[hr][hr][i][h1]Julia O'Sullivan.[/h1][sub](by [@Mr Allen J])[/sub][/i][hr] [b][code]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills_[/code][/b] Ah, everything was coming into place. The sound of her base being destroyed from around her didn't phase Julia even in the slightest. This place was truly... expendable. Everything that was valuable to her was gone, and if Ezekiel does his job, they'd have the last little bit of fuel that they need for the Machine. A massive rumble shook the very foundation of the base, but her stride still wasn't halted. She was determined as they come to get to a very special part of the base. One room that could be best described as a control room with many monitors... that were unfortunately, non-functional, due to the interference of a rat that would be killed in the long run. When Julia walked into the room, the doors closed behind her. "Mistress," A female-soldier of the Intimidation Unit tried to bow as she addressed Julia, but the genetically perfect woman grabbed her by the head, and said, "I don't have time for that - what is the status on the base?" "Cameras are offline, ma'am," The soldier said, "But, our IU is holding RAVEN off." "Ah, I presume the Zhaos aren't with them? Or the Taylors?" Julia asked. "Negative, only one Taylor is with the RAVEN attack party, the rest are unaccounted for." The soldier said. The tall red-haired woman merely put a finger against her jaw as she tilted her head. "It's exactly what I thought, it's a mere diversion. They're probably sneaking through the rest of the base straight to the beast." She shook her head because of how easily she could see through their plan. "... Bring up the advanced terminal prompt, and close the tunnels while you're at it." "...Affirmative, Mistress." The IU soldier said as she went over to the computers and started flipping a few switches. Typing on the computer one last time brought up a prompt, which Julia strutted over and punched in with the best of her abilities. [code]HIGH EXECUTIVE PASSWORD REQUIRED: ************** ACCESS GRANTED. > ACTIVATE SHIELD OF LIGHT? >> YES. ACTIVATING SHIELD OF LIGHT...[/code] The last line flashed in the window as a bar appeared underneath it to go left and right... outside of the base, at the very top of the ISD building that was the front for the FF base, a panel opened up and revealed a large glowing device that could be best described as a satellite. It glowed with a blue color as it shot a blue beam straight into the sky, before the beam bloomed into a full on dome that surrounded the entire facility with a transparent, blue, dome. Nigh-impenetrable, it would be a task to destroy it with conventional weaponry, let alone superpowers. Save for the convenient portal ability provided by Zenith. According to Julia, it made it impossible for RAVEN to escape the Beast once it was complete, and would wipe them out before going on a rampage throughout the rest of Baybridge. Once the shields were up, a loud explosion took place that destroyed all the secret tunnels in and out of the base. The IU soldier looked awfully concerned, "What about the group heading for the Beast?" A smug grin appeared on Julia's face. "I have something very special for them that'll make short work of them." The loud tapping of a cane filled the room, and Julia turned around to see Biyu Liu scrolling in, "Mistress Julia," The woman put on the most convincing smile she could... which was difficult given the circumstances. "I personally request for me to handle... the Zhaos." She said, bowing her head, hoping that Julia would agree to let her wipe out that whore of a daughter, and her legacy, in one go. Julia merely shrugged, Biyu was, currently, completely useless to her and all of her plans. "Yes, you may." At worst, she'd slow them down. Julia folded her arms behind her back, before she turned around back towards the door, and muttered to herself. "...[i]Let the games begin.[/i]" And God damn they will be [i]glorious[/i]. [hr][i][h1][color=Blueviolet]Malik Jakane[/color], [color=ffe0bd]Rhea Harlow[/color], & Holly Hope.[/h1][sub](collaboration between [@Mr Allen J], [@Estylwen] and [@tsukune])[/sub][/i][hr] [b][code]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills_[/code][/b] Rhea recalled the last time she saw the walls of a Family's base, a gun pointed at her with two snarky agents ready to put her through the wringer. It was with a certain amount of relish that she crept along the walls with Malik and Holly — sneaking under the radar was something to be savoured. Despite an extensive search, and skillfully avoiding the patrol’s attention, Rhea had to accept the facts. Malik, however, was losing his enthusiasm. It was hard enough knowing Marcelle’s mind was torn up by a psychotic drug. Rhea pursed her lips, watching him carefully. Finding out that Marcelle wasn't even here was really hurting Malik. It felt like a hopeless battle, in which Malik was losing. What was he even aiming for? A fight that'd never end - one that'd probably end with him finding out the ugly truth that he was so desperate to pretend wasn't true. The tunnels of this base smelled like shit, and he couldn't help but feel a little agitated. He could hear the sound of RAVEN fighting above them, but he was down here with the devils. He wished that he could find Marcelle, but whatever prison they searched, they couldn't find her. All they could find were more and more faces in distress. More people oppressed by the Family. He wanted to help them, but how could he? He was just a man. Not a savior. Not a hero. His back was pressed against a wall as he peered around it. Far down the hallway was a group of people... all around a tall red-haired woman. Marching towards some end of the base with her legion of Secretaries.... she had to be important. But, Malik couldn't rush in after her. He turned towards Holly, and Rhea... not with them at his side. "So, yeah..." Malik awkwardly said, trying to play off his desperately with idle chatter. "Where we goin' again?" He knew where, but just wanted to try to justify going after Julia. "We have to get out of here - and quickly," Holly replied, narrowing her eyes at the approaching figures. She could feel a fearsome power radiating from the woman heading a group of people in suits with dead looks in their eyes, even from the trio's hiding place. "Seems like Marcelle isn't kept here but probably in the other base, so we have no more business in this place." Malik looked between Rhea and Holly again. Yeah, they should search somewhere else. Stop wasting time here... "Yeah, we don't..." His agitation was terribly blatant. Or maybe it was resolve. Rhea’s face flashed with confusion. “Malik…?” Malik looked at the two ladies one more time and narrowed his eyes. "...But, [i]I[/i] do." He quickly took a few steps away from the wall, and said to the pair, "Sorry about this, but I'm going have to do this alone." He quickly darted down the hallway, sticking to the walls, and trying to get far away from them as possible so his stupid decision wouldn't get them killed. "Hey, wait--" Holly tried to stop him, but the African man had already disappeared from her side, already heading for the woman and her suited underlings ahead. She gritted her teeth - so much for tasking her to keep an eye on these two emotional liabilities. She couldn't risk running after him and make the situation worse than it already was now, so she switched to the comms with a resigned tone, "...Very well. I'll fall back with Rhea and regroup with the others first, then we'll come back for you. Just be careful, and keep us posted." It was bad enough for Malik to reveal himself before the enemy, but as long as those marching menaces didn't catch on her and Rhea, they still held the crucial cards in their hands. “Malik,” Rhea hissed into the comms. “It’s suicide out there, you have to come back.” Malik ignored both of them for now. It was probably for the best. If he ran to his death right now, then. She shot Holly a look. “You can’t be serious. You’re going to let him go?” She cleared her throat; attempting to speak levelly. “With what he's walking into, he can’t go alone.” Holly stared at Rhea, sighing in response to her indignant exclamation, "Look, Shizuka might have assigned me to keep watch over you two because I've more experience in this than the both of you, but my main job here isn't to babysit the reckless impulses of you two. This is a choice he has made for himself, and he's not a child." Then her eyes hardened, giving the CID agent a piercing look. Whatever she was going to say next might sound a tad unemotional, but she really couldn't afford wasting any more time catering to the whims of two hot-headed idiots. "Even if we go after him there's nothing we can do, only to speed up our own death instead. If you truly want to help him, then stay focused and don't lose sight of the [i]more[/i] important things. We'll still need to regroup with Ryu and Aislin to have any chance of going against those people." Turning away from Rhea, Holly gave their surroundings a quick glance, to secure an escape route away from Julia and her suited guards. "Let's hope that he has enough sense not to get himself killed in the heat of his rash decision, and hold out long enough until we can get reinforcements. I'm not going to let you go after him and get the [i]both[/i] of you killed just because you two can't keep your emotions in check." [i]To think that Shizuka's eccentricity pales in comparison to the childishness of these two[/i], Holly thought to herself as she beckoned Rhea to follow her. Gritting her teeth, Rhea’s eyes hesitated on the hallway Mailk took off down. She sighed. “... Fine, we’ll do it your way.” Rhea snorted. “Please, lecture me all you want when this is over.” [hr] [i]Ezekiel is taking too long.