin in a literal arm lock.
"We have to get Akemi---"
"For God's sake, dear brother," Shizuka finally snapped at him. "She's a superpowered grownup. Worry about your sorry ass first, dammit!"
Reed wasn't far behind them, eyes darting from one place to another as he continuously surveyed the area while they progressed through the building. "How bad are things, what kind of situation's come up now?" He asked, checking over his shoulder for any sign of more coming towards them.
"Well," Maria started off as she looked back at Reed. "We have a lot of bad guys running around now." Maria simply shrugged.
"...Great." To be frank, Reed was astounded by how casually she'd said it. Maybe it was a NEST thing; would've explained a lot about Quentin, but to him? It felt like the whole world was grinding down into rubble. And in the middle of it, somewhere, were his elder brother and his uncle - the latter of which he hadn't even seen since the attack. But, he had bigger things to worry about now, like getting these people through. He tossed Maria an upwards nod, "Just keep me updated with whatever you can, I don't have a radio."
"Will do!" Maria said, gesturing for everyone to come along. "Come on, move it!"
Compared to this NEST type, Reed felt like he was barely holding together; only keeping up with her because the alternative was shirking his duty. Cass would've probably made a snarky remark about 'us normies' by now, if he'd been here. Wherever he was.
Jennifer wasn't feeling that much better. She was carrying herself in the center of the group, and hoping for as long as possible before the illness overcomes her, and she's down on her knees again. She clutched her stomach. In the middle of the chaos, Jennifer's phone buzzed (Fortunately, she had it set to vibrate). Jennifer reached into her pocket and pulled it out, and her eyes shot open.
Hello my little humming bird - we're going to be paying you a visit. I hope you're ready!
Oh no. Not only do they have a way of tracking her, but they're heading right for her. With everyone here. In between walking, she quickly glanced at them. She didn't want anyone else getting hurt because of her. She didn't know how to alert them without tipping them off that she's their mole.
"Jen?" Reed was the first to pick up on her distress, not least because she was clutching her stomach and in pain, by the look of things.
Shizuka rolled his eyes - he wasn't sure if there's really something wrong with Jennifer or it was just an act. (What's more, why at this fucking moment?) Whatever it was, it did pull Haruka's mind away from their aunt to the blonde. He relaxed his grip - and his twin slipped out of his arms, moving uncertainly towards Jennifer.
"Yeah..." Jen said, almost immediately realizing what Reed meant. "I'm coming." As she stumbled more towards them.
"Um, Maria," Dana muttered into the comms. "We have a problem."
"What is it?" Maria asked.
"The Changeling Unit is heading in your direction." Dana sated.
"What?!" Maria said. "We can't fight them!"
"Which is why I'm advising that you get over here, double time." Dana said. "Maximilian and the others are trying to cut them off as we speak."
Maria shook her head. "Alright, we gotta go. Now."
Nodding to that, Reed turned his sights back towards Jen and wanted to ensure that neither she nor anyone else would be left behind. "Come on, let's go," He repeated after Maria.
First the Changelings freed these psycho prisoners to wreck havoc in the Headquarters, and now they were coming for them? What the hell was going on? The white-haired boy let out a groan. "This just keeps getting better and better..."
"Just stick with me." Maria said as she double-timed it, quickly running. She wasn't one for direct fights - her only hope was to use her ink powers to cause a distraction, then wing it. Maria kept running, wondering if running to mission control was even a smart decision given that a horde of super villains was heading right towards them - but they'd have to come up with something on the way back. They'd have to trust Maximilian on this. Everything was seeming so crazy.
While they were running, they came up to a crossroad in the hallway. Maria quickly peeked around the corner, to check for threats, before signalling the others it was clear. The rest of the group ran out before she followed them.
However, no amount of corner checking could prepare them for a portal opening behind of them. Utterly undercutting Dana's attempts at tracking them down. Luis was the first to step through the portal with his meat cleaver over his shoulder - raising it up into the air over Maria. And all of this happened so fast that they barely got time to react.
"Maria, move!" Dana's reflexes were sharp enough to warn Maria before it was too late.
