While I take too damn long to write up the first IC post (Because I still play too many vidya games), bide your time with some character exercises!
Provide a quote of your character describing their own morality.
Someone is getting mugged/assaulted in an alleyway! What does your character do?
Your character has invited someone to dinner, where will they go?
Quentin: "There's some things that I regret, but if doing the right thing means I need to get my hands dirty, that won't be one of them." Reed: "I've gotta try and do right by people, the right way." Rowan: "I dunno, I don't try to be an asshole, I guess? My old man wanted me to gun for that purity bullshit, but look what happened to him."
If they saw a mugging: Quentin would probably just straight up intervene and there's a good chance whoever the attacker/mugger was would get roughed up in the process.
Reed would probably shout for them to stop and, failing that, intervene. He'd probably be a little more diplomatic about it than Quentin would, though.
Rowan? Well that depends, he's still a kid - he could try and intervene using his powers but he's a fairly scrawny kid. If it was directed at someone he knew/cared about though, he'd definitely throw himself into it.
Where to go for dinner: Quentin would probably order in or head down to a decent bar. So long as it's decent stuff he doesn't mind.
Reed would probably take someone down to a good place of local flavour. After all, he's practically adopted Baybridge as his hometown, right?
Rowan would probably just take someone to Burger King or KFC.
RAVEN/DOVE West Coast Joint Headquarters for the time being, though he'll probably wind up sharing an apartment with his brother.
Appearance
Hair Color:
Black
Eye Color:
Brown
Ethnicity:
African-American
Physical Appearance:
Now his late thirties, Quentin's face has aged a little since his time in Verthaven, yet he's still retained those sharp eyes of his and has kept the short, neatly trimmed beard to match his equally short-cropped hair. From a glance, it's clear he's still in good health and fitness, standing at 5'11 and carrying an imposing figure, which has only been helped since his service RAVEN has improved his health (though it could be argued that the regenerative factor he's picked up has also done him some good).
Attire:
Whilst on-duty, Quentin generally tends towards wearing RAVEN's standard issue battle armor, a black mesh with kevlar along with the tactical load carrying gear. As expected, it's designed to hold up against attack from rogue metahumans alongside being able to withstand a couple of rounds. Alongside this is a helmet, with the opportunity to mount a set of goggles or a gas mask against it - though he's sometimes inclined towards leaving it off if things aren't entirely dire. Off-duty, he'll generally stick to casual clothing - a jacket, shirt and cargo pants or something similar.
He also wears gloves to prevent his power from inadvertently kicking in.
Personality
Innate & Outward Personality:
The events in Verthaven and the years that have passed since then have left Quentin, in many ways, a different man. Nobler in some ways, others less so.
To strangers, he might come across as outwardly calm or collected - keeping a level head in tight situations where others might snap or otherwise lose their cool. It's not entirely an image - Quentin has learned from the years with RAVEN to keep it steady under pressure, yet those who know him well enough or even spend some time around him get to realise there's more than that to him.
Service with RAVEN has given him a certain commanding tone in his voice, or at least a sense of authority when the situation calls for it. Sarcasm and snappy remarks are still a coping mechanism for him, a means of defusing or otherwise mitigating shitty situations and likewise he'll crack a joke with people if it's appropriate, but he also knows when to buckle down, shut up and go about getting things done - which others might mistake for him being cool when in fact he just knows from experience that people who crack jokes at the wrong time don't tend to last.
Knowing that he was partially responsible for the horrific experiments perpetrated by the Hands of Science in Verthaven have left him with a degree of guilt that he's been unable to shake off and left him with an overall disgust towards those who experiment on or otherwise abuse Metahumans or their powers and in turn, given him a lot of motivation when conducting ops against them for RAVEN.
And likewise he's loyal to those he considers friends or family, especially those who've done the same for him and is more than willing to throw himself into the breach if it means backing them up. Earning this trust can be a little difficult at first, but once it's earned it's generally there to stay. In fact, it's a point of regret and frustration that he wasn't able to prevent the deaths of Sonya Mayfield and his uncle and it shows in his overall disdain for the matter when the topic is brought up.
This in turn means that his overall hatred for the Hands of Science and anything associated with them has remained a solid facet of his personality over the years. It's given him something to vent his frustrations on - and not in the healthiest way, either - where others have toned things down. Whilst it's helped keep him going, it's also something which has threatened to consume him at times - and it's not as if this point hasn't been brought up with him before. Being stubborn doesn't help.
His temper is usually cool and likewise, it can take a lot to cause him to blow up in anger - Quentin's fury is typically a patient, collected form and when it's anything but that, it's a point that something has really pissed him off.
He also still holds a disdain for narcotics and alcohol abuse, courtesy of his childhood years, but has a degree of sympathy for those affected by it.
Hobbies/Interests:
In the years since Verthaven, Quentin's picked up more of a fondness for firearms and has since taken up sports shooting as a hobby. When he's not busy he'll sometimes sit down and watch TV, maybe kill some time with video games, but otherwise he's more interested in heading out for a ride.
Skills/Talents:
Quentin’s experiences on the streets have left him with a degree of wisdom, wit and pragmatism that once well to assist him in his self-made ‘business’. On the same streets and during his time working with the unsavoury elements of Verthaven, he picked up a degree experience in the use of small arms that he'd continue develop after joining NEST and RAVEN.
Goals/Motivation
Ensuring that anyone with the same kind of mindset as the Hands of Science of the Changelings is put down, Quentin's personal vendetta has never entirely settled down. Unlike others, he's found himself unable to let go and finds motivation in preventing what happened in Verthaven from reoccurring.
History/Bio:
Born in the early ‘80s on Eagle-Rock Row, Quentin and his little brother Reed were yet another story of kids born into crime and poverty to a single parent, surrounded by drugs, violence and the social tensions of the time. From early childhood, their mother quickly relied on a string of deadbeat boyfriends, minimum wage jobs and alcohol to pull the three of them through life and it took its toll on her from an early stage, often forcing her elder brother to step in to assist. By the time he was ten years old, Quentin found himself involved with the local gangs and wound up working on street corners as another peddler for some smalltime dealer in hopes of earning a little cash for his family. It was through this, incidentally, that he wound up discovering his powers - what would’ve normally be an exchange of packages with a metahuman enforcer for the gang led to him unintentionally removing the man’s ability to generate and manipulate fire and setting alight the money moments later. As it happens, it was through this that he found himself another source of income for the family; exchanging and selling powers and getting a cut from the gang for his involvement.
For a while, things seemed to go well, all things considered. The cut he earned from the gang, whilst nowhere near the amount kicked up to his bosses, allowed him to pay off the family bills yet there was no mistake that he may as well have been their property and not the other way around. A few times he found himself at risk as a result of the people he worked for and by his teenage years he’d learned how to use a gun. In fact, if tragedy hadn’t struck Quentin’s life sooner then circumstances might not have turned out as well.
One day returning home, Quentin found his mother passed out on the couch with yet another empty bottle of liquor nearby. Attempts to rouse her with words failed, so instead he left her alone, only to find her in the same state when he woke up in the same morning, albeit this time she’d turned pale and felt cold to the touch. The coroner’s report indicated that she’d died of alcohol poisoning, something of little surprise given the fact she’d been unable to kick the habit for a long time.
Lacking any other family, Quentin and his little brother wound up living in the care of their Uncle Cassius, a detective in the Verthaven Police Department and a good man who’d often done as best as he could to keep his sister on track. Under his uncle’s care, Quentin was able to cut off ties to his old gang (who, by this point had become increasingly demanding) with the aid of this uncle’s connections to the VPD and opted to push on through school so he didn’t end up like his mother. That said, the experience had taught him a couple things.
While his brother opted to one day become a cop like their uncle, Quentin had something else in mind. Perhaps it was the idea of avoiding the same poverty that had cost him his childhood, or perhaps it was the concept of having control over his life for once. Whatever the case, he wound up going on his own path in life - becoming involved with quite a few rather unsavoury characters. Whilst by no means a hustler or a gangbanger, he spent a couple of years working 'security' for a few characters in Verthaven's criminal underworld, running the front door at nightclubs and other businesses. Eventually, it grew into something else - actually working in the security sector, and then Quentin soon realised that there was a demand for someone willing to trade and sell powers, creating metahumans for big money.
With time, Quentin built up his little side-business via the aid of a contact from his early security days and before long, had a nice sum of cash saved away. Soon, he was able to afford life in relative comfort, moving into a decent condo over in the upper-class Knightdale Rows district, with enough income to keep himself afloat. Relations with his family, however, were another story - particularly between him and his younger brother, Reed.
Topping it off, he eventually wound up falling afoul of the Hands of Science, who kidnapped him and forced him to participate in their experiments using his family as leverage. The experience deeply affected him, leaving him traumatised and scarred by his inability to forget what he'd been forced to do for the Hands - and it was only with the assistance of one Meifeng Zhao and NEST that he finally escaped during a raid on the lab.
Of course, this exposed him as a metahuman - though Quentin was able to keep his criminal past concealed. Given the choice by Lihua Zhao of either joining up with NEST or facing a far less desirable alternative, Quentin took the former option - joining their ranks as an agent. Initially the prospect of becoming one of 'those' types was daunting, yet as time passed Quentin slowly warmed to the role and grew to regret his past, gaining a genuine interest in doing some good with NEST beyond enacting vengeance against the Hands of Science. Before long, he wound up reconciling with his brother and warming back up to his uncle, yet events transpired against them.