[/i] Julia thought to herself as she merely strutted down the hallways of her lab... she made it to the place where Blake battled those kids. The foyer and what a wreck it was. Tons of rubble everyone (and the lab above must look like hot garbage) all because Blake couldn't be bothered to clean up after himself. At least he could put back- "Hey, given all the goons, I take it you're Julia O'Sullivan?" Malik said as he walked through one of the doors of the lower floor, currently in his storm form in case they decide to start shooting at him. Julia looked down on him from the top of the stairs. And, as expected, Julia's bodyguards aimed their guns at him - but, Julia raised a hand up into the air. "At ease, soldiers," Julia said as a half-grin formed on her face... she knew exactly who this man was. "And I take it you're Malik Jakane... one of our many pains in the asses." "That would be me," Malik said, crossing his arms as he stared down Julia unafraid. "I want to know what you did to my friend... my friend Marcelle." Julia shrugged. "...Oh, you are so bold as to confront me personally without your little friends, when I can kill you with a flick of my wrist... oh, so, very, [i]very,[/i] bold." "Sorry, but I'm not in the mood for your rhetoric," Malik said. "In her very last log, she said she was outed, and I can't find her anywhere. So, what did you do to her?" Julia shrugged. "Well, if it gets you out of my hair..." Julia said in a condescending sarcasm that made Malik narrow his eyes incredulously. "...[i]She's dead, Jakane.[/i]" "What?!" Malik said, his fists were shaking, "You... bastards! She was my best friend! I can't believe you killed her like she was a dog!" "Me? Killed her? No," Julia said, crossing her arms. "I wanted her brought back alive for... further study." She stuck one hand out. "If you want to know who killed her, perhaps you should be looking to the women you [i]must[/i] be getting information from." Julia laughed as she reached into the pocket of her suit, and pulled out a USB drive. She held it up in the air, presenting it to Malik. "If you want your answers, here's they are... the only stipulation is that you get the hell out of my hair," Julia said as she threw the USB drive at Malik's feet as she walked down the stairs. She stepped over to Malik, and stared him directly in the face. "...Do we have a deal?" Malik had already picked up the USB drive, and realized that, from the tape that was around it, it was one of Marcelle's logs... he couldn't pass this up if it was real. "Yeah..." Malik said as he depowered his storm form. "...We have a deal." Julia gently tapped Malik's nose with her finger, and elected a confused look from Malik. "See you around, then, Mr. Jakane," Julia said as she walked past him with her posse. "It was nice meeting you." Malik stared at the USB drive... There was something wrong here, she was awfully willing to give this to them. Either way, he got to get back to Rhea. "...Sorry about that, guys," Malik said into the comms remorsefully. "But, I managed to steal one of Marcelle's last logs off the tall lady... where do we regroup?" Luckily for him, Holly and Rhea didn't progress too far, because Holly had to make sure Rhea didn't try to sneak off after Malik from right under her nose. "That was fast," she commented, giving Rhea a nod that Malik was alright. "Just head straight down the corridor we were hiding before you went after the redhead, then turn left. We'll wait for you there." While she was glad that the African man had somehow miraculously managed not to get himself killed by that woman and even got his hands on another one of Marcelle's logs, there was something fishy about this. How could someone like her let off Malik so easily like this without a fight? Either way, they would have to regroup first and then ponder about this suspicious development. [hr][i][h1][color=skyblue]Wendy Emily Lucker[/color], [color=lightseagreen]Rowan Campbell[/color], and...[/h1][sub](collaboration between [@Mr Allen J] and [@Zombiedude101])[/sub][/i][hr] [b][code]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills_[/code][/b] It took a few moments for Wendy Lucker, who had just about lost all hope of ever seeing sunlight again, to register the explosions in the distance. "Huh?" Wendy said as she hopped up to her feet and ran to the cell doors, immediately looking left and right as explosions rocked through the very base. Knocking chunks of the ceiling above them down. "Ro-Rowan?" Wendy called out to him to get his attention. In the mist of the explosion, Wendy heard footsteps coming up on them. Whipping her head around to see the same Japanese woman that has graced them with her presence a few moments ago. Her chains were rattling as she came in view. "...Okay, I shouldn't be doing this," Makoto said as she came to a stop in front of Wendy's cell and leaned in forward, doing something to the lock with a device that Wendy couldn't quite see. "But, you have to promise me - [i]promise me[/i] - that you'll get out of here fast as possible and stay away from this." She spoke with dead seriousness. A hand drifted towards Wendy's mouth, and she asked, "Who are you...?" Makoto looked up at Wendy, before answering, "...Just a concerned individual that doesn't quite agree with the Family," Makoto started off, before pressing on the subject. "Now, are you going to get out of here or what?" She stared at this woman for a few moments as she considered just [i]who[/i] was she. To Wendy, she was just a stranger, was there [i]something[/i] about her that elicited sympathy from this woman? No, no, no... that didn't quite make sense. There had to be another reason, a personal reason. Because, otherwise, she wouldn't- "...Well?" Makoto asked, dragging Wendy back to earth, she shook her head as to quickly recover from her mental rambling. "Yeah..." Wendy trailed off, scratching the back of her neck as the lock to the cell door was suddenly broken open, very crudely, before the cell door opened, and Wendy sure as hell didn't waste time in stepping through the door. The collar around her neck was broken - sliced into pieces - merely by Makoto's metal manipulation ability. Wendy could feel the power returning to her in the collar's absence, and she finally realized that this was the miracle that they needed... The mysterious woman turned away, saying bluntly, "Like I said, get the hell out of here," She looked over her shoulder with a less than impressed look in her eyes, as smoky black wisps surrounded her, "...This is a one-time thing." She said as she completed her transformation into a shadow-y being, and ran through the wall, disappearing. [i]What was that about?