Maria, opting out of wondering what Dana was talking about, turned into her pure ink form and hopped off to the side. The meat cleaver hit the ground and split the floor in two - creating a loud bang. Luis looked quite annoyed. While he wanted Jen to crawl off towards Maximilian, he would have just loved to take another RAVEN out of the mix - but seems like she's faster and smarter than she looks.
"Oh shit!" Jennifer looked behind her as she saw the scene unfold. She didn't expect all of this to go down. Luis was just hell bent on tracking her down...but she was wondering what he wanted.
Haruka was just as thunderstruck as Jennifer. From the previous encounter back at the row house, he felt that this Changeling guy wasn't someone he would want to cross paths with - not only had he bumped into him twice within such a short time, being anywhere near this bloodthirsty psychopath absolutely terrified the poor boy.
Shizuka didn't like the sight of Luis as much as his brother, but he couldn't afford to feel scared - he had to be more focused than before, because his ability was the only thing to keep the two powerless people in tow alive. If he gave in to his emotions it would be game over for all of them. He pulled his trembling brother to him and reached out for the cop's uninjured arm, speaking to them in a low (and shaky) voice. "If you don't wanna die here, better stay close to me."
Startled, Reed glanced toward Shizuka for a moment, confused, before his gaze shifted back towards the unnerving sight of the Changeling Leader.
Luis stood straight up, facing Maria as she quickly reformed. He closed the distance, intending to cut her off, with his cleaver ready. But the ink-woman opened her mouth and sprayed a thick, black, torrent of ink right into Luis' eyeballs. He tried to keep the motion going, but Maria was once again quick enough to dive off to the side, her ink form giving her unmatched close quarters speed and agility. She took the time to grab her pistol and utterly empty her clip. Round after round went into Luis' body, up until he fell backwards and hit the ground.
"Run!" Maria shouted as she turned into a single stream of ink, moving along the ground like a snake - the rest of the group didn't need to be told twice.
Luis got up, and wiped the ink from his eyes, and growled. The rest of the Changeling Unit stepped through the portal. Personally, he would have the Berserker tear this whole place apart if it wasn't for the mere feeling that it'd be a bad idea. All he needs is for Jennifer and Maximilian to be lead together, then he was going to pull his master plan.
"Jen, get away from them!" Reed shouted, stubbornly wrenching his arm away from Shizuka and aiming downrange, hoping to stall them with his own volley of gunfire.
Jen didn't even waste a second in doubling the pace. Though, she was wondering if she should split off from the group - since the Changelings were after her. She has never felt so guilty before in her life.
The barrage of bullets did little to bother the Changeling Unit. Luis was already riddled with bullets - and Reed's rounds didn't do anything worse. Count Vicious caught most of the rounds, they came to a slow halt in the air before they fell down. However, he didn't catch all the bullets.
When the Berserker stepped through the portal - she was barely prepared when the bullet grazed against the side of her neck. Instead of just skidding off like the RAVENs expected, the bullet caused visible damage to her neck, and blood started pouring out. The Berserker let out a roar as she grasped her neck.
Luis quickly looked over to her, and narrowed his eyes, "Damn it!"
It was enough of a distraction, giving Maria a chance to leap forward, reforming her body in midair as she turned around. When her hand hit the ground, she generated a large amount of black ink that splashed upwards until it absolutely consumed the hallway - it quickly took a solid form. It won't hold them for long, but it'll buy them some time at least.
Then the group kept on running.
Luis was getting very irritated. He's going to flay this Ink woman alive. He grabbed his Meat Cleaver, and pointed ahead, the Berserker rushed past him and shattered the solid ink into crumbles like it was nothing. Which was enough for the rest of the Changeling Unit to step over it like it was nothing.
Maximilian and his RAVENs are really slacking now. They should be here by now. Just keep up on them, and eliminate them.
Maria had little idea as to what to do with the Changeling Unit on their tail. She kept running until she came up on a turn. The group made a right, and Maria briefly looked behind herself to see Luis catching up on her, with that blade in hand. A tentacle came out of her body and grabbed another clip of ammo and loaded it up. Luis gained on her, and swung his sword. Maria dodged again, turning around to spray him with another jet of ink - but Luis threw his sword up to defend against the ink.