For one, the Changeling Unit came to town, led by the likes of Luis and Heartbreaker, the latter of which Quentin already despised as a result of her involvement in kidnapping him. Like the Hands of Science, Quentin fought them with a certain fury that was only rivalled by Lihua - who had her own personal reasons for hating them. And then, came an even greater foe.
The Devil of Verthaven was a metahuman greater than anything that NEST had ever faced, matched only by the resources of the Hands of Science and the ferocity of the Changeling Unit. She was a godlike metahuman, one that devastated the city in her wake and it was only through the combined might of NEST (along with several other unsavoury alliances) that she was finally brought down, at great cost. Quentin's family was not left unscathed, as his brother was injured (though later volunteering in the fight against her) and, in the confusion following her defeat, his Uncle Cass (along with a good friend) were killed by one of the Changelings in the confusion.
In the battle that followed, Quentin finally avenged their deaths, attacking Luis head-on (stealing his ability in the process) and killing the one responsible, Heartbreaker - yet it marked the start of a new chapter in his life as the experience permanently hardened him. With Verthaven considered a ruin and NEST facing its end, Quentin set aside the thousands he'd accumulated through his past selfishness and passed the money onto the comrades who'd fought alongside him, ensured that his brother would find a place in the successor to NEST by offering him Luis' abilities (safeguarding them at the same time) and buried their uncle. The future was uncertain, but he stepped into it nontheless.
It was in the aftermath of the Verthaven Disaster that Quentin assisted in founding one of the successor organisations to NEST, known as RAVEN - named aptly after the Task Force that he'd once fought alongside. With the Hands of Science still out there, scattered in pockets, Quentin volunteered himself for participating against them, holding them responsible for the actions of the Changelings and the Devil of Verthaven. Unlike his brother, who had since joined DOVE (having been recommended), Quentin sought some form of retribution against them as he found himself unable to forget the experiments he'd been forced to assist in as well as the deaths of those he cared about.
Within the space of two years, a friend and the daughter of a former colleague, Meifeng Zhao had finished her training and was now a member of RAVEN, capable of standing by herself as a force to be reckoned with. Their shared experience in Verthaven allowed the two to maintain a close bond and unlike the others in RAVEN, Quentin said nothing to discourage Meifeng's relentless attitude towards the Hands, if anything sharing the same sentiments towards them as she did. It took time, but eventually this relentless attitude seemed to pay off - the Hands were all but broken and dissappeared from the face of the Earth. Yet this was not the end of things for them - other threats were out there, like the Pure, the Allegiance or other rogue metahumans.
In short, wherever RAVEN needed him, Quentin went. And eventually he was sent to Prague.
Another rogue metahuman had emerged from the woodwork in the capital of the Czech Republic, one known as the Beast who, like the Devil, was set on mass destruction and had burned down whole districts whenever they'd shown up. Lacking in the resources and manpower to handle such a foe, the Czechs called in support from RAVEN, MISW and KMD to assist - Quentin was among the agents deployed against them.
It was a bloodbath, to say the least - despite careful planning and the best resources that the combined might of the three agencies had brought in, the Beast was a foe that refused to go down easily. Quentin himself went toe to toe and was nearly engulfed by flame half a dozen times, suffering severe burns in the process, but in the end the Beast was put down at the cost of injuring both himself and several of his colleagues.
Fortunately, Quentin survived, bloodied and bruised. He spent a little time on leave whilst he made a recovery, but soon returned to RAVEN - where he found himself being transferred to Baybridge on official business. With tensions rising, he soon found himself straight to work again.
With supremacist groups on either side, he had his work cut out for him - yet things would only culminate with the riots, the overload incidents and worse events. With the Founding Family exposed, and the last of the Changelings captured - it was clear there would be more to do.
Relationships
Family:
Helena Taylor (Deceased) - Mother
Still teenager when she gave birth to her firstborn, Helena Taylor was a sad tale to speak of. Years of poverty and deadbeat boyfriends (one of which fathered another child with her) led to the alcoholism which would go on to kill her, leaving behind two sons. Despite this, Quentin at least regards her fondly and seldom talks about her because of this.
Reed Taylor - Half-brother
An ex-cop, now working for DOVE, Quentin had a hand in helping to raise Reed during their mother's later years. As the two grew up, however, they grew somewhat distant and it wasn't until the events leading up to the disaster in Verthaven that they finally reconciled.
Cassius Taylor (Deceased) - Maternal Uncle
A father figure to his nephews, Cass was a detective with the VPD who wound up taking in both of his sister's sons when she died and raising them like his own. Of the two, Reed followed in his uncle's footsteps whilst Quentin went on his own troubled path in life. Nonetheless, he still cared deeply for his uncle and during the events of the disaster in Verthaven the two grew close once more. Sadly, Cass was murdered in the final hours of the disaster by Heartbreaker. Whilst Quentin avenged his death, it left him permanently hardened in his personal vendetta against the likes of the Hands of Science.
Dynamics:
| Reed Taylor |
| Good | Half-brother | "My brother's a good man, better man than me." |
Quentin's younger brother and an ex-cop turned DOVE Agent, the two were once distant whilst living in Verthaven but the events and the tragedy that unfolded led to them growing closer once more, culminating in him entrusting his brother with the ability of a powerful metahuman to ensure it was in safe hands, as well as safeguarding him. Having reunited in Baybridge, the two are close as ever - working back to back against forces conspiring against them.
| Lihua Zhao |
| Respected | Former Colleague | "I'm glad things worked out for her, she earned a shot at retirement." |
Under different circumstances, Lihua's first meeting with Quentin might've seen her arresting him. Instead she offered him a job, the alternative better left unsaid, but soon enough Quentin gained a respect for the woman who was NEST's top agent at the time, developing a good working relationship which blossomed throughout the Verthaven Disaster and continued on after her retirement.
| Meifeng Zhao |
| Respected | Close Friend/Protégé | "Shit, we've been through so much of the same shit that she's probably one of the few that understands me." |
Meifeng and Quentin met in the Hands of Science lab way back in Verthaven, where he'd been held captive and forced to assist in their experiments. The two helped each other as Meifeng broke Quentin out of the lab and Quentin helped Meifeng fight her way out of it, which built up a mutually deep level of respect and admiration for one another. After she joined RAVEN, Quentin did what he could to act as a mentor for her and came to see her as a protégé. As of now, Meifeng is one of the few people that Quentin trusts enough to know of his past.
| Jennifer Caspin |
| Respected | Familiar face | "We all thought her dead, but... here she is." |
Jennifer was a face thought long gone, since Verthaven. Seeing her again has provoked a muted response from Quent, who perhaps sees a ghost. Nontheless, she's still owed the same respect and loyalty that Quentin offers the other Verthaven survivors and in kind, he feels the same sympathy for her losses due to the Changelings as he did.
| Cindy Keegan|
| Respected | DOVE Agent/Associate | "She's come a long way, no wonder Reed's always talking good about her." |
Yet another old face from Verthaven, Quentin found himself reunited with Cindy after a transfer to Baybridge and is impressed with the agent she's become.
| Shizuka Takashiro |
| Respected | Colleague | "Kid's come a long way, I never forgot what he did for me." |
Despite never having spoken much with him back in Verthaven, Quentin developed a certain respect for Shizuka during the Verthaven disaster when he drove a knife into the back of Luis' head and pulled him to safety. Reunited in Baybridge, he's come to respect the kid he once knew for having come so far.
| Haruka Takashiro |
| Good | Associate | "It's been a hell of a long time, but I wonder how he's doing." |
There was hardly any interaction between Haruka and Quentin back in Verthaven but, again, the shared experience left him on good terms with the quiter half of the Takashiro Twins. Reunited, he's glad to have a familiar face around.
| Maxine Diaz |
| Good | Colleague | "Seems to fit in well enough, but we haven't talked much." |
Whilst they haven't spoken much, Maxine has proven herself a competent enough RAVEN to earn a degree of respect from Quentin, and one could say they have a decent working relationship.
Abilities
Power Class:
Power: Charger & Replicator
Power:Essence
Power Transfer
Quentin is capable of transferring powers between other metahumans and himself, and vice versa, allowing use of said powers for his own intentions or keeping them in ‘storage’, so to speak. In effect, he’s a literal walking bank of powers. Quentin's power transfer ability stems from a subconscious ability to manipulate the Metahuman energy. He can absorb a bit of the Metahuman energy within himself (In other words, their power), then transfer the energy to a different person. Potentially empowering humans who would otherwise never would have manisfested a power.
Limits:
First and foremost, Quentin can only transfer powers through direct physical contact with others. It's possible for him to permanently strip someone of their powers, though the process is somewhat more taxing and requires either a severely weakened or otherwise willing subject.
Secondly, Quentin’s skill in utilising powers obtained from other metahumans can vary. Relatively simple actions such as channeling an electrical current come rather easily, whereas more complex actions such as healing a fatally wounded patient are rather difficult to perform and can often require a great deal of practice. In addition to this, extensive use of such powers can be quite taxing on a physical and mental level - particularly if he lacks skill in the use of a particular power. And, unlike one who directly holds the ability, he'll never be fully skilled in its use without years of experience.
Thirdly, he can only store and utilise a limited amount of abilities at any time - no more than say, five or six at once and that'd be pushing it.
Weaknesses/Drawbacks:
Incidentally, Quentin's ability to utilise stored abilities can be affected by just how fatigued he is. Like anyone, if he overburdens himself he'll be at risk of passing out or, at worst, losing consciousness.