[/i] The thoughts occurred to Wendy as she just brushed it off, and decided to flex her powers just to make sure that everything's in working order. She spread her fingers out, and focused on the concrete floor. Pulling a small rock out of the ground, and floating it up into the air. She briefly looked around... so many people here... even though the strange woman broke her out, she couldn't just leave them all behind - what kind of person would she be if she left them to such deplorable conditions? The floating stone flew into the cell's lock hard enough to bend and contort it out of place - and Wendy walked over, and pulled the bars aside. Looking Rowan square in the eyes. "...Hey." She awkwardly said, as she once again was dumbfounded as to what to do next, then her eyes landed on the collar around Rowan's neck. "Shit, we gotta get that off," She started off. "I... really don't think I can control stone well enough to get it off. Without breaking your neck, I mean. What if..." She grabbed her chin as she looked around. "Just break this thing off already, I don't care how you do it." Rowan firmly stated. Wendy still wasn't super sure about this, but she was going have to try something. Just be really gentle with Rowan. She focused on the stone, and hoped for the best, pressing the the concrete chunk against the underside of Rowan's collar with enough force to damage it... but, not shatter Rowan's spinal cord. [i]Hopefully.[/i] A choked grunt escaped from the scrawny teen's mouth as the chunk of debris crushed the inhibitor unit in the collar, before he did the rest of the work and tore free with his restored powers. Now that Rowan was out, they had to save Jessica, and Kai... but, at the expense of all these people? "Rowan... we gotta save Jess and Kai... but, can we really save [i]everyone[/i] here?" "We can try," he said, before clenching both fists and concentrating on the closest cell doors, spurred on by his returned strength. A great metallic screech resonated throughout the corridor as doors were torn from their hinges, sometimes pulling down the doorframes with them. Wendy nodded her head, as she remembered that the most she could do was break open the cell doors... they didn't have time to individually break every single collar. She was sorry. She just focused on the hallway and bent and turned the concrete around so that the next few cell doors were blasted open by Wendy's concrete powers. The people inside of them came stepping out, only for Wendy to urge them. "Try breaking everyone free!" Wendy urged them... all they could do was hope that they could break everyone free while they went for Jess and Kai. "Rowan, try popping their collars off." Nodding, he turned his sights towards the first liberated prisoner that he saw and wrenched his arms outwards as though he were pulling a pair of sliding doors apart. In an instant, the collar broke in half at the center and its victim, a scruffy looking man with a beard, gave the two teens a nod and made a break for what looked like the exit. Rowan repeated this step for the rest of those with collars, though more than a few of them weren't wearing any. They weren't metahumans, that was for sure. It didn't take long for the rest of the prisoners to be freed, Ellen among them, and she rubbed at the faint marks about her neck where the collar had rested for what felt like a lifetime. She felt a rush as her power returned, steadying her swaying form, at least for now. She knew she had at most a few hours before her body shut itself down. At worst she only had a few minutes. It was strange, she normally had much longer with her powers, but she had only possessed this speed for a few days, and already she felt mere hours away from another shift. "I think that's the last of them," Rowan said with a glance over the shoulder towards Wendy after she'd finished checking the last few cells for any survivors. "Good, lets go," Wendy said as she was quick to run down the hall towards the door Ezekiel's goons took Jess and Kai. As there was nothing stopping her from saving them. Rowan was right behind her. However, one of the prisoners who was a woman took a step out of the cell, she looked down the hall where Rowan and Wendy went before her form "melted". Flesh dissolved and went downwards until it had all disappeared. And it revealed the form of Blake's shapeshifting Indian Secretary. Wearing a suit opposed to the casual clothes that were apart of her disguise. She pressed her earpiece, and said, "...Blake, I believe I found your mole." [hr] Running through the halls of the damn base finally paid off when they came across the massive metal doors to the place known as the "Conversion Chamber." The place where Ezekiel said that he took Jess and Kai... that bastard was going to get it when Wendy was finished, but Wendy had to, first, settle business down here. These massive doors made even the large Wendy Lucker feel awfully small... She had to make an effort to stay strong, and remember everything that was at stakes here. A brief glance towards Rowan's battered face reminded her that she had to stay strong. "Okay," Wendy said as she brushed her hands, on contact, her electrical ability created sparks. She focused on the door, sticking both hands out as she created electricity that went into the door, "Rowan, can you lend me a hand?" She asked. "Doesn't come for free," he remarked with a weak grin, pressing his palms against the metal. The doors to the room were violently pried open by both of their combined strength. The door was pushed apart... loudly skidding against the ground (Hell, Wendy could see some [i]sparks[/i]), so if it was anything, it was [i]not[/i] subtle. Didn't matter, because at this point, Wendy was past the point of worrying so damn much about staying quiet. Just like she told Rowan earlier... The doors opened to reveal the shining light of the room. ...It's all about sending a message. The room was circle-shaped, almost like a dome, and not quite that large. Fairly medium sized... the floors were large tan tiles, and the walls were made out of a different title. But, that wasn't what caught Wendy's attention. Lining the room, starting on each end of the door, were large glass pods that were straight out of a scifi movie. They had metal tubing on the top of them that went off into the walls to parts unknown. That wasn't all... every single pod had a person inside of it. A different person from all walks of life. That never wanted any part of the Family's insanity. Just trapped in these pods. In the center of the room, stood the tall blond man that Wendy had long declared her mortal enemy: Ezekiel Anagnos. With his troupe of Secretaries, holding Jessica and Kai down and ultimately relieving Wendy that the two were still alive. "Shit, Wendy?!" Jessica said as she thrashed around. "I don't know how you did it, but thank [i]God[/i] you're here." Ezekiel glared down Wendy, and Wendy made sure to return the favor... before the man broke out in laughter. "Oh my goodness, you [i]truly[/i] are a nuisance!" Ezekiel said in laughter. "No matter what we do, you still find [i]some[/i] way to be a pest... I can see why Blake wanted you on our side." He continued laughing, before he went right back to glaring at Wendy. At this point, Wendy was far from being afraid of the Family anymore, she took a few steps up, and said to Ezekiel, "Yeah, and I'm here to get my friends back." Wendy said, swiping her hand aside. "So, I'm going to be a pest a little longer." She narrowed her eyes as she took one more step forward, but her march was stopped when Ezekiel pointed his hand at her and shot a low voltage blast of electricity - deflected by the combined efforts of both Wendy and Rowan. "Isn't it convenient that you arrived at just the time to watch the spectacle?" Ezekiel asked. "What?" "Allow me to show you." Ezekiel said with a grin as he merely snapped his fingers, and he flipped a switch in the center of the room. [hr][hider=Kingdom Hearts 2 OST - Organization XIII Theme][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u0PZJQqUXE[/youtube][/hider][hr] Screams of the people in the pods filled the room as they slammed against the glass desperately trying to get out. The pods were being filled with a green energy... No, the energy was being pulled out of them, and being sucked into the metal pipes above the pipes. The very essence of their being being yanked away. To Wendy, it almost looked like someone's [i]soul[/i] getting pulled out of their body. But, that wasn't he awful part. As more of their Metahuman energy was being removed... they began to lose cohesion. Their bodies melted and dissolved as they ultimately reduced to nothing but [i]ash[/i]. Wendy was standing there, staring in [i]shock[/i]. How... how could they do such a thing? "You all are fucked in the head!" Wendy shouted. "It's all about progress, Ms. Lucker!" Ezekiel shouted back over her. "To change the world, you have to make sacrifices!" Wendy could only watch in horror as people died in the pods... though, she caught eye of someone that she had seen earlier, a few weeks ago at the fair; Nick O'Connor. The tall man who got her out of the fair. She could only feel indebted to him as she tried to pull apart the pod with her