This woman was annoying Luis like no other. Time to kill her. Using his blade, he rushed after her, ramming her and knocking her down into a crossroad. He raised his meat cleaver up into the air. Maria quickly turned into ink and dove out of the way. Annoying Luis yet again as he did nothing but ruin this nice floor.
While he was trying to pull the blade out of the ground, he noticed a golden light flying towards him at high speeds. He got hit square in the cheek by the high speed blow square to his jaw that sent him flying down the hallway. He angrily groaned as the Echo faded away before any of the Changelings could get a blow on it. Luis got up, and looked at the group of NEST Agents aiming their weapons down the hallway. They utterly unloaded on Luis, every bullet striking him several times. Utterly decimating his body, as he fell backwards.
It didn't kill him - he only regenerated in the meantime. Worst of all, he hasn't consumed any blood in awhile. His buffs are starting to fade, he couldn't regenerate as quickly as before either.
The rest of the Changeling Unit took to Luis' aid. Primitive Light fired a stream of electricity that ravaged the NEST Agents that couldn't dodge in time. While Count Vicious was throwing blades of steel at them - which were deflected by Echo's fists. Count Vicious put his hand up and created a metal wall that the Berserker got behind, just in time to shield her from a slug fired off by Quentin. She needed to wait for Jennifer to get out of the way before she goes crazy.
Cindy threw up a glass shield to stop anymore electrical attacks from Primitive Light. Though, it looks like they were trying to defend the Berserker now.
Jen was relieved that they finally arrived - but she was worried since she didn't see Trevor anywhere. She was praying that he didn't get killed or anything. Jennifer, like a calm doe, grabbed onto Cindy's hand, "Where's Trevor?" Jen asked.
"He's behind helping the others!" Cindy said. "Get moving, we got this!"
"Come on," Quentin urged them, placing himself in front of the others as Reed moved past them. "Have you seen Cass?" The younger of the Taylor brothers asked, before he caught sight of the needle lodged in Quentin's side and his eyes widened in shock. "Oh, fuck - what happened to your-" He asked with a startled tone, only for his elder brother to cut him off. "It doesn't matter, just go! We've got this!"
Maximilian stood in front of Maria and the rest of the group with his arms crossed. "Get them out of here." He said to Maria. "Get to Mission Control at once."
Maria nodded her head and lead the group out of there.
It's a nightmare to try and RP with characters like that. If a character doesn't have any agency to want to associate with anyone and deliberately cuts off any dialog because it's "in character" for them, it makes them exactly the last person anyone wants to associate with. You basically end up with a mopey D-Bag who isn't interacting with other characters, and if they were going to have any depth, usually you never get that far because the player who owns that character is feeling left out. My first incarnation with Tanya had her being someone who did everything in her power to avoid socializing with the team at first because she didn't want to get to close to them, and it's reaaally not a fun thing to play, even though you have a big character arc planned for that character warming up and getting over their fears.
In another game, one of the players had a character who fit the whole brooding anti-social assassin archetype, and one of my characters made it her life's goal to harass the crap out of that character for her own personal amusement, and as it turned out, it ended up doing a lot to drive the development with both of our characters and they ended up becoming one of my all-time favorite relationships in my roleplay history.
It's probably worst with characters who have the edgy/dramatic weaboo off-the-shelf tragic backstories that don't hold much bearing except to cause drama and draw in attention. I saw it (along with annoying kawaii-desu mary sue rambo cybersex throwaway chars) a lot back on a number of Garry's Mod RP communities (TacoNBanana, InfusionGaming) and at best it was just disruptive rather than conductive to good RP. Not saying tragic backstories are a bad thing - they're great when pulled off right, just a lot of the time they're hit and miss or just miss.
His hands were bound and strung up to the ceiling, his captor stood before him, twitching from the demon’s blood, a blade tightly clutched in his hand. It was old; an ancient weapon with ritual markings along it, clearly something from before either man’s time.
He felt the blade run along his skin. It was cold - icy cold, that was one thing he’d remembered so clearly. Crimson ran down his sleeves, then down his cheeks and then down his torso as he felt each cut biting into his flesh. When he glanced down, he saw the blood pooling beneath him - filling the sand that had been sprinkled across the floor, forming into a runic symbol. It didn’t make sense to him; the blood loss aside, it looked like something as old and ancient as the blade that was ebbing away at him.