Other:
Abilities currently held by Quentin
Regenerative System - One of the oldest powers that Quentin's held, it was drawn from the Nemesis during his escape from the Hands of Science's lab in Verthaven. Whilst it doesn't render him immortal, it does allow him to recover from injuries that would kill or otherwise permanently incapacitate other men. As a plus, it's also slowed down his aging a little - though not to the extent of others.
Superhuman Strength - Again, a power that Quentin's held for quite a while, it was also stolen from the Nemesis. Whilst it's given Quentin a heightened level of durability and strength, that doesn't mean he can lift cars or punch through plate steel like butter.
If you want to create a character with that kind of mindset that's possible but bear in mind the world won't sit quietly by. Might be a problem for you.
As they were running, trying to follow after Shizuka (who could easily ghost though anything in his way while the rest either had to blast the obstacles out of the way or were forced to go around them), they were also being followed by another group of people. Missy and Megan were hot on pursuit.
It was hard to notice given all the destruction.
Passing through the debris and the tangled web of vines, Shizuka saw a human figure snared in one such trap, their predicament worsened only by the chassis of a car which held them in place.
As he drew closer, it became clear they were alive. His eyes widened when he recognized who this person was.
"Reed?!" He phased the figure out of the trap. "Hey, old man!" He turned to look around - he was still ahead of the rest of the group.
"Grh... Haru?" he mouthed for a moment, before realising. Wrong twin.
"Shizu," the younger Takashiro corrected him automatically. More importantly, they had to keep moving, if they didn't want to be lost in this growing forest of doom (which seemed to continue expanding at an alarming rate). He quickly pulled Reed to his feet. "I hope you can still walk - we have to keep going."
"Yeah, I'll... keep up," Reed nodded, clenching his teeth as the pain started to bite once more. Blood was smeared across his jacket, a clear gash in his side from where the glass had torn into his side. Knowing it would slow him down, he pressed two fingers against his side and watched as he drew it back inside, clotting the wound.
When the rest of the group had finally caught up, Haruka gasped at Reed's state. "Wha---?"
"No time to explain. Just keep moving!" Shizuka urged, with Reed in agreement on that one.
However, it wasn't long until the group ran up to an intersection, and there was a collapsed building in the way. They were going to have Shizuka phase all of them through the obstacle.
"W-wait!" Missy called, and made the group stop.
Well, here comes the moment of truth. Missy said as she ran up to them. Yeah... there was no mistake. She had found the people she was looking for.
"Hm?" Lihua said, raising an eyebrow. "What is it? We have to get out of here." Though, taking a look at the girl... Lihua couldn't help but notice that she looked familiar. To whom was the question.
The twins exchanged looks. Just when they thought their mysterious hoodie girl wouldn't show herself before them this soon, but no - here she was, and it seemed like she had been following them the whole time.
"Oh, hey!" Megan cheerfully said, and waved at them. "My friend here has something to say!" She put both of her hands out, as if she was introducing Missy.
Missy pulled her collar, nervous. This was much harder than she once thought.
"...I wanted to say that I'm sorry for almost killing you," Missy said to Haruka, wussing out of it at the very last second.
Shizuka narrowed his eyes at Missy, but Haruka raised a hand before his brother to stop him. The elder twin nodded at her in response but remained silent - he had known back then that she didn't mean to actually kill him (she had stopped herself in time the moment she recognized him), and he already forgave her in his heart. He waited for Missy to continue - he had a feeling that she didn't call out to them just to say an apology.
He was waiting for her to confirm the suspicion he had towards her. An old ghost that everyone had thought was long gone.
Megan rolled her eyes up into her head.
"Oh my God, Missy," Megan put a hand on her hip. "You can't back out now, since you already got them interested!"
"Alright, well..."
However, before Missy could reveal herself, a large block of ice hit the ground near them. The size of a small building.
"What the hell?!" Missy said, as she jumped, and faced the block of ice. She stared at it curiously, almost ready to deploy a bone spear.
When the block of ice took a brand new form - it turned into a huge humanoid colossus. With a thin body, and huge, bulky limbs. Its head was a glowing blue orb.
"Oh dear..." Lihua said, she would get ready, but she was still spent from the time she saved the group.
Haruka had noticed the injury on Lihua's arms, from the time when she held up the restaurant ceiling with her power to save them. He shook his head at her. "You don't have to keep pushing yourself too hard - we will watch your back while you can look after Lijuan." He gave the young girl a small smile. "She still needs you."
A smile appeared on Lihua's lips. She wished that she could help, but it's time for an old time like her to retire and let the young ones handle this. Holding tightly onto Lijuan's hand, Lihua said, "Let's go." Before she ran off.
Meanwhile, Shizuka swore at the ice golem, "God. Damn. It." He was getting really annoyed that his plan to spend some good time with his twin was turned upside down with yet another dumb terrorism act - by turning the downtown into a bloody rainforest.
"I do not like fucktards who interrupt us in the middle of a very important conversation."
With Lihua and her daughter now gone, Haruka went over to Lihn's side. She looked like she was in some silent pain. "...Are you alright?"
Lihn had only been half paying attention to what was going on around her, mostly concentrating on trying to keep the emotions of those around her stable while blocking out the others. It was taking a toll, however, and her head was starting to hurt. "Huh," she blinked as she looked at Haruka, just noticing he had moved over. "Not really. I'm probably going to get a migraine soon."
Seeing that the golem had its attention on the two mysterious girls who had followed them here, Shizuka decided to leave it to them, and bail out with Reed and Lihn instead. "Sorry, but we'll have to leave that iceman to you!"
He still had Reed in one hand; he gestured his other hand to Haruka to grab his shoulder before he held it out to Lihn. "C'mon. And you better take in a deep breath and hold it."
"Okay," was all Lihn said in response, taking Shizuka's hand and preparing to do as he said. They didn't have time for her to ask why - her mind was beginning to become too fuzzy to process it anyway.
Without wasting another breath, Shizuka dragged the three straight towards the fallen building and they disappeared into the wreck, before they finally reappeared on the other side.
Haruka immediately stepped away from his twin, breathless. He could never get used to Shizuka's power, no matter how many times he had experienced it. It was a mystery how Shizuka could be perfectly unfazed with such an uncomfortable power. He stared at the fallen building - in the direction where Missy was left behind. So close, yet so far...
Shizuka was barely even panting, unlike his brother. "Let's go," he said blankly, then he simply continued on the way to get out of the expanding vegetation, with Reed in tow.
The other two nodded and ran after the silver-haired agent.
The Mannequin was desperately trying to devise a way to attract even more attention to this one spot.
The more RAVENS that are out of the base the better, if the Mannequin's plan is going to be a success. Which is why the Mannequin hadn't killed Old Man Winter yet. If Eco-Natura is seen attacking civilians, the plan would go better. Though, the Mannequin was developing an idea.
He was staring down his scope, and spotted an interesting group of people.
It was Lihua Zhao... he couldn't forget that face, especially since he was stalking her. Nemesis of the Changeling Unit during their time in Verthaven, and the rest would have to be members of the RAVEN organization. He kept tabs on them, and knew what would work and what wouldn't.
The Mannequin had the most devilish idea.
The Mannequin contacted Bison through the comms.
"Bison," the machine spoke into his ear.
"Well, look who it is, it's the Mannequin - called to ask how I'm doing?" Bison asked with a smile.
"I need you to convince Winter to order his forces to attack people, turn this situation into a massacre."
If it didn't work, the Mannequin had a plan of his own.
Bison walked up to Old Man Winter with a grin on his face.
"Y'know, the best idea just occured to me!" Bison shouted with a grin. "We should let these fools know we mean business! And by that I mean, we should send a message, I say that we start tearing them up, just so they know Eco-Natura isn't something they should be messing with."
"It is already in my plans..." Old Man Winter said. "We need to defend our progress, after all. We can't let fools just come in, and ruin everything we've done."
With a snap of his fingers, Old Man Winter managed to touch his earpiece. "Brothers and sisters, it's time for the next phase of our glorious reclaimation... lay waste to everything they built! Destroy it all! Show no mercy!"
It wasn't long before the member of Eco-Natura sprung from hiding, and decided to escalate a poor situation to an all out riot. Members of Eco-Natura filled the streets with violence and mayhem, as they destroyed every building in sight, and beat up whoever was unfortunate enough to get in their way.
"Good, good, good!" Bison slammed his fists together. "I'm gonna get down there!"
Bison leaned in, and tapped Winter on the shoulder.
"Oh yeah, before I go," Bison pointed at Lihua's group. "They're with RAVEN... if you get them out of the picture, maybe your plan would go a little smoother."
"Hmph," Old Man Winter said, "I'll take care of them myself!"
It wasn't long before he put his hand straight out, and a beam of ice came out of the palm of his hand. He created a path of ice, and skated his way right down it. Second he was on street level, he raised that same hand up into the air, and a stream of ice came out of it. It eventually formed a large block of ice, that he then launched at them. If they weren't killed in the initial attack, they would be taken out by the golem being created.
"Hehehehehe!" Bison said, "Your plan is, well, goin' as planned. But we better split," Bison started off, "Liz probably set up the bomb on the bridge by now, and we know we're all on a really tight schedule."
"Agreed," the Mannequin said, before he faced Jiang.
Who was staring at the group through his binocolar. One person in particular caught his attention. "... Qiaolian?" He asked himself. "She's here of all places?!" He said in disbelief, that turned into anger.
"We have to move-" The Mannequin tried to say.
"No thank you," Jiang said. "I have unfinished business to take care of!"
Jiang turned into his purple acid form, and quickly melted his way through the building as he moved towards Lihua's group.