magnetism.... and she made no difference as Nick faded away with people like Asuma Obokata, Samantha Cole, Abraham Gene... people she would never know. Before it was all over... and the pods were full of nothing but black ash. Ellen had sprinted past their opponents, blurring in her haste. She skidded to a stop, slamming into the glass so hard she nearly bounced off. It was too late. The figure before her, someone she didn't even know, had just disintegrated. It was horrifying. She stepped back turning around to see two of the Secretaries approaching with out-stretched hands. She backed up, pressing her back against the pod. Her eyes darted about in panic, seeking an avenue of escape, seeing it narrow as they drew closer. It took her a moment to remember that she could move faster than both of them. The wind whipped her hair behind her face as she sped between them, narrowly avoiding their grasping hands. "Oh my God..." Wendy said, as she witnessed the Auschwitz-level massacre that took place before her. She thought the Family were bad before... but, now, they are utterly irredeemable in their eyes. "... Some of them weren't even Metahumans." She noted. Ezekiel loudly scuffed, before he loudly said, "[i]Everyone's[/i] a Metahuman, you fool." He raised his hand up into the air, and the double-doors that they had opened with magnetism were dragged shut by Ezekiel's far superior electromagnetic abilities. He took a few steps forward. "Now that I made... [i]room,[/i] I think I'm going to stop playing with you children and put you to good use. Regardless of what Blake says, you're useless." He started laughing as he was surrounded by electricity, he looked over his shoulders at his Secretaries, "Put them in the pods, and prepare them for conversion. I will handle this." As much as the two thrashed, they couldn't break free of the Secretary's grasps, as they were shoved into the pods. "No!" Wendy said, before she was struck with another bolt of Ezekiel's electricity, only to absorb it. She stared down Ezekiel. "Rowan, get Jess and Kai out of there... I'll hold off Caligula here..." Wendy said, fearlessly marching forward to meet Ezekiel's challenge... hoping that she could defeat him so Rowan could save Jess and Kai. The scrawny teen almost looked ready to argue, but the familiar expression on Wendy's face told him it was no point arguing, especially not when their two remaining friends were about to be reduced to ashes. Turning his sights towards the two Secretaries stowing Jess and Kai into the pods, Rowan realised they were still wearing the collars slapped on earlier and set his focus towards them, tightening his fingers into a fiat and then unclasping them. With a crunch, both collars were split in half. The herculean strength had returned to Jessica, and she felt powerful. She could feel [i]power[/i] flowing through her. Suddenly, that Secretary holding her down didn't seem so tough! She broke out of her grasp with one twist of her upper body, and gave the Secretary what for with a elbow to the chest. She was strong as the mountain! The Secretary hit the ground, and Jessica wondered if she was being melodramatic. She [i]was[/i] pulling her punches after all. Kai had already transformed into clear-blue ice, and froze the hands of the Secretary holding her. Ellen crashed into the unfortunate man a moment later, and he screamed as his now brittle hands snapped under the force of the impact. Ellen winced, "Sorry..." She turned to the other two for a moment, the bruises already forming on her arms. "I guess we're the rescue party?" "Hell, thank you," Jessica said, she couldn't smile because they had to get the hell out of here. "Shit, with those doors close, we gotta deal with this maniac. We need to get them open." Ezekiel looked over his shoulder, before whipping his whole body around in a teeth baring display. "Ugggggggh! You... I have no words! You two are the most annoying children I have ever encountered!" Ezekiel groaned out of irritation. Wendy took the moment to run over to the wall, and touch the concrete, and switch to her terrakinesis. It barely crossed her mind that her hand was turned into stone, what she was more focused on was the fact that she had an ability at her disposal that could even the odds against Ezekiel. Clapping her hands together, she violently pulled a pillar out of the ground, and punched it, shooting it directly at Ezekiel. The man's reflexes were top tier, because the very instant he noticed it, he floated out of the way, and let it hit the wall behind him. "What you don't realize is that you have [i]nowhere[/i] to run!" Ezekiel shouted as electricity surrounded himself, he crossed his arms as it got more and more intense. He pointed one hand at Wendy, and the other at Rowan, and fired off arcs of electricity at the both of them. Wendy flipped up another chunk of concrete on reflex that dispersed against the blast of electricity whilst Rowan's magnetic field shrugged it off with little effect... but, Ezekiel was right. The doors were a bitch to open, and she doubted that they could get them open again. They would [i]have[/i] to kill Ezekiel to get out of here... but, after witnessing what Ezekiel did... Wendy was more than comfortable with that. Out for blood, she charged forward, screaming, "Why don't you go to hell?!" before she slammed her fist into the ground, creating a wave of stone spikes that split the earth as they went for Ezekiel. The electrokinetic man merely floated up into the air and charged Wendy. Swinging his leg followed by a trail of electricity that the younger girl could only parry by surrounding her arms with concrete, and taking the blow. Sliding backwards slightly. Hell, it could have been worse, but Wendy was going to kill Ezekiel here and now. Wendy brought her fists back and used the stone as boxing gloves to punch Ezekiel - but the man released a quick burst of electricity that caused Wendy to convulse. He followed that with an electric-infused kick to Wendy's stomach that knocked over what was left of Wendy. Ready to finish the job, Ezekiel raised his leg high up into the air, to bring it down on Wendy and kill her. "Hey, asshole!" Rowan had his own score to settle with Ezekiel - the man had put him in hospital before and subjected his friend to the electrical tortures and he sure as hell wasn't going to let it lie. Teeth clenched, the scrawny teen narrowly ducked as the man fired off another arc of electrical energy which crackled and burst against his own magnetic influence, before gesticulating with his arm towards a set of loose piping by one of the ashed pods and clenching his palm into a tightened fist and drawing back. In mere seconds, the piping tore away with a screech, before it was projected at Ezekiel with its jagged point aimed straight for his heart. Ellen took advantage of Rowan's distraction, zooming in and helping Wendy to her feet. There was nothing she could do about the doors, but she could at least try and help her against the madman floating in the air. The blonde-haired man bore his teeth as he whipped around towards Rowan, and in a display of incredible reflexes, grabbed the pipe with his bare hands, and used his magnetic abilities to stop the rest of them. Engaging in a tug of war between himself and Rowan. "Don't be so conceited...." Ezekiel growled at Rowan. "... Your magnetism belongs to me, and me alone!" He shouted in a display that literally tore apart each of the metal pipes, and whipped around back towards Wendy. Only to see that [i]whore[/i] had disappeared. Only to hear cracking from the distance, as a desperate chunk of concrete flew towards him, and missed. Hmph, his eyes landed on Wendy, and he could notice all the blood that was dripping off of her. "You'll die soon." Ezekiel said... before he snapped his fingers and emitted an electromagnetic field that stopped the obvious sneak attack that would come from Rowan. In the midst of the chaotic battle against a man who proclaimed himself a God, the doors were parted from each other by the will of yet another party entering the fray. The doors opening displayed a light that seemed almost angelic... the doors revealed Makoto Koda yet again. The unexpected savior of Wendy and Rowan much earlier. Wendy looked on, still in confusion as to [i]which[/i] side this woman is on. Ezekiel merely grinned. "Ah, Makoto, assist me in the disposal of the-" It all happened in an instant, the chains that were hanging off Makoto's waist were thrown at Ezekiel - the bloody hooks at the end were barbed, and the most painful part of her chains - as she ran towards him. Ezekiel eyes shot wide as he did the first thing that came to mind; use his superior reflexes to sidestep them. They flew past him, but it was the last trick of Makoto's sleeve. He looked at Makoto. "What is the meaning of [i]this?![/i]" he shouted. "Oh, just me reconsidering my career in villainy, [i]love,[/i]" Makoto said, as a distraction to use her metal manipulation to quickly bind Ezekiel's legs, having the hooks stab into his heels. Ezekiel loudly shouted in pain as the hooks dug deep, every inch he could feel with such painful [i]detail[/i] that he'd vividly remember this for years to come. Tears dripped down from his eyes as every motion to break free only made the chilling experience of having cold metal in him. [i]That woman...