He tried to fight against it; he kicked and swung, shook his arms as hard as he could, spouting all the profanities that he’d memorised over his long and arduous career, yet it was all in vain. One final cut; this one the kindest, perhaps - a clean, surgical cut across his throat - he soon
SSPD. The Gulf. The projects. It all ebbed away before him as he did. Strange thing was, these weren’t his memories, were they?
Eventually he woke, laid down in the office couch no less. The shades crudely drawn across the windows to block out any would-be voyeurs and give him some peace and quiet, but now light was slowly seeping through. Running a palm across his jaw, Nate glanced to his side, only to find a familiar, ethereal face seated next to him.
“Bad dream again?”
"... Yeah.”
Without so much as a word, he grabbed his keys, locked up in the office and set off for their next little bit of work.
The drive didn't take as long as one might've expected, but the silence made it just as prolonged until the dead man finally broke itm
”Back there.. it anything you wanted to talk about?”
Memories that weren’t his were difficult to explain, especially to a man who was by all accounts dead. “I.. no, nevermind.” He waved off Gabriel’s concerns and pulled aside the shade, exposing the car to the fresh daylight. Climbing out, he locked it up behind him whilst Gabriel tapped on the window, before stepping out through the door as if it wasn’t there.
”You mind waiting till I’m out before locking up?” The late detective complained with a wry smile.
"Fair enough. They do say that leaving a dog in a car is hazardous for it’s health.” He quipped.
”Could say the same for the ‘owner’ too.” Gabriel flipped him off.
Wandering around the corner, it soon became apparent what the two had been after; a building a little ways down across the road that would’ve seemed quite inconspicuous to most; an old meat packing plant that had since gone bust after a big scandal involving horse or centaur meat, something of that kind. There was an office beside the street that afforded anyone running the show a nice view of the not-so-nice, run-down neighbourhood that'd seen better days in times of economic boom.
The two of them were privy to a handy snippet of info about its true nature; a production den for fairy dust, controlled under the watchful dominion of the Bloodbloom Syndicate. That particular snippet of info had been provided by their contact with the Nyctari.
One thing that he was still banking on was the fact that these places were less about keeping an eye out for cops and more about protecting what lay inside. After all, why waste time and people on lookouts when half of the SSPD’s command was on your payroll? That was one thing both Nathan and his late partner had never missed - how the top dogs were practically untouchable so long as they had a steady flow of cash and influence. As a PI? The limit was as far as he was willing to risk it.
When the likes of the Syndicate’s ops were actually under threat from law enforcement, all it took was a whisper from someone privy to a little convenient information and these workshops were cleared out in minutes, without a trace. And as for the likes of the Nyte Kyngs or the Nyctari, well.. the former weren’t all that smart to begin with and the fact that the Syndicate had the leeway to function in daylight gave them an advantage that the bloodsuckers lacked.
No, Nate realised the true strength here were in the defences planted on this spot. Aside from the usual muscle you’d expect around a place like this, he could pick up on something else. After a little mulling over, he decided it was probably a basic protection charm; the kind used to keep out internet spellcasters and runez junkies from phasing inside. Yet, that wasn’t a problem for Gabriel - he was a different issue altogether.
“Alright, you know the drill; run some surveillance for me, would you?”
”Want me to wear a wire whilst I’m at it?” Gabriel asked with that trademark sarcastic tone.
“If you’ve got one that’ll pass through solid matter, sure.” Nate shot back.
”Keep you posted on that.” The late detective tilted his head towards him and flashed two fingers forward.
"R-r-really, it wasn't necessary for to come a-all the way down here, Miss Bloodbloom!" The Goblin stammered, fat droplets of sweat streaming down her slimey green forehead, as awkwardly led Nyxvira Bloodbloom into the Dust Den.
"Tritzy, dearest, its almost like you don't want me here." Nyx said in a manner presented in the most offhanded fashion, as the Faerie queenpin just about managed to repress another face-consuming grin. The Goblin had been selling some of her stock off to the Nyte Kings on the Down low, for a hefty profit. The orgional plan was to have a squad come down here and fill Tritzy full of lead, but when someone had mentioned the scandal in passing Nyx had decided it would be more fun to come down here and watch the goblin squirm.