A spear of white bone erupted from Missy's wrist, as she stared up at the golem. She has no idea what the hell it is, where it came from, or why it's attacking them - but she does know that letting it do as it pleases would not be beneficial for her new "friends." She couldn't do much to ice, but she was going to try.
"...Heeeeeey, Rush," Megan spoke on the phone. "Mind coming to Chinatown? Oh, it's in Courtbridge. Bring Ray and the Nemesis, please."
The Golem took a step forward.
"Like, right now." Megan said, worried. "Oh, you're already in the area? Well, look for the big thing!"
It raised its foot into the air over Missy, but she was quick to dive out of the way. When its foot hit the ground, it caused such a shockwave that it would knock anyone not fully braced over.
Missy herself was wondering how she was going to pierce through ice. It had to have a weakness. However, Megan wasn't intent on standing by. She hopped on the golem's shoulder, and laughed.
"Hello," Megan said, as she quickly transformed her hand into a long drill. She quickly jammed it into the golem's shoulder, and used her ability to drill into the golem. The cyro elemental started thrashing and that knocked Megan off it.
"Whoops!" Megan said as her hand turned into a liquid and grabbed onto a nearby street lamp. They would need some solid heavy hitters to take this thing out. Though, the sound of the car speeding up made Megan smile. She looked at it, and it was the exact vehicle used by her group.
Except, Ray and the Nemesis were on the roof of the vehicle.
"Alright, we're rolling up!" Ray said, as he knelt down, and put his hands together, palms up, as if he was hoisting the Nemesis somewhere. However, two giant copies of his hand appeared, and the Nemesis stepped on them.
The second they got in range, Ray threw his hands up, and tossed the Nemesis through the air. The Brute cocked his fist back, and threw a mighty punch at the Golem, which scattered the left side of it's body into tiny pieces. While Ray came flying up into the air, and stomped in mid air, which was enough to smash the golem even more, sending it stumbling backwards.
Both the Nemesis and Ray landed on the ground, as Rush sweerved in using his vehicle.
"Yay! Good show everyone!" Megan said, clapping her hands together.
However, the Golem wasn't done yet.
It got back up on it's feet, before it started charging at the group. Ray, who had his hands in his pockets, rolled his eyes up into his head. "God, would it kill you to just stay down?" He asked, annoyed. He threw a kick forward, and knocked the golem over. It landed right before their feet.
The Nemesis was the one who dealt the finishing blow, as he took a step forward, put both of his hands together, and brought it down on the golem as a axe handle blow. The Golem shattered into pieces.
"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Megan said. "Now you all know why I hired the whole lot of you!"
"Hmph," Ray crossed his arms. "What we can do... we do it good." He said.
"Now, let's find Missy's fri-" Megan looked around, and noticed that they were all gone. "Well, bloody hell."
"Okay, I don't know what you two are up to," Ray shrugged, "But, I'm not gonna ask at this point."
"We have. Reached the point. Where we no longer question." Rush blankly stated. "Only inquiry is. Who's behind this?"
Megan looked around.
"I'm not sure if our friend the Mannequin has anything to do with it..." Megan trailed off as she thought about it. "...But, I wouldn't cross that off just yet."
"Well, what are our orders?" Ray asked.
Megan looked between Missy, and then Ray.
"Let's investigate, and see if the Mannequin, or the Hands, have something to do with this," Megan said. "Missy... your orders is to find your friends!"
"Me?" Missy said. "No, I'm-"
"I need you at your best, little girl!" Megan cheerfully said. "You have to rid yourself of all these undisclosed desires!"
Nodding her head, Missy turned off and ran towards where Lihua went.
"I have something," Rush said. "Last encounter. Scanned Mannequin's system. Know him. From head to toe."
"Oooooooooh!" Megan said. "Attaboy!"
"Not all," Rush started off. "I am able to tune. Into his frequencies. Know his signals."
"And?" Rush said, as the Nemesis walked up to Rush.
"He is in the area. Communicating. With a distant ally. Can triangulate," Rush explained. "However. One message. Caught my attention."
Rush raised his hand up into the air, tapping a few buttons on his wrist mounted device as he played back what he already recorded.
"Hey, Freako! When are we going to do our thing at their headquarters? RAVEN must be swarming the scene!"
They didn't know who it was, but what he was saying was... quite concerning.
"...We need a bigger distraction." The Mannequin said.
Megan looked quite interested. "...When did you get this?"
"We were tracking the Mannequin while you were on your girl-date," Ray said. "That's why we were in the area." He crossed his arms.
"Not all." Rush stated, he played another recording.
"Hehehehehe! Your plan is, well, goin' as planned. But we better split, Liz probably set up the bomb on the bridge by now, and we know we're all on a really tight schedule."
"Agreed."
The Mannequin and his mystery conspirator said.
"Oh dear... they're after something in RAVEN headquarters." Megan put her finger on her chin. "We should warn them!"
"It's the best idea we got, if they take out the Mannequin, we don't have to," Ray said. "Though..."
"What is it?" Megan asked.
"Nothing, let's get a move on." Ray said, gesturing towards the car.
Lihua Zhao, and...
Courtbridge, Prince Ed-Field
The only thing on Lihua's mind was getting the hell out of here.
No matter the cost. Which is why she was running fast as she could towards Shizuka's car. She didn't know what the others were up to, but she was hoping that they were okay. She didn't get the idea that the golem was after her - for all she knew, it could be after that mysterious stranger. It wasn't her problem - as crass as that sounded. She kept running, and running, despite fatigue catching up to her. Looks like adrenline doesn't give her the energy it should.
While they were running, a splash of a purple liquid seemingly fell out of the sky in front of them. It sizzled as it dissolved the pavement, and plantlife in it's way. The two came to a stop, as Lihua raised an eyebrow. She quickly looked up to see where it could have came from, but she couldn't find a source...
"My, my, my..." A voice came from the purple liquid as it quickly took a form. A humanoid shape of an average heighted man... Lihua didn't know who it was, but she was on guard. She put Lijuan behind her, while taking steps back.
Until it formed the complete form of Jiang Song. He stared at Lihua.
"I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw you, but now it's confirmed..." Jiang said with a sinster grin on his face. "...Qiaolian."
That name made Lihua's heart race. After getting a good look at the man, she knew exactly who he was.
"...Jiang." Lihua hissed.
"It's been so long, Qiaolian, how have you been?" Jiang asked, with a cocky smile on his face. "I bet you've been living the American dream... I see how a traitor like yourself would not only betray her country, but her own heritage on a whim."
Lihua grit her teeth. "One; I am not Qiaolian - at least, not anymore." She hissed. "Two, I did not betray anyone... I did what was truly necessary to protect what's mine."
Lihua's mind flashed back to that one night. The night she massacred the Hei Long with Bohai... It was not pretty.
"Truthfully... I stand with no nation," Lihua was quick to say. "I am my own woman, Jiang. Always have, always will be."
"Ah, that validates so much." Jiang said with a smile on his lips.
"Mommy, who's-" Lijuan said, before Lihua loudly shushed her.
""Mommy?"" Jiang said, amused. "Let me guess, you mothered another bastard. Let me see her."
"In hell, you bastard." Lihua said as she was intent on keeping Lijuan safe. She reached into her purse, and opened up the secret compartment. She was going to end this in a second, and blow Jiang's head off.
"Nonsense!" Jiang said as he flicked both hands together, and generated acid, and shot flecks of it at Lihua. She slammed her foot onto the ground, and the pavement rose up into the air, and took the acidic substance instead. However, the rocks were melted with ease.
"It's been sixteen years, Qiaolian," Jiang said as he got into a pose - his hand straight, but his arm bent by the elbow, standing straight up - facing her as acid began to drip down his arm. Melting his clothes. "Sixteen years since you betrayed the Hei Long, and went on a rampage... sixteen years I've been looking somewhere for revenge. When I couldn't find you, I turned my eye against the government for turning you into a soldier... Because, sixteen years ago..."
The acid pooled at Jiang's feet.
"...You killed my precious siblings in your little rampage - along with my first son."
The final words Jiang said haunted Lihua. She didn't give much thought to the people she killed... but, now she realized that she created this monster.
Which was why it's her business to slay it.
She was exhausted, but she was going to give this her all. Lihua slammed her foot on the ground, and lifted up more chunks of stone out of the ground. She followed that up with a punch that sent them all flying straight for Jiang. However, the man merely turned into acid, and they passed through him - melting to slag by his acid.
It was time for Jiang's counterattack as he hopped up into the air as a giant orb that went over the concrete. He tried to land right on Lihua, but as Lijuan screamed, she dove out of the way. However, the woman found it hard to get back up. She pushed herself up with her arms. By this time, Lijuan had gotten up, and tried pulling Lihua to safety. A noble gesture.
But, Lihua had to get up herself. She saw that Jiang was approaching her from behind, firing a jet of acid at her. She managed to launch herself off the pavement they were on. However, there were some heavy wounds being dealt to her body. She was already bleeding. There were already cracks on her face that were oozing blood. Not to mention the fact that manipulating concrete was already straining enough.
"Not fast enough!" Jiang loudly shouted as he shot a ball of acid at Lihua. She wasn't in the position to properly defend, and the orb splashed against her shoulder. She let out a hoarse yell as the pavement she was riding on hit the ground as she ran out of focus. Lihua screamed as the acid caused her horrible burns.
All while Jiang was getting closer.
The rest of the group had finally managed to catch up with Lihua, but they weren't expecting to see the woman writhering on the ground covered in blood and burns, screaming in agony.