[/i] Wendy had trailed off in her own head as she watched Makoto once again save them... but, why? Wendy was stopped in the middle of their encounter, tempted to finish Ezekiel off, but they finally have their exit. "Kids, get out of here!" Makoto loudly shouted, whipping around so her shoulder was facing the door. "Oh no you don't!" Ezekiel shouted. His legs were binded, his arms were not, as he pointed his hand at Makoto and shot her with a quick, desperate, shock of electricity that stunned the older woman, sending her falling to the ground. Wendy who was ready to run for the door, reconsidered for a moment. She noticed that Jess, Kai, and Ellen were running for the door desperately, but she couldn't leave the woman behind. Not after she had saved them just now, and twice in a row. But the man hadn't almost forgotten about the presence of another metal manipulator in the area, who drove the barbed points further into his flesh. That was it, that was when Ezekiel finally had enough of the constant humiliation at the hands of mere [i]children[/i]. He loudly screamed out of anger as he emitted extreme amounts of electricity from his body. All metal in the room started flying around wildly as he finally reached his breaking point. It became impossible to see anything, and Wendy had to get behind cover to hide from Ezekiel's electric storm, but she knew that it wasn't long until he destroyed this in his rampage. He desperately crawled towards Makoto, with the intent on killing her clear as day. Well, like she said before, the only way to save themselves was to kill Ezekiel. Wendy couldn't pinpoint where he was... but she could vaguely see his dark figure in the storm of electricity. She had one shot at this... one shot at bringing down a tyrant that was, in her eyes, beyond any and all redemption. A being of pure evil. She darted out fearlessly as a lion, before slamming her hand down one more time, and did the same technique that Ezekiel dodged earlier; creating a wave of cascading spikes that went straight for Ezekiel's body. She dipped back behind that concrete... hoping for the best. Only to hear a hoarse yelp from Ezekiel... the output of his electricity slowed down to a halt, and Wendy felt like it was safe to come out. A spike of concrete had impaled Ezekiel square through the side, a bloody display that leaked blood in all directions. Ezekiel quickly ramped up the electricity, and a stray bolt had hit Wendy and knocked her back again. It wouldn't have long until Ezekiel overloaded and killed all of them. "Ro-Rowan!" Wendy shouted, "It's up to you!" A great metallic screech roared out once again as her scrawny friend heard her voice and drew in more metal debris under his influence, shielding himself from one of Ezekiel's projectiles. The man's electrical arcs couldn't touch him on account of his magnetic field, but that hadn't stopped him from turning his focus towards smashing Rowan into a finely ground paste with whatever objects he could push towards him in desperation. But the scrawny teen found an opening and took it, ducking down below a sheet of metal and bolting towards where Ezekiel stood, metallic debris trailing behind him, only to draw up some of it at his feet, then lifting himself upwards as the wounded man fired off a pipe at him. For what felt like a minute, Rowan soared above the projectile and over Ezekiel's head... And dropped down behind him with an awkward thud. Rowan felt what might have been his knee cracking, maybe, but in the heat of the moment he didn't give it more than a fraction of a second's notice. "No, no, no, no..." Ezekiel repeated over and over again. Ezekiel twisted to face him, contemptuous but shocked by the [i]child's[/i] unexpected manoeuvre, only to feel a sharp, agonising pain as something punctured through his abdomen. A chunk of sharpened, metallic debris, pulled from one of the pods by Rowan and driven inside him. Only in [i]his[/i] case, there would be no chance of getting to a hospital. Rowan hesitated for moment as this man stared back at him like a deer caught in headlights, then drove it further inwards. For a moment... there was a brief moment of regret in Ezekiel's eyes as the metal pushed into his body. Ensuring that his death... his death was set in stone. He coughed out blood. Only someone who paid close attention to the man's final death cries would notice that he had a look of shame in his eyes. Was it realization of his psychosis? Or was it shame that he was killed by a mere, [i]dusty[/i], little child like Rowan? After that flash of emotion finally faded, there was nothing left of Ezekiel but a pool of blood, which his head was slumped down into. The once "glorious" leader of the Founding Family killed by his own arrogance.... truly, he had only himself to blame for this. "...Tyrant destroyed." Wendy muttered to herself as she regained her composure and stood straight up. Staring at the gruesome sight of Ezekiel's lifeless body almost as if her eyes couldn't be pulled away. He was a monster for what he did. "... I kind of wish it didn't have to be this way," Wendy said to her friends. "Someone like him... he needs to face accountability for his actions." She bitterly said as she turned away towards the woman that did so much to save her life: Makoto Koda. The older Japanese woman was pushing herself up to her feet, "... Can't say I'll miss that." She bitterly muttered underneath her breath as she hopped up to her feet. She turned around and saw the dead body of Ezekiel, and wretched a little bit. Not at the dead body, she's seen (and made) plenty, but the fact that these kids had killed someone. "I... can't believe you kids did that... that's one hell of a weight." She looked between Wendy, and Rowan. "...And you're gonna carry that weight." It didn't register with Rowan for another couple of moments, before he finally felt the gravity of it sinking in. This was the first time he'd really looked it in the eye. Seen it up close and personal. The old man had gotten it hard but he only ever remembered the body being carried off in a bag. Not like this. The scrawny teen grunted, them closed his fingers "This was payback, for what he did to us." A certain disgust overcame him as he tried to rationalise the killing and he found himself planting a foot against the man's lifeless corpse, nudging it firmly. Wendy nodded her head when. "After what he did to the people here - and hell, [i]countless[/i] others we haven't even met... he really deserved it. It was a [i]long[/i] time coming." She felt a surprising clarity and justification behind her actions. "Let's just get out of here, my ass is already in the fryer for all of this," Kumiko said, trying to urge them to get the hell out of here. She pulled the chains that were previously wrapped around Ezekiel's legs away, and the chains rested hanging off her waist, as she held onto them. Though, there was a question that was in Wendy's head since the very moment she met this woman: who is she? Why is helping them? There had to be something else at stake here. Putting her foot down hard, Wendy turned towards Makoto, and asked her one question, and one question, and one question alone... "...[i]Just who are you?[/i]" Wendy said, putting her foot down. "I'm not taking that 'concerned citizen' crap, either. You have a [i]reason[/i] for helping us. It has to be more than 'reconsidering your career.' I want answers." That was when Makoto froze in place. Completely silent. A part of Wendy wondered if she was going to come clean, or make up another lie to cover her ass. The only sound Makoto made was a sigh, before she looked over her shoulder at Wendy. "What? Didn't Euan show you [i]one[/i] photo of me?" Makoto said, immediately earning a raised eyebrow from Wendy. "Then again, we didn't take a whole lot of pictures together. What a shy man he was." "Wait... are you...?" "Yuuuuup," Makoto said, fully turning around with a smile. "...