"N-not at all, Miss Bloodbloom!" Tritzy squeaked "I just wouldn't want to waste your time at this th-thoroughly unremarkable establishment."
"Maybe you should stop doing a thoroughly unremarkable job of running it then?"
"Hahah! Yes! Very funny, Miss Bloodbloom!" she squirmed "C-can I get you something to eat?"
"I'll take a few Krispy Kremes. Just not the ones with the pink crap on them."
The goblin went scampering off in search of a box of doughnuts, leaving Nyxvira to chuckle quietly to herself.
Dressed in a tight red baseball jacket and pin-stripped shorts, Nyxvira shifted her gigantic form over to one of the den's cracked glass windows, absent mindedly gazing out into the lamp-lit street beyond, and straight through the ghost of Gabriel Ward.
"What I'd do for some Krispy Kremes.. ah, what the living take for granted." Gabriel grumbled to himself, stepping around the Fairie Queenpin's mass as opposed to walking through it. That said, the sight of one with a form like her's in such tight and revealing clothing was probably nauseating enough to put him off the aforementioned Krispy Kremes even if he could eat some. It was strange, really - he'd never met the fairie in the flesh, back when he actual had some, yet now even in death there was something about her which left a bad taste in his mouth. It made him all the more glad that he'd left Nate outside.
It took him a couple of moments to figure out where the safe was; hidden behind a rust-speckled radiator where the wallpaper conveniently peeled back to reveal a mechanism that contrasted with the traditionalist stereotype of an ancient combination lock, designed by some obscure goblin society. Nope, it just seemed like this 'Tritzy' preferred to stick with a simple, more modernist digital mechanism.
Normally, Gabriel might have had to crack the safe with the aid of a professional or otherwise cracked open a perp's mind for the untold secrets, yet now he could circumvent this altogether by simply sticking his head through the wall.
"Now, let's see what we've got here.." He muttered to himself, awkwardly rifling through the safe's contents as he let his etheral sixth sense kick in.
The safe was relatively advanced for such a battered looking tin box, but complicated locking mechanisms don't matter much when you could walk right through them.
There was a wad of cash wound up in rubber bands, a slim enveloped labelled "Dwight's videos", and what looked like a rather small memory stick sitting inside the safe.
The contents were all in fairly good condition, and the thin layer of dust which coated them implied that no one had been inside in recent memory.
"Huh, now what've we got here?" Gabriel muttered, leaning closer to get a better view of it all. The memory stick and envelope were definitely of interest to him; and whoever 'Dwight' was, it was definitely a potential lead. Except... there was just one small problem.
The safe.
Now, Gabriel was no expert on safes, but these things weren't exactly special. If he had some power tools or even the low grade explosives that SSPD kept for special occasions like these, he'd have probably been able to crack this open without any hassle.
Except he didn't. Nor did he have the time or even the ability to deal with it by brute force. Instead, he opted to defer to the second opinion of another.
"Found something, you better take a look." Gabriel finally spoke, in address of the living, breathing half of their partnership.
"What? Just tell me." Nate had an idea of what his late psrtner had in mind.
"I really think you should take a look for yourself." Gabriel gabe insisted, a shit-eating grin forming across his face. He knew fully-well what he meant.
"Godammit, you know I hate that. Alright, fine." Nate complained, rubbing a palm across his jawline. After an exasperated sigh, he checked down either side of the street, closed his eyes and concentrated. Within moments, his body went into a trance-like state and...
Now he could see through Nate's eyes - and what he saw was the office, with, of all people, Nyxvira Bloodbloom standing by the window, then the concealed safe.
"I took a look inside and found one or two things that might be of interest. A memory stick and an envelope that says 'Dwight's videos', whoever that is. If we can get this thing open, I could probably toss 'em out the window for you to grab." The question was "How the fuck do we open it to begin with?"
Then, Nate noticed something. "See that?" He asked, gaze focussed on the keypad. Or, to be precise, what he saw on the keypad.
"What?" Gabriel asked, before he too clicked and realised what his partner meant.
Three of the numbers on the safe's keypad had what looked like fingerprints etched into them. Goblin-sized fingerprints, that only someone with a sixth sense could've made out.