"Zhao?" As he bore witness to the matriarch being approached by her assailant, Reed's eyes darted towards Lijuan, cowering behind her mother - and something drove him to reach for his sidearm. "Back away, now!" He growled, in a tone with such a threat in it that he sounded just like his elder brother, if only for a moment.
Shizuka immediately went for Lijuan and pulled her away - the last thing anyone (especially Lihua) wanted to see was the little girl getting hurt by the acid just like her own mother. Lihn followed Shizuka, to make sure the Lijuan was okay - and to help prevent her from having any kind of breakdown. Haruka threw out some wind blades towards the approaching Jiang to reiterate Reed's point.
Jiang looked very annoyed when the blades of wind hit him. He instinctively turned into acid, and the attacks launched against him merely reduced him to a puddle of acid. It quickly dissolved the ground, before Jiang quickly took a human shape, but not returning to his vulnerable human form. So, he was walking towards Lihua like a blob.
"This has nothing to do with the likes of you," Jiang said, his voice was warbled. "This is between me, and Qiaolian." He addressed the group.
Then, whilst still moving forward, he swatted some of his acid towards Reed, who recoiled and cursed as it made contact, throwing off his coat in haste as the corrosive substance slowly burned and ate its way through the material. Close, he'd thought for a moment, before his focus snapped back towards the stranger facing Lihua. Lijuan, where's... and then he saw the girl, with Shizuka pulling her aside.
Grasping for his sidearm yet again, he called to them, "Shizu, get the kid out of here!"
Shizuka had made sure he kept the little girl close to his side - it did help that she was obedient and quiet. He didn't need to be told twice by Reed; with Lijuan still safe by his side, he nodded to Lihn. "You heard the old man - let's move!"
He knew he could leave Lihua to Reed; besides, that proud woman probably wouldn't want a kid like him to save her old ass again.
"I will watch your backs," Haruka said, bringing up the rear as the four ran away from the battle they had no business with.
It took another moment for Reed to level his sidearm with Jiang once more, but this time he didn't hesitate in pulling the trigger.
The bullet merely went through his acidic form. Jiang didn't even flinch as the bullet just hit the wall behind them. Though, it was mostly dissolved by then. I'll just have to burn a hole through you, then. He thought to himself as his arm stretched, and went flying towards Reed's chest all while it was dripping dangerous acid.
Oh, man. Reed had barely a moment to react to Jiang's attack, but the short distance he'd moved left the blow off-target. Not again! Instead, it scraped past his arm. His left arm. "F-fuck-aargh!" was about all he had time to curse as the corrosive substance seeped into his skin, eating away as if it were flame. The pain was even worse than when the Devil's creature had bit him all those years ago.
But he was still in one piece and still on his feet, if only just.
Jiang wondered what this man was thinking. Heroism... Well, heroes don't last that long. He peeked over Reed, and gritted his teeth. Lihua got away! Damn it.
While Reed was keeping Jiang occupied, Lihua was making her escape. Her left shoulder was horribly burned by the acid. Parts of her clothes were dissolved, and what was left was hanging off her like scraps. She couldn't crawl on all fours, for that reason. She gritted her teeth, and contained her pain, because she couldn't show pain. No weakness. Lihua managed to get up onto her feet, and clenched her burned limb as she scambered off after Shizuka.
Jiang let out a hoarse hiss... Lihua could be anywhere. No matter. He'd find her eventually. He didn't know who this man was, but she must be weak if she's hiding behind him. Jiang started dissolving into a pool of acid. In his puddle form, he went into the sewer grate, and disappeared into the sewers.
Meanwhile, Reed could only watch and take a few sullen steps back, the burning sensation still coursing through his arm. Why do you get yourself caught up in this shit?
Meifeng Zhao, & Cindy Keagan.
Courtbridge, Prince Edfield.
The first Golem went down, Old Man Winter was disappointed.
However, it didn't matter, because he had already changed this great city. The cyrokinetic man started walking, and made it to the edge of a hill. He saw the city before him. It was being wrapped in trees, and plantlife. Prince Edfield - the pinnacle of arrogance - was being transformed into a forest. It was perfect. This is what Eco-Naturá was made for. Perfecting-
"...Hey, asshole," Cindy said as she pressed a gun against the back of his head. "If you're done jizzing yourself, you're under arrest."
Old Man Winter... a wanted terrorist. Just making himself an easy target. Cindy didn't know what was going through his head. Maybe he was just observing the beautiful sights.
"Aaaaaaand just in case you think you got this," Meifeng chimed in as she reached for the power suppressant collar. "It's three on one Eco-Terrorist, so make this easy for yourself."
Old Man wondered if this was going to be it. The end of his dream. He could try to fight, but it was risky with the woman with a gun pressed against his skull.
Right as Meifeng stepped up, however... a whole new party just entered the mix. An even more destructive party.
A dart came out of no where, and struck Old Man Winter in the neck.
"Huh?!" Cindy quickly took several steps back, but kept her pistol trained on Winter. "Wher- where did that come from?" Cindy quickly looked up to see a figure on the rooftops, standing tall with a rifle in hand.
"Oh shit!" Meifeng said. She noticed the glowing blue contents being injected into Old Man Winter. "Cindy, take the shot!"
Old Man Winter was transforming into a tall being made out of ice. Cindy stared as she could only take a few steps back. She knew that this wasn't going to end well - it could be an overload incident. She couldn't let a shitty situation get even shittier. There was going to be a lot of paperwork after this, but she was going have to shed her humanity. Just for a second.
It wasn't easy. Cindy's a DOVE, which means she's no fighter - not even a killer. Staring at the gun for a moment, she had to consider all of her options. She pulled the trigger, and blew Old Man Winter's head off, and then he dropped to the ground.
The growing blizzard around them immediately came to a close, and Cindy let out a sigh. A pool of blood was at her feet.
"You..." Meifeng said. "You did the right thing, Cindy."
"...Did I really?"
"Well..." Meifeng looked up at the rooftop.
The Black Hound.
Courtbridge, Prince Edfield.
"...So, was the mission a success?" The woman spoke up to him via comms.
The Black Hound stood on the side of the rooftop. He did as they ordered, but, he had to bring to an end to this bloodbath. He couldn't make this situation even worse. At least, not in right conscience. Heh... conscience. As if he has one. To his superiors... he is a killing machine. Nothing more, nothing less. He walked off inwards towards the exit, as he pressed a button on the side of his helmet.
"...Unfortunately," The Black Hound said, his voice sounding very digital. "Old Man Winter was killed before the Alpha Strain could take effect." He said.
"Damn it, Hound," The Woman said. "The Blessed Three aren't going to be pleased with this."
"I did everything I could, they shouldn't complain." The Black Hound said.
"It's not going to be you they complain to," The Woman said. "I'm their lieutenant, more or less. When they want something done, they pass it to me, who passes it to someone else..."
"...Foundation Woman," The Black Hound said, "Remember... our plans-"
"Hound, keep quiet." The Foundation Woman said. "Just get back... I'll deal with it when you get there."
The Black Hound nodded his head.
Wendy Emily Lucker, Rowan Campbell, Rori Aherne, & Ellen Nile.
Wendy's squad was trying to get the hell away from Prince Edfield, on foot. She was certain that her precious moped was destroyed. Whatever. It's insured. Hopefully. She was running down the street, and wondering where DOVE and RAVEN was. Whatever, in days like this, it was Wendy on her own.
Right when they were running down one of the streets, they came across a distant figure that looked very familiar to Wendy. Mostly in the case of the African-American woman standing behind a man - with a gun to his head. She came to a stop, though Rowan was the first to recognise his case worker. "What?" he whispered, "That's Cindy, I think.. the agent they have on my case. What's she doing here?"
Wendy knew that getting involved would be twenty different kinds of stupid. If Cindy's pressing a gun to his head, he must've been a crook.
However, a dart came out of no where and hit the prep in the neck, and everyone started freaking out as the man underwent a transformation.
Having a quick eye, Wendy quickly looked up at the buildingline above her, and spotted a suspicious figure on the rooftop. She quickly whipped out her camera, and zoomed in on the man with black armor. Right before he could leave, Wendy snapped a picture. Even though the city's falling apart around her, this was the first thing that came to mind.
Quickly taking a moment to take a look at it, Wendy realized what she just did. She took a picture of the man standing tall, holding a rifle with both hands. This is evidence.
"Guys-" Wendy tried to say before she heard a gunshot down the street. She looked down, and remembered what was going on. "...We should keep moving." Wendy said, there was no time to play around.
Ellen didn't see the dart, she only saw the man tense as the gun was pressed to the back of his head, and then saw all life drop from his limbs as the gun went off. He collapsed, and she watched in stunned horror. Her case worker had just murdered a man in front of her, a metahuman. She could see the doubt in Cindy, a person she hardly knew, could read it in every line of her face and the stance of her body. What was this? Was she an empath now?
"Fine, let's beat it." Rowan twitched, flexing his fingers.
Rori just nodded, rubbing the arm that was in a cast. The sooner they managed to get out of this place the better.
After the death of Old Man Winter, Eco-Natura was thrown in shambles. They quickly lost morale, and left the area. Which was surprisingly easy, given all the chaos. The Nature Bombs had done their damage, and they simply stopped. Afterwards, the area seemed almost scerene. Everyone had left, and all that was left was a giant forest. If one were to ignore the destruction, it was beautiful.