[i]Your mother.[/i]" [hr][hr][i][h1][color=skyblue]Wendy Emily Lucker[/color], [color=lightseagreen]Rowan Campbell[/color], [color=aqua]Jennifer Caspin[/color], & [color=salmon]Haruka Takashiro[/color].[/h1][sub](collaboration between [@Mr Allen J], [@Zombiedude101] and [@tsukune])[/sub][/i][hr] [b][code]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills_[/code][/b] "...What?" Rowan broke the silence, perplexed by the news. He'd not heard much of Wendy's mother, much less seen her, now this person claimed to be her. It was a lot to take in. "Wait... you're Kumiko?" Wendy asked, hearing that her father spoke very fondly of her mother, but never showed her at least what she looked like. She was so surprised that her jaw dropped. "Y-yeah," Kumiko said. "Wish we could have met under different circumstances... but, hey." "But, how did you know who I am...? What I look like...?" "Well... I used the Family's resources to keep tabs on you," Kumiko said... before realizing that sounded really weird. "I mean... you plastered your little photos all over the place! It's not like you were keeping yourself private..." She scratched the back of her neck. "But... but..." Wendy trailed off. "...[i]Where were you all these years?[/i]" That's when Kumiko turned her head. Purely out of shame. She tried to come up with something. "...Look, I'll be honest here; it was a completely stupid reason, and you have every right to hate me." Nodding her head, Kumiko faced Wendy. "But... right now, I don't think now would be the be the best time to discuss it." There was the elephant in the room... being Ezekiel's dead body. If the Family found out about this, ooooh boy, they would stop pussyfooting for sure. "You two - no, [i]all of you[/i] - need to get the hell out of here, and stay out of this. If they-" "No," Wendy calmly said. "I'm not doing this for my health, Kumiko. My sister's been... mind controlled, and they're doing [i]sick[/i] things to her as we speak." She stared directly at Kumiko to say, "I've been through too much just to give up here." Kumiko was silent as she realized Wendy's determination. "...Fine." Kumiko resigned. "If you're so hell-bent on saving your sister, I'll help you - but, you gotta get out of here afterwards. Got it?" "I want nothing more..." Wendy said. "Righto, I know where Diana would be if she's been... controlled," Kumiko said. "Let's-" At that moment, she heard the footsteps of someone entering the room, and sounded a little surprised. [hr] One moment, the place was dead silent; then all of a sudden, the base was now roaring with explosions and screams. Ryu was pretty reluctant to let Haruka pair up with Jennifer at first - the young man knew that the Japanese agent was probably told by his paranoid brother to keep an eye on them. [i]Most likely being callous about Jennifer who is still susceptible to the mind control.[/i] In the end Haruka was allowed to go with the blonde, after he swore to Ryu that he would put his own safety first and not to do anything dangerous. Then they parted ways, with Ryu teamed with Aislin. The route Haruka and Jennifer took was deserted, and they had yet to bump into any of the Family's guards. Thanks to the side effect of Ryu's discharge ability which easily took out the surveillance cameras, but it was just as he had told them: the security in this base was awfully thin. The main force must be on standby in the other base where the Machine was, and kept away from the Beast to preserve their own numbers while taking out more RAVENs to render them powerless to stop the Machine. Little did the Family know that his twin had devised a plan to turn the Family's diversion tactic against them. Everything seemed to be within Shizuka's calculations so far, but they couldn't let down their guard just yet. ...Until an explosion from somewhere at the end of the hallway nearly threw Haruka off his feet. It sounded like there was a fierce fight going on ahead of them. Haruka's mind was telling him to retrace his steps and get out of here as quickly as possible, but they had already come this far to turn back now. "Let's go," he said to Jennifer, and they both ran towards the source of commotion. By the time they reached the end of the tunnel, they had arrived in a strange circular room lined with human-sized pods, each was empty save for a pile of ash. it wasn't hard to guess that these pods originally contained some Metahumans... and Haruka didn't want to imagine what might have possibly happened to them. The battle had apparently ended, with a handful of teenagers and an older Asian woman around a dead body. It took the young man a moment to recognize the person on the floor covered in blood was none other than Ezekiel Anagnos, one of the two Blessed Three members whose faces Shizuka and Holly had identified and showed the team their pictures during the meetings back at Aislin's suite. The first person to notice the newcomers was Kumiko... damn it. Her twitchy fingers lingered around the chains wrapped around her hips. She noticed a man and a blonde-haired blue-eyed woman. She had [i]zero[/i] idea of who they were, and was on the offensive. One swing from her chains, and both of them would have their throats slashed. She was about to say something, but he was looking at her - newly reunited - daughter with some shifty eyes. As if he knew her. Haruka's eyes then shifted to the teens, and widened at the one familiar face he hadn't seen for months. "...Wendy, right? Why are you here? What's going on?" It only took a moment for Wendy to recognize Haruka... though, she was still in shock over the fact that she just met her long-lost mother. She just couldn't keep her composure like she normally could. Instead, she stammered out the words, "I'm... looking for someone." Wendy replied. "What are you... what are [i]you[/i] doing here?" She recognized him, but couldn't remember off the top of her head. Rowan instinctively went on guard at the sight of the newcomers, but the apparent familiarity with Wendy kept him from drawing up any debris into a threatening stance. Ezekiel's blood had slowly pooled at his feet, staining the soles of his shoes with a dark crimson. "Who are you?!" He demanded, the pressure of the situation getting to him. Haruka couldn't help being wary as he watched the defensive stance that the woman and the rest of the teens had put up in Jennifer's and his presence, but it seemed like they were holding back from killing them both when he was able to recognize Wendy. As long as he didn't make any sudden movements to pose any threat to them, they probably wouldn't hurt him for no reason. At least that was what he tried to convince himself with to calm down. "We're here on a mission for RAVEN... in a way," he started off, giving Jennifer a sideways glance. "We know the Family keeps the second Beast here and is going to unleash it to buy themselves some time until the Machine is fully charged, so we're here to scout this base to help the RAVENs plan their assault attack." There were more he could tell them, mainly Shizuka's own schemes, but the woman's suit was the same as the IU's standard wear he could never forget from the hostage incident at the Courtbridge Mall, and that was enough to make him hesitate. He frowned at her. Did she kill Ezekiel with the kids? Whose side was she really on? Kumiko, in response to Haruka staring at her incredulously, merely waved with a cheery smile. Whether that was to be a smartass or legitimate was... up in the air. "Machine...?" Wendy said, before she looked over her shoulder at the pods. She knew Blake and Ezekiel mentioned something about the machine - but, something here... This had to be its fuel. "Um, nevermind." Haruka shrugged. "All I know the Machine is not in this base, but the other one in Regal Square." "And that's where we're going next." Kumiko begrudgingly said. Hopefully they'd get out alive! Horribly maimed, but alive. She looked at Wendy for a moment, and realized that the squirt would find a way in there and out, either way. So, hopefully they'd have an easier time inside with her help. Another deafening explosion shook the room once more, this time from somewhere above. Noises of gunshots and yelling people followed after the boom, prompting the young man to take the cue that it was time they should really leave here, ASAP. "Let's save further explanations for later. We have to get out, now." "Yeah, was thinking the same thing." Kumiko said as she grabbed her chains and moved