"You see it now, right?"
"Yeah. What, you're thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Three-digit combination, probably. Shouldn't take long to figure out."
"Should be able to do that, just give me a minute..." Gabriel nodded, leaning in close towards the keypad. With that, Nate's perspective shifted back to his own body - and he was glad to have it stay that way. He was never a fan of these out-of-body experiences, not least because it left his actual body unable to fend for itself. Never mind that it just felt.. wrong.
"Let's see.." Gabriel began, before applying some concentration of his own and pressing one of the keys inwards. 397... no. 379? No. 739? Definitely not. 793? 793. The last of those four did it, if the faint click of the safe was anything to go by.
Now only one other problem remained: Bloodbloom. Gabriel could hardly toss this stuff out the window to Nate if she was in here, unless he wanted to bring down a whole lot of heat on their asses. So, instead he took a step back and surveyed the office once more, looking for something that could be used to draw the Queenpin away.
She hadn't seemed too pleased with "Tritzy", maybe that was an angle he could work?
"Two chocolate glazed-"
"Tritzy, you're sweating." Nyxvira said with a twisted grin, as the goblin came wandering back into the room, tightly clutching a plate which held the Kirpsy Kremes that were promised.
"Oh, I'm a bit under the weather..." she babbled nervously.
"Bitch, get your germy claws away from my doughnuts!" Nyxie glowered, prompting Tritzy to yelp suddenly, and put the plate down to one side.
"That's better," The Queenpin smiled "we wouldn't want them getting burned."
"B-burned..?" Tritzy went wide-eyed.
Nyxvira extended one fat hand.
"Cael ei yfed"
The very air around the goblin shimmered and crackled, as a myriad of warped green fire hissed and spat through the air. Tritzy had roughly half a second to try and shield her face, as the barrage of Fay magic swept over her, seeping through her flesh like water through a sponge.
She screamed. Loudly.
The flame ripped at her skin and melted her innards, but never threatened to spread beyond her smouldering carcass. After seven seconds of pure, burning agony, the goblin crumbled into the carpet, a pile of ash and charred bones.
"Always a pleasure." Nyxie gave a little curtsy, before scooping up the plate of doughnuts, and heading on her way.
Even Gabriel cringed at the sight of that particular fiasco. "Better remind Nate to never come between a woman and her doughnuts.." He muttered, before turning his sights back towards the safe. It didn't take him long to draw both the memory stick and the envelope out, before carrying both towards the window. On the other side, he could see Nate quietly progressing down the street and towards him, keeping a low profile.
With a little fumbling, the window latch came loose; allowing Gabriel to just about make an opening. "You ready?" He asked, waiting for his living partner's go. "Toss 'em." Nate discreetly looked over either shoulder, then answered back with a whisper that only the two of them would hear.
And like that, Gabriel pushed both the memory stick and the envelope through the gap in the window and once Nate caught both, he too passed through. "Alright, let's get out of here before I end up tethered to a pile of charred bones." Gabriel urged, gaze directed towards the car. The sooner they got back and checked out this stuff, the bettet.
"Huh, thought I could make out something back there." Nate remarked as he headed back towards the car, brow almost arched. He'd noticed Nyxvira's presence in the office, after all and wanted to keep on top of things. That was one of the perks of having a dead man as a partner; not a soul would know anyone was listening in. Of course, it also meant that to many it could look like he was talking to himself; whether that was a good or a bad thing around neighbourhoods filled with dust-breathers was anyone's guess.
"Yeah, nothing you'd have wanted to see, just a first-hand account of Miss Bloodbloom's propensity for barbecuing those who manage to piss her off." Gabriel shuddered at the thought of that. Dying the way he had was a bad enough memory as it was, yet those few seconds that the goblin had spent aflame looked just as fucked up. Then again, whatever way you looked at it - death wasn't pretty.
Nate was just glad to be getting this sordid affair done with."I'll take your word for it." He nodded. With any luck, they might have had a useful lead and something to take back to the
Rounding the corner, they soon found Nate's car and quickly climbed inside. For good measure, the two of them took a couple of extra minutes to check over their shoulders, before setting off. Last thing they wanted to be doing was drawing any unwanted attention back home.
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