One person who wasn't in any rush to take in the nature was Lihua Zhao, who had to swallow her pride yet again, and run away. However, she had to take a break as the adrenaline wore off, and she was in pain. She slammed her back against a brick wall, and started panting - before she hissed in pain as her body was destroyed by the acid. But, it felt like her pride took the bigger hit. There wasn't any shame in running away, but it was the fact that she had to rely on other people that was the bigger problem.
Clenching her burns tighter, it was just a reminder of how weak she's gotten. Before, she could easily kill a man like Jiang. Now, she's at his mercy... and dependant on children to save her. She wanted to change the way she sees the world, become less arrogant... but, it was still hard realizing how weak she's become.
"...Ms. Zhao," Missy said, dropping down above, landing on her knee right in front of Lihua. "You look badly hurt... let me get you some help."
"I'm fine," Lihua said.
"...Says the person with the melted arm," Missy quickly snapped back. She wanted to help Lihua, but didn't want to get caught up with her prideful bullshit. "I need to get you somewhere safe..."
It wasn't just altruism guiding Missy; Lihua was the best bet in finding the others, so she was going to keep her safe at all costs. It wasn't like Missy couldn't heal.
"F-fine." Lihua stuttered.
"Where are the others?" Missy asked.
"Hell if I know," Lihua crassly answered. However, she had an idea... her first piority was making sure that Lijuan was okay. She reached down for her purse - which had holes burnt into it from the acid, but thankfully her phone was still in one piece. She punched in the number for Haruka, and pressed call. The second she heard him answer, the first thing that came out her mouth was,
"...Haruka, is Lijuan okay?"
"Lihua, thank goodness!" Haruka's voice came out of the receiver, relieved. "Yes, she is fine with us. Where are you now? We can pick you up in Shizu's car."
The only thing that Lihua wanted to know was whether or not Lijuan was okay. They got away from Jiang. She wondered what happened of Reed... Nonetheless, she knew he was a capable man, despite being a DOVE.
"Apple street..." Lihua weakly said, as her hand went to her shoulder. "I'm on Apple street, under the giant tree."
"We are---" Haruka started off; at that very moment, there was a loud tire screech before a black RAVEN vehicle emerged from around a corner sharply, then it came to an abrupt stop near the giant tree where Lihua was. "---only a street away."
Lihua looked up, and saw the RAVEN vehicle. She didn't waste any time in trying to move over to the truck. However, she took two steps and fell forward. She caught herself, and ended up on her hands and knees. She was still panting.
"Jesus, you're about to fall over," Missy said as she knelt down. She quickly got under Lihua's shoulder, and hoisted the tall woman up to the best of her ability. The problem was that Lihua's tall, and much heavier than her. Still, she did her best as she tried to move the woman towards the vehicle.
Haruka was the one who opened the door; he was quite surprised to see Missy with Lihua, but the latter's injuries was more dire than settling his personal score with the mystery girl. "Take it easy. Anyway... where is Mr. Reed?"
Lihua raised her head as Missy hoisted her into the open door. She didn't know what became of Reed, but she hoped he's okay. "He... he stayed behind to hold Jiang off... I'm certain he's okay." Lihua said.
Missy was using all of her strength to put Lihua in the vehicle. She laid the woman down on her back, and got in with them... but, she wasn't sure of what to do next. Should she... should she tell them? She looked between Haruka, and Shizuka. She started twiddling with her fingers as she thought about it.
"...Do you want me to finish what I saying before?" Missy awkwardly asked, feeling like a teenager. "Or... do you want to get to safety first?"
Once the passengers were settled down, Shizuka floored the accelerator and the car shot off; soon the group was on their way out of Courtbridge. "Sure, go on," he finally responded to Missy. "Now's the best time to tell us what you want to say."
It's been so long since Missy had said this. It felt like she was a whole new person... discovering her past life. Hell, it felt spiritual to the woman. She couldn't just come out and say it, she had to give it her all.
"It's... I... well..." Missy said, very nervously. "I wanted to... renounce the part of me... the old part of me. Since all of that happened. I figured that it was time to shed the old me, push away the emotions. Since I'm going to be here for awhile..." She started off, looking down.
"I thought that it was dead. Gone. Died in that city," She continued. "I never thought I'd ever see any of you ever again. But... it's... it's so hard keeping up this facade. Seeing each of you here - thriving in this city - it's... just so hard to pretend. I wanted to just forget, but... I'm... I'm... done pretending I'm somewhere."
Tears started running down her cheeks.
"The girl... the girl you knew... back in Verthaven..."
"...She never died. My name... My name is Jennifer Caspin!" Missy finally shed the "alias" she held onto for seven years straight. Now... there's only Jennifer. "I survived. I'm so happy to see you all again..."
More tears began streaming, as she felt like a whole new girl.
The twins were silent as Missy talked; while Shizuka made no reaction when she had finally revealed her true identity and merely kept his eyes straight ahead, Haruka was fighting to control the mixture of emotions welling up inside him. He had so many questions to ask her: how did she survive the Verthaven disaster, what happened to her power, how she had been all these years...
But nothing was more important than the joy of seeing an old friend alive and well. "...Welcome back, Jennifer," he managed to say the words in a steady tone. "We are all happy to see you again, too."
"T-thank you," Jennifer said, crossing her arms over her stomach. "It's great to be back... Where is Meifeng? Cindy? Trevor? Are they okay?" She asked, unaware of what happened to the latter.
"Well..." Haruka began. "Meifeng has become a RAVEN like Shizu." He paused to look at his brother.
"That's great..." Jennifer muttered... she realized that she was going have to face her former best friend. She couldn't help but sigh. "Honestly... I can't say I'm surprised, she always wanted to be a NEST agent..."
"As for Cindy, she is in DOVE. Trevor..." Haruka stopped, trying to find the right words to say...
Which Shizuka simply finished for him in a curt tone, "Trevor's gone; shot in the head by Luis, who's later finished off by Mei."
Trevor... No... Luis killed him, too? That just brought Jennifer's blood to a boil knowing that he took out another one of her loved ones. She clenched her fists tightly. Though, she's glad that he's dead, and gone for good.
"Anyway... are we missing someone?" Shizuka asked, glancing up at the rearview mirror.
Haruka rolled his eyes. "We kind of left Mr. Reed behind. Took you long enough to realize that," he added drily.
"Reed." Jennifer immediately remembered the name. The VPD officer that saved her, and fought in that never ending disaster. "Is he and Quentin okay, too?"
"I hope the old man's alright," Shizuka muttered. "That acid bastard seems pretty nasty." He looked at Lihua through the mirror's reflection. He was curious about the relationship between her and her assailant - it felt like they probably had known each other before, and that guy seemed to hold a certain grudge against Lihua... strong enough to make him want to kill her and her daughter badly.
The acid man had also called Lihua something else - a different name. Qiaolian. So much mysteries around that Zhao woman that he had learned today, on top of Jennifer's revelation...
Well, it was yet another long day, as usual. Besides, right now his priority was to do something about Lihua's injuries pronto - the first person that popped up in his mind was a DOVE agent by the name of Jade West. He had heard that she was a pretty good medic, and she probably could heal the Zhao woman in no time.
As the vehicle was almost near the end of the road that would lead to the bridge linking Prince Ed-Field and White Coast, a sudden, deafening boom shook the ground beneath them, followed by a chorus of screams, car horns and screeching tires ahead that pierced the air.
Shizuka quickly turned the car around, cursing, "...The fuck is going on now?"
"Shit!" Jennifer hissed as she braced herself. This felt like Verthaven again, everything is going to shit constantly. When Shizuka swore, Jennifer was quick to answer, "I don't know, but we don't want any part of it," She looked over to Lihua, "Where's the nearest hospital? There has to be one on White Coast somewhere..."
"Right," Shizuka replied, clearly irritated at all the shit that had to happen at the worst possible moment. "From that sound just now, I think some dumbass had just blown up the bridge. Going to the HQ by car at this rate is going to kill that woman."
"...It's true." Haruka was staring at his phone, his thumb scrolling the screen. "It's now all over the social media: someone did bomb the bridge."
Shizuka gritted his teeth and glanced at Lihua again. There had to be another way. If they couldn't go there by land...
He pulled the car to a sudden stop, then he turned around to face his twin. "You. Get out of the car with Lihua. Now."
"What the---" Before Haruka could speak out his mind at his younger brother's rudeness, Shizuka told him the plan.
"You're going to fly her across to White Coast. Once you get to the HQ, look for a DOVE woman called Jade West. Now get out before I've to drag you two out myself."
"...Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jennifer didn't really want to butt in with Shizuka's... "take things by the horn" approach, but she wasn't sure what was going on. Taking her to another hospital would have been smarter for the time being... and Lihua was pretty big and heavy. Oddly bigger than Haruka, but that didn't matter. "Who knows what could be going on there?"
Shizuka's unblinking eyes shifted their attention to Jennifer. "Getting her to the HQ is the fastest way - it's better than to get her thrown out of the normal hospitals to die because she's a Metahuman."
Jennifer hadn't considered that. However, she took in a deep sigh, and nodded her head. "Alright... I wish, I could go along with you," She said. "But, I'd only slow you down."
"I can carry two people---" Haruka began, but Shizuka silenced him with a pissed look. The elder twin simply sighed and carried Lihua out of the car (which was an amusing sight since Lihua was much bigger than him).
He gathered the air around towards himself, and soon he was riding the wind with Lihua on his back, flying in the direction of White Coast.
After they were gone, Shizuka drove off once more, searching for another route out of Prince Ed-Field to White Coast.
"Zhao?! Haru?! Are you okay?"