towards the door gesturing for Wendy to follow behind her. "Follow me, I know an easy way out of here." "There's no reason to stick around here regardless," Wendy said as she followed behind Kumiko, whilst Rowan moved close beside them in tow. "Let's get out of this shithole," he agreed. "...Stop right there." Julia said as she rounded the corner with her posse of Secretaries and bodyguards. Her arrival made everyone come to a stop (and Kumiko felt a distinct irritation towards Haruka for wasting their time here) before her large presence. She snapped her fingers and her guards had their weapons trained on the group. Julia personally came down here to ask why Ezekiel hadn't finished his task yet... only to look over the group to see his dead body. "E-Ezekiel..." Julia muttered underneath her breath, realizing the boy she saved all those years ago was dead... No matter. If he had fallen here of all times, then he wasn't as perfect as the Family built him up to be. In the end, it would be Julia. One way or another. She cleared her throat, before her booming voice asked, "What is the meaning of this? What has happened to Ezekiel?" "Um, well," Kumiko said, putting her hands behind her back. "I think he tripped..." She said, in a tone that well-hidden the sarcastic undertones of her message. Julia was not amused. Her eyes fixed on Makoto, and she narrowed them. "Hello, [i]traitor.[/i]" "Aw, damn," Kumiko said. "I was hoping to make the news of my betrayal a [i]surprise[/i]. With confetti and everything." The words that came out of her mouth were merely a distraction... she was trying to subtly remove the triggers to the goons weapons. Though, they had literally nothing to deal with Julia's overwhelming cyromancery. She looked over her shoulder at Wendy. Well, except teleporting out of the way. Julia rolled her eyes as she finally paid attention to the people in the room. Her eyes landed on the blonde-haired girl, and immediately recognized her. "W-what are you doing here?" Julia asked, her jaw dropping as her plans were [i]dangerously[/i] close to falling apart. She took a step towards her, and demanded. "I repeat: what are you doing here?" Jennifer (who was more than content with keeping quiet and focusing on the mission) looked at the woman's face, and immediately everything started distorting. She grasped both sides of her head, as she fell to her knees as the crippling headaches nearly knocked her unconscious. "God damn it..." Jennifer said, as it nearly drove her insane. Haruka held her shoulders to steady her, glancing at her with a worried look, then to Julia with narrowed eyes. From the air of authority and power he could feel from the red-haired woman, she was probably a member of Blessed Three; the one who gave Marcelle the addictive drugs. Then it all disappeared, and Jennifer had never felt so much clarity in her mind. "I... I know you," Jennifer said as she steadied herself, and pointed at Julia. "You're that woman that kidnapped me... took my hand... Julia O'Sullivan." Julia put a hand on her hip and shook her head, "Well, it looks like you're seeing through that girl's mental ability... the mind can only take so many contradictions, after all..." "Psst," Kumiko said to Wendy. "I broke their guns... just give me a second, and I'll get the three of us out of here." Kumiko had no idea what was going on, and quite frankly, didn't care. Her mind was on getting out of here... and she had the perfect way out of here. She just had to [i]recall[/i]. She used her superpower to vividly remember something related to her teleportation ability... It brought a tear to her eye, but she managed to switch from metal manipulation to teleportation. Now, she just needed the perfect moment... "Just try to grab someone..." Wendy nodded her head, whilst Rowan shot her a confused glance, oblivious to their conversation. "[i]What[/i] did you do to me?" Jennifer snarled at Julia, the bone spears were ready to punch through her arms. Julia merely grinned. "Come now, Jennifer, you're a smart girl," She shrugged, and put her hand out, "Couldn't you figure it out?" "You said [i]creation,[/i] and I keep having visions of myself in a pod... you did-" At this moment, Kumiko's shouted, "Now!" That the signal for Wendy to grab onto Haruka and Jen, while Kumiko grabbed onto a surprised Rowan. "Huh?!" Kumiko didn't really have think to really be looking around, wondering if Wendy got everyone. If Wendy couldn't get them in time, then oh well. Kumiko grabbed onto Wendy regardless, and she disappeared in a dim flash of light. Appearing on the other side of Julia in the moment, before Julia's head could even whip around, they were already down the hallway. "Let's go, kids!" Kumiko said as she started to run alongside them, leaving Rowan no choice but to stumble along after them before he had any chance to question what had just happened. Haruka shook off the effect from the sudden teleportation and followed after the woman and the teens, when he realized they were missing one person. "Hang on, where's Jennifer?" "Oooooh..." Kumiko said as she came to a stop, then she turned to Wendy. "I... couldn't grab her in time," Wendy said. "I-I'm-I'm so sorry." Wendy nervously said. Kumiko was probably going to sound [i]real[/i] harsh here, but, "...Sorry, but that's out of our hands," Kumiko said to Haruka, "If you want to go back and save her, fine. But, we have someone else [i]we[/i] need to save. We [i]have[/i] to go." Kumiko once again gestured to Wendy and Rowan to come along, starting a sprint, but Wendy hesitated for a moment. Before shaking her head, and running behind Kumiko. [i]Sorry... I'll make it up to you some day, Haruka.[/i] Wendy thought to herself. [i]I can't believe I'm so desperate to save Diana that I'm just leaving everyone else to die... I... No, just stay focused.[/i] "Let's find Kai, Jess, and Ellen," Wendy said, wondering where they went. "They've gotta be around somewhere," Rowan added, "I broke their collars." Haruka recalled the times when he talked to Jennifer, of what he had told her: while her friends could try to help her as much as they could, it was ultimately still down to herself to put an end to all the emotional agony she had been through all these years. He just had to believe in her. If what Shizuka said about the flawed mind control was right, Haruka knew she was strong enough to overcome that. He closed his eyes. "Yeah, let's go," he said finally. "...This is something she has to do on her own; it's her own fight. There's nothing we can do to help her." Though, he should probably inform the rest of the misfit team on the recent development. With one last glance over his shoulder, he ran after Wendy and the rest, his finger pressing the comm-piece as he reported to Ryu and the others while running. [i]I'll be back for you, Jennifer[/i], he thought to himself. [i]Just wait a bit longer.[/i] [hr][hider=Kingdom Hearts 2 OST - Organization XIII Theme][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u0PZJQqUXE[/youtube][/hider][hr] Julia sighed. Perhaps she should have paid the kids, and the traitor some more mind. If they killed Ezekiel... then they are easily the biggest threat to the Family. No doubt. Blake would not be happy to hear this... Heh, the poor bastard's heart might explode. But, she'd worry about killing them later. She had to focus on Jennifer. "Let me just stop you there," Julia said as she turned back towards Jennifer. "It's just me and you now... at this point, I might as well just tell you everything. Because it doesn't matter because I am so far along in my plans..." Julia walked around her prey with a malicious smile on. Which told Jennifer that Julia was the one in control here, and could kill her at any moment. Like a tiger circling a lonesome lamb... "You remember your little 'past'?" Julia said. "Where your foot was miraculously caught on a rock, and you lived a few years as a new person...?" "Y-yes..." "All lies," Julia said as she took a few steps and put her hands behind her back. "In truth, all was it was one big lie. All memory manipulation. Just to give you a convincing past so you can blend in with your friends." "Then... what happened? Who am I...? I swore I..." "In truth, you never even left Verthaven [i]alive[/i]," Julia said, finally facing the confused Jennifer. "...[i]You drowned when the Devil pulled you under.