Reed's voice cut through as he finally approached where he'd last seen them go, moving with a weary gait, hand still clutched close to his torso. The corrosive substance had burned through deep, agonisingly so, and even with his ability... one could still see the exposed layers of muscle tissue. It had taken all of Reed's willpower to block out the pain, even after all these years of having the Bloodsucker's power.
But there was no one else there.
Guess I'm walking."
[i]
Meifeng Zhao, Maxine Diaz , Quentin Taylor & Cindy Keagan.
The bodybag for Old Man Winter was zipped up as he was hauled away on a stretcher. It didn't really feel like a win for RAVEN, since, while they removed Old Man Winter (and possibly Eco-Natura) from the mix.
Cindy was writing on a clipboard. Jesus. Millions of dollars of damage was done. Just like Oakdell, it'll be years before this part of the city. Though, with the trees and whatnot, it'll probably be way longer. The trees probably fucked up the foundation of a lot of buildings. Cindy looked around. A lot of these places will probably be torn down.
"Damn..." Cindy muttered under her breath. "I liked a lot of these places."
She was still in doubt on whether or not killing Old Man Winter was the right thing to do, but she knew that she had to keep pushing forward. Killing people was something that Cindy had to do sometimes. The Verthaven Disaster told her that. And if Old Man Winter was undergoing an Overload, then a bad situation would have gotten worse.
At least, that's how Cindy justified it.
There were a few deaths, and many were injured. Well... here in Baybridge (or anywhere for that matter) that was a "average" statistic. Unfortunately.
"RAVEN, or DOVE?" A familiar voice shouted from the thick undergrowth.
Huh? Cindy immediately whipped her head around to the voice, and looked inside. "It's Cindy Keagan with DOVE, identify yourself."
"It's Taylor, who's with you?"
Quentin emerged, no worse for wear than how he'd been before - save for his clothes being snagged on the new eco-system that had instantaneously popped up. Part of him was lucky that he'd headed back to the truck to pick up his wallet; he'd avoided the worst of it, thank god, but had run in, against all senses in an attempt to find his brother.
"Have you seen Reed?" Quentin asked, concern shifting to the Taylor that'd been left behind,
"I haven't seen Reed around, sorry." That quickly made Cindy wonder if Reed was already here, or was he asking if he came with them. "I'm certain he's okay."
"Probably-" he was cut off mid-sentence by the arrival of something else.
A vehicle came driving up at high speed. It caught Cindy off guard as it came to a swerving stop a few feet away from her. Cindy reached for her pistol just in case.
The inhabitants of the vehicle came running out.
"...Yes, some RAVENS!" Megan said, as Ray and Rush took her sides, and the Nemesis got behind her, which elicited a suspicious look from Quentin as he noticed the oddly familiar figure. She panted. "Okay, I wanted to warn you-" She put her hand on top of Rush's head, which earned her a distinct look. "-my friend here - who's a technopath, by the way - picked up some communications that might interest you."
"Okay, okay, what are you talking about?" Cindy turned towards her and raised her eyebrow up into the air.
"You know the Mannequin? Changeling, mad scientist, robot man? Well, he apparently isn't dead, and he's planning on something in your Headquarters. He manipulated Eco-Natura to cause a big ol' scene so he can take something out."
"Wha-"
Before either of the two agents could say anything, Rush had activated his wrist device, and played the recording.
"Hey, Freako! When are we going to do our thing at their headquarters? RAVEN must be swarming the scene!"
"...We need a bigger distraction." The Mannequin said.
That voice chilled Quentin to the bone. A changeling, the last of them. It flooded back memories of Verthaven all over again, but like Cindy, he too, kept listening.
"Hehehehehe! Your plan is, well, goin' as planned. But we better split, Liz probably set up the bomb on the bridge by now, and we know we're all on a really tight schedule."
"Agreed."
That was the end of the recording
It was obviously the Mannequin's voice. Cindy could tell that from anywhere. Shit... Meifeng isn't going to like this. She thought that Baron dude took out the Mannequin. Looks like she thought wrong. Baron's dead. Which meant it was up to Cindy, Meifeng, Quentin, and the rest of the RAVENs there to take him out.
"Okay, I'm going to phone it in..."
However... There was an explosion in the distance. Towards White Coast.
"Agents, Headquarters is under attack! This is not a drill!" A random mission control shouted. "The bridge has been destroyed!"
"S-shit!" Cindy said, looking at the strangers.
Quentin almost sprang to motion, ready to head off. "Quick, we need to move!"
"However." Rush injected, raising a finger up into the air. "During last encounter. I have hacked. Into his communcations system. Long as he uses it. Can track his position anywhere in Baybridge. Possibly beyond."
"Okay, pointdexter," Cindy said, putting a hand on her hip. "I'm going to need you to stay put, we'll figure something out."
"Headquarters, Agent Green Bird is returning to headquarters alongside Agent Rogue Wave, Agent Mimic, and Agent Counterpoint."
There was nothing but static.
"Headquarters! I repeat, this is Agent Green Bird!" Cindy shouted, but she got no response. No one did. All comms at Headquarters were dead. "...Aaaaand comms are down."
"Looks like we'll just have to work without them then," Max commented, pointing out the obvious. She had mostly been listening up until that point; she would rather not annoy Cindy, not when a bunch of more important shit was going down. "If the bridge is down we might have problems getting over there."
"God-damn," Quentin paced, that cold fury springing to life, "Cindy, you know how this is going to go. This is Verthaven all over again, I know their tactics. I know how they think, we need to get back there now!"
"Uhhhhhh..." Cindy thought about what Max said. If they were going to help, and the bridge is down, then they have to either get there by the sea... or... "Wait, I gotta pilot's license. If I can get my hands on a copter..." She suggested. Well, it was better than nothing.
"Possibly. Constructive criticism." Rush said. "Acquiring a helicopter. Unlikely. Getting to headquarters in a timely manner. Unlikely. Mannequin. After something inside Headquarters. When he leaves. Can track."
"So, what are you saying?" Cindy asked. "Let the Mannequin do as he pleases? For your information, there's shit in there that's priceless."
"And people. Our people." Quentin added.
"No." Rush blankly said. "Can listen in on communications. In addition to tracking. Meaning. We are going to be. One step ahead of him. Gather your trusted Agents. Find your vehicles. Then we surprise him."
"Ah... now, I get ya..." Cindy thought about what Rush said. Honestly, this whole situation was fucked. Not only did he destroy Prince Edfield, but he also destroyed the Brave Water Bridge. This was going to be a massive pain in the ass to clean up later. However, if they can catch the Mannequin off guard...
Though, that meant that she would have to drag the kid along. This was going to be a tough one. Bring a child along... Though, if they keep him out the way, it can't be that bad.
Cindy sighed.
"Okay, we gotta find a way to get a good team of RAVENS together..." Cindy said to herself. She fiddled with various ideas, hoping that she could come up with a good one in a timely manner. Cindy herself had one idea, and one idea alone.
She quickly went back to the APC, and opened up a plastic box. It was full of flares... She didn't know if it would extend that far, but there's gotta be a way to attract some RAVENS here. She stepped out the APC, and shot a flare up into the air.
It flew high up, and then exploded. Which should be enough to catch someone's attention.
They managed to gather most of the RAVENs in the area. While they were doing that, Rush was on the ground with his legs folded, typing away on a computer. He was doing something
"Alright," Cindy said. "We have what's left of REAPER attacking Headquarters, and we're here... without a good way to get to them."
"Ah." Rush said, as he discovered something. "More communications. Coming from a docking storage. Oakdell."
"Oh?" Cindy said. "Well... I have an idea... let's scope it out."
Rush quickly got up to his feet, holding the laptop under his arm.
"May I come along?" Rush asked "Can track Mannequin."
It was a risk... but, Rush is their trump card. The only way they're gonna track the Mannequin.
"Alright, come on," Cindy agreed. "Everyone, into the cards."
Mannequin, & The Hands of Science.
Greencrest Heights, White Coast.
A white van sped towards White Coast from Prince Edfield. Hopefully running under the cover of someone escaping the chaos of Prince Edfield. When it was actually Bison carrying the Mannequin in the back.
"Hehehe! Looks like Winter didn't last long, did he?" Bison sarcastically said as he looked back. "All that talk about a new world order, and that dickhead went down in a few seconds! At least put up a fight!" Bison started laughing.
"...Just get us to the meeting spot," The Mannequin said. "A majority of RAVEN and attention is on Prince Edfield, we'll get in and out before they notice."
"Yeah, yeah," Bison said. "We almost there, hold on."
They kept speeding towards the mostly destroyed Oakdell Harbor.
Oakdell Harbor, White Coast.
The van stopped outside a boat warehouse - which was damaged, so were many of the buildings around here. Fortunately, it means there were few people walking around. Bison stepped out the van, and walked around to the back, and opened it up. The Mannequin stepped right on out, and they casually made their way inside the building.
Bison opened the door, and they caught sight of many REAPERs, and members of the Hands of Science that Dr. Cross and Ignatius had assembled. Armed with whatever they had. Assault rifles, pistols, shotguns. They couldn't put REAPER armor on, since they had mostly destroyed it to cover their tracks, but the most they could manage was body armor.
Dr. Cross faced them. "Is everything prepared, Mannequin?" She said.
"Yes..." The Mannequin whispered. "RAVEN has their hands full elsewhere."
"Good, because we're going have to hit hard, and hit fast," Ignatius started off. "Even if we manage to cut the power, we're going have to deal with a army of heavily trained guards, some with superpowers... and we're just a ragtag group."