[/i] The Hound just fished what was left of you out of the water." Jennifer gasped as the words. "It can't be... then how am I here today? I am [i]alive[/i]." "Because, I did what other scientists only [i]fantasied[/i] about," Julia said. "With my medical and biological [i]genius[/i] that the Blessed Three are known for..." She cleared her throat. "...I revived the dead." Julia said, and Jennifer loudly gasped. "You owe every moment from when Megan released you, to me." [i]And what a loyal employee Megan was... hmph, was.[/i] "No, I refuse, it can't be true," Jennifer said. "How can you revive the dead? It's impossible." "Well, you can't just revive anyone from the dead, I admit," Julia said, shrugging. "You need a special someone with a special [i]something[/i]... and that something is regeneration." Jennifer honestly couldn't keep denying that it was possible. "All I did was keep poking you until I provoked that regenerative factor, and the rest just did itself," Julia said as she stared at her nails. "W-why are you telling me this?" Jennifer asked, trying her best to forget everything Julia told her. But, the more Julia spoke, the more the memory alterations faded away into nothingness. She could no longer remember the events of San Diego, but only the pod... She shuddered. "Because it doesn't matter anymore; say goodbye to your last moments of free will," Julia said, making Jennifer's eyes go wide. ".... [i]Mechanized Memories.[/i]" Suddenly, the blonde-haired girl went stiff, dead eyed. Perfect. Everything was going as planned. She'll have to get Jennifer back to the O'Sullivan manor back in Roseview until everything blows over. "You're still needed, Jennifer," Julia said to the mind-controlled girl, grabbing onto her chin, and shaking her head a little bit. "Time to go now." She turned around, and began to leave the conversion chambers. Sad that Ezekiel died, but that man was a mockery of a human being, so it doesn't matter in the long run. Whether or not the Machine succeeds is irrelevant to her. As she lead her posse out the room, she wondered how everything was going so [i]flawlessly[/i] that- It all happened in an instant... Julia went from mentally gloating about her victory, to having a spear piercing through her chest. She let out a cry of pain as she looked down at the spear impaling her. Her eyes were shaking as her vision got extremely blurry. "Mistress Julia!" A Secretary said, her bodyguards reached for their guns, but when they pulled the trigger, they, well, fell out. Thanks to Kumiko. Julia could [i]feel[/i] Jennifer's breath on her neck as the girl inched forward and whispered into her ear. "...Next time, don't announce what you're going to do next, [i]dumbass,[/i]" Jennifer said, her ears were bleeding... she couldn't hear a damn thing. She totally destroyed her eardrum with the closest bone. Jennifer leaned in just to say this, "Oh, wait, [i]there isn't going to be one.[/i]" Jennifer withdrew the blade, and let the blood come pooling out, making the woman fall forward to her knees. Perfect. Jennifer brought the tyrant to her [i]knees[/i]. It couldn't have been any more fitting as she raised the bone spear up into the air, and was about to slam it down on Julia's skull. "Mistress!" A Secretary said as she came between Jennifer and Julia, and took the blade that was supposed to kill Julia... it was horrible as the blade embedded itself in her skull, and her body just went limp... what made it worse was that she knows most of these people are mind controlled. Julia had to quickly do something or she risked bleeding to death... she had a good healer in their employ. Julia merely froze ice over the wound to prevent herself from bleeding out at least. It wasn't going to last long, and it was definitely going to make things worse, but it was desperation at its finest. The Secretaries she had pulled Julia away. When Jennifer had pulled her blade free, she noticed that they were pulling the bitch away. Oh no... Jennifer ran after them with the bloody blades ready to kill... but, one of the Secretaries pointed a hand at Jennifer, and a stream of fire came out of her hand. Jennifer could only briefly stand there like a deer in headlights before the flames hit her. She screamed in agony as the flames burned her flesh... and the Secretary stopped to tend to Julia. Jennifer was on the ground, covered in burns... that were quickly regenerating as she pushed herself to her feet. "If I can come back from the dead, [i]allegedly,[/i]" Jennifer said to herself. "Then, I can survive that." Her clothes were left in tatters, while the rest of her was quickly healed. Albeit red skin, but that was the least of her concerns right now. Part of her wanted to chase them down, but, they were long gone. She needed to regroup with her friends... she felt a strange amount of... clarity. Finally having all of her questions answered was good... but, she now knew that she had [i]died[/i]. She's basically a walking corpse... she clenched her fist tightly as she thought about it. Perhaps she should just regroup with the others. Yeah, just prepare as if this never happened. Her earpiece was fried, though, she'd just have to find them. Breaking off into a sprint towards the opposite end of the hallway, Jennifer knew she would get another chance at Julia's life. [i]I finally have my answers, Haruka.[/i] [hr][hr][i][h1]...[/h1][/i][hr][hider=Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV OST - Sombre Return][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q7Rzi4RkQI[/youtube][/hider][hr] [b][code]Somewhere in Baybridge...[/code][/b] The Founding Family's city-wide blackout stunt had plunged Baybridge into more than just literal darkness. Every district had crumbled under the pressure of chaos - the once-peaceful city had lost its order, allowing the underworld syndicates to unleash further terror on the restless people with little to no resistance from the law enforcement. For one, the BPD had no way to control the frenzied crowds - normal humans and Metahumans alike - with their painfully limited department size. They couldn't request help from DOVE and RAVEN either - the DOVE/RAVEN Headquarters took the hardest hit of all, now in a shambles after the assault from the Intimidation Unit. True to her words to Haruka, Xing Huo had spent most of her time in a luxurious suite the Family had prepared for her. Cladded in a loose maroon bathing robe where the collar parted all the way down, beyond her clevage line to show parts of her perfect breasts, she helped herself to a glass of red wine before she strolled towards the balcony, giving gave her quite a view of the Baybridge Lake, which was what it was well-known for in this city. Surprisingly, it was still a sight to behold, even after the week-long riots breaking out everywhere around the breathtaking landscape. She tipped the glass to her lips, the crimson liquid trickled down her throat with a satisfying burn, then set the emptied glass down on the table, her lips curling back into a smirk. She was well aware that she had been under close surveillance ever since she had arrived in Baybridge - not just the Family, but also some other annoying pests she didn't give a damn about (she could easily crush them all with just one finger if they were dumb enough to get into her way). Her short-tempered sister, Shui Xian, would have gone out to give them hell for spying on her bod, but providing fan services without getting the equivalent payment was at the bottom of Xing Huo's worry list. She could care less what those Blessed Idiots and the old hag Biyu were up to, because as far as she was concerned, they were both wasting their pathetic life for a lost cause. Foolish, greedy pigs thinking they could bend the world's will around their hands, but they could never understand the true might of mother nature. She poured herself another glass of wine. The moment one started to think perfection was within their grasp, or thinking that they had finally ascended to godhood, they were as good as done and dead. Any intelligent person should know that, much less those who were supposed to be well-versed in the field of sciences. She swirled the alcohol in the glass slowly, the smile widening on her face. Those fools would soon get a taste of their own stupidity, of how their so-called 'perfection' would crumble away into the abyss of the cruel truth, of [i]eternal imperfection[/i]. She then picked up a photograph off the table. It was somewhat dated, and appeared to be taken before an international school. A few children of different races were grinning ear to ear in the picture, but the main focus was on a pair of twin Asian boys in the center. Xing Huo finally raised the glass, toasting to the scenery of Baybridge before her. "[i]Let the final act begin, shall we?[/i]"