"If we catch them off guard, we'll be in and out..." The Mannequin said as he stepped over to a crate. He jammed his fingers inside, and opened it up. The top went flying off, and hit the ground. The Mannequin looked inside, and saw that his device was still in perfect condition.
It was a metal device with a glowing center, and two cylinders on each side. It was an EMP bomb of Mannequin's creation. All the Mannequin has to do is get it in close, and it'll trash the RAVEN's electronic systems.
Now, the Mannequin lifted up the crate, and placed it onto a boat.
"Only attack when I give the signal," The Mannequin sternly said as he get onto the boat.
"Heeeeeeeeeey," Bison said, "Where your creepy friend?" He asked.
"Jiang had his.own agenda... We don't need him at the moment... " The Mannequin said, he turned the ignition on, and started driving the boat off. He was in open waters, heading towards the RAVEN headquarters. He quickly contacted Eliza, "Are you clear?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm off the bridge," Eliza said on the phone. "The bomb's set, do your thing."
Not a word left the Mannequin's robotic form as he sent a signal to the bomb that was on the bridge. Eliza, using her abilities, set up an explosive on the Brave Water bridge that blocks off RAVEN headquarters from the rest of Baybridge. It was set up underneath the bridge. The moment the signal hit the explosive, it went off, and caused a giant boom that raged through the bridge that blew apart the bridge.
Cars came to a sudden stop as they desperately tried to save themselves. Not all were able to. People were already killed, as the bridge came to a crumble. The bridge was rendered useless in an instant.
Meanwhile, the Mannequin was going towards RAVEN headquarters fast as he could. He came to the coast of the island, and didn't waste any time in jumping off, grabbing the crate, and quickly moving it towards the building. He placed it up against the side of the building. He broke the sides of the crate off, and then left the crate there as he hopped back on the boat.
As the Mannequin left, he made sure to get far away as possible before he sent out the signal to detonate the EMP. It caused a massive that sent out an electric pulse throughout the area. It bombarded the building in EMP waves, and shut off all the electricital devices. None of the systems inside the building would be working.
"... Attack." The Mannequin ordered.
RAVEN/DOVE West Coast Joint Headquarters, White Coast.
Riding on the boats, and using the confusion, the REAPERS, lead by Ignatius, and Bison stormed Headquarters on a team of boats. They drove the boats onto the shore, and came running out. Without the alarms, or advanced security systems they should be able to get in and out.
They ran through the field, crouching. Moving towards their closest objective. They knew the windows were bulletproof in case of assault. So, they merely would have to use another entrance. There was the vehicle garage. They all took position on each side of the garage doors. Ignatius was crouched, he looked up at Bison, and nodded his head at him. Doing a hand signal for him to move in.
A wicked grin etched onto Bison's face, as he ran up to the door, and punched it down. Following it with a destructive gust of wind that sent the gate flying into the garage. Following behind him, the REAPERS opened fire on the garage. Anything that moved was abruptly shot up. There were a few RAVENS and DOVES within the Headquarters, but they made short work of them.
Their bodies hit the floor, and Ignatius looked behind him to see the Mannequin move forward.
"Let''s go." The robotman said as they kept moving.
Lead by the Mannequin, the small squad of REAPERS quickly moved through RAVEN Headquarters. It would be a short trip from here, to their objective. Just one long hallway away, in fact. They kept running for it, but they quickly came across some Agents when they were right there at the warehouse.
"Shit! Intruders!" A man shouted, as he shot a beam of ice at the ground, and created an ice wall that blocked the way.
"Shit," Bison said with a whimiscal grin. "What ever shall we do?"
He dusted off his knuckles, as he walked up to the wall, and punched it hard as he could, followed by another deadly gust of wind. It immediately scattered to pieces, and sent the agents flying. Horribly wounded. They were no longer a threat to them.
Walking up to the locked door, Bison used his brute strength to break it down.
"Alright, grab what ya' need, robot man," Bison said, standing over the destroyed door. "I'll watch the back."
The Mannequin didn't speak a single word as he walked up to the massive warehouse on all fours. In here... in here were various pieces of evidence gathered over the years. Boxes that had ziplocked containers so they wouldn't get contaiminated... they were no use to the Mannequin. The man turned into a machine walked through the halls of the warehouse, looking for a specific tag, and designation.
He was looking for a large box. The box that contains project Genesis. He was wondering why they would still keep it around. Until his keen eyes found a large box. With the designation he was looking for. The Mannequin was overjoyed to finally find it.
Now was the matter of getting it out of headquarters. Fortunately, he had just the idea. The Mannequin quickly grabbed onto the sides of the crate, and carried it until he made it back to the entrance, which thankfully had a handtruck to put it on.
However, RAVEN had managed to put up a counterattack, and was opening fire. Ignatius filled the hallway with a bright red energy. It was getting pounded with bullets.
"Got an idea!" Bison said as he punched the wall, breaking a hole clean through it. "Go, go, go!"
They ran through the exit. Ignatius made sure to extend the shield to the hole.
They all eventually made it outside, and they were being chased by fleeing agents. However, they had the perfect plan. During their approach, they lined up beach and surrounding area with explosives.
When they all got on the boats, they set them off, and started running fast as they could.
Everything was a success... Mannequin got what he wanted.
"We're heading back, Dr. Cross," The Mannequin said. "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, yes, yes, I'd hurry up," Dr. Cross said. "It won't be long until they're swarming the area."
Oakdell Harbor, White Coast.
The group finally made it back to their boat warehouse, and they quickly abandoned their vehicles, as the Mannequin held his precious project above head. The scene looks a little odd... There wasn't as many REAPERS, or Hands Scientists here as there were before. However, the Mannequin had to quickly get out before anything happens.
"Quickly, let's go." The Mannequin said, gesturing towards the vans that were set up for their escape route. The Mannequin lifted up this box, however...
Dr. Cross was standing there, with her hands behind her back.
"...I'm sorry."
Out.of the blue, several canisters of Meta-Suppressant gas exploded into a cloud of red gas. They were hidden all over the room, and when they all exploded, every Metahuman within their group was almost immediately put out due to the chemicals.
RAVEN, armed with gas masks, stormed into the room
Following Rush's advice, the RAVENS quickly got mobilized and went to Oakdell Harbor as fast as they could. They came up on the boat warehouse.
"Mannequin sent order. From there." Rush said, pointing inside the place. "Be careful. Am detecting many electronics."
"Such as?" Meifeng asked.
"Phones. Computers. Gaming devices."
"I got an idea..." Meifeng said. "Hey, techie, how much can you fuck with electronics?"
"Only limited. By the extents. Of the hardware." Rush answered in his odd speech tone.
"Can you make them spaz out on signal?" Meifeng asked.
"Yes." Rush said. "Simple usage of power."
"Good, good, good, kid," Meifeng said with a smile as she grabbed her rifle, and opened up the back of the APC. "See, I like you already, kid."
"Alright, I have a plan," Cindy said, as she grabbed her pistol. "We're going to scout a little bit, and find out where the dudes are within the building. If we're quick enough, we can take them out with taser rounds." Cindy said as she checked her clip.
Meifeng looked surprised.
"What? Not using our technopath friend?"
"Girl, we don't need to make their phones spazz out, or whatever," Cindy reached for the flashbang that was hanging off Meifeng's belt, and held it up for her to see. "You got this."
"She's right, we can handle this ourselves. Just remember what we're dealing with." Quentin advised, though with Mei that last note wasn't entirely necessary - the two of them had been working ops like this for years.
Cindy stepped out the APC. "Alright, let's go... Agents, we'll going have to rely on hand signals." Since there's no comms currently, they have no choice but to. However, Cindy had an idea. It relied on them getting the drop on the Hands in here before the REAPERS get back. Which means they can't waste any time.
"I'll move in and wait on your go," Quentin agreed, before taking a position counter to the window.
Meifeng took position on one of the windows, and peaked up inside to the best of her abilities. Cindy wasn't too far away. She saw a couple members of the Hands... just chilling. Perfect for Meifeng and the others to catch them off guard.
Just to signal the others, Meifeng put her thumb and index fingers together to make a circle. Ten. Then she put up two fingers. Twelve.
"Alright, I'm gonna move the windows, on my signal, throw the flashbangs through the windows." Cindy said as she raised her hands up into the air. She began moving the glass, and then nodded her head as she gave them the hand gesture to move. Quentin nodded in return, waiting for her signal.
A grin etched it's way onto Meifeng's lips, as she, and the rest of the RAVENS threw their flashbangs into the building. They exploded, and optically-raped everyone in sight.
While they were recovering, the RAVENS quickly pushed in, and began unloading on any target with a barrage of taser darts, and it wasn't long before they were all down.
"Targets neutralized." Meifeng said with a flair as she shifted her weight over to one hip. "Get them cuffed."
Cindy looked around. "...Where's Dr. Cross? The Ringleader."
"Right here," Meifeng said as she picked the woman up.
A general mission could work. As a group we can come up with NPCs and goals without interfering with what Dervs has planned. Good idea @DJAtomika!
Any more ideas? :)
We can do Loyalty Missions, develop short shadow broker post arc where we can all focus on backstory, ship repairs (either staying on Omega or moving onto a new planet).
Iosif's "loyalty mission" is something I've got set aside for a little ways into the future. But a general run sounds neat.
As a head's up to folks, I'll be away next week Monday-Friday so my attendance will probably be sporadic in that period.
Mixtape Ghost N
RevekaRed
FernStone
Atrophy
AtomicEmperor
Byrd Man
NoriWasHere
xxjessicaxx
Bartimaeus