[hr][hr][i][h1]Julia O'Sullivan vs. the Misfits, & [color=forestgreen]Veronica Davis[/color].[/h1][sub](collaboration between [@Mr Allen J] and [@tsukune])[/sub][/i][hr]
[hr][b][code]Regal Square, Prince Ed-Field_[/code][/b]


While Blake was at work with the Machine below, Julia went up to the tower.

On the way to her destination, Julia looked out the window and saw their enemies at their doorstep. It was sad that it had come to this point, but if Blake and Ezekiel had followed her advice, the Family would still be a mystery. And none of this would had happened in the first place. Oh well, such was life, and nothing was going to improve by just [i]complaining[/i] about it. Fortunately, a little birdie informed her of how all of this would turn out, and she took necessary precautions to ensure that, after all of this, when the ashes cool, Julia O'Sullivan would be the last one standing. Her legacy would be world renown. But, there was one last loose end to tie up, and it was fairly simple.

Her secretary opened up a door, and two children were revealed: Sophia and Quinn Davis.

They looked at Julia, and Julia [i]smiled.[/i]

"Hello, children," Julia said. "Would you come with me?"

[hr]

Getting there before RAVEN was such a trivial matter that some would find it [i]laughable[/i].

They just immediately beelined for the "Oasis Headquarters," which wasn't a challenge. The Family enjoyed flaunting their "status" in everyone's faces. It irritated Jennifer, but her anger bred something she hadn't quite felt in a long time.

Hope.

Hope that she'd rid the world of these bastards, and hope that everyone who they wronged would find peace. Not just Jennifer - the rest of the team wore equally grim looks on their face when they arrived outside the Family's main base. Ryu had changed out of the larger IU armor for a more fitting RAVEN stealth suit, which he was happier with that he could move with more ease and still able to take his usual precaution to keep his power out of the way. They had left Aislin behind, who had an injury when they were trying to escape from the Silver Hills base as fast as they could. Holly had exchanged for Aislin's PEN-integrated comm-piece so that she could communicate with Ryu directly without having to constantly rely on a third party for translation (namely: Haruka, this time).

The next problem was sneaking inside the building. Again, going in as a giant group would be utterly foolish. So, again, they chose to split up into smaller teams, and regroup in the building. Though, Jennifer would rather take this alone. It was best that she went in and killed Julia, rather than just bogging down Haruka and the others.

When the groups split, Jennifer went with Haruka and Ryu, and they merely floated in through a window that Jen (painfully) opened with her powers. With her feet on the ground, Jennifer nodded at Haruka. "We just gotta find Julia in all of this..." Jennifer said, part of her wondered if Julia would die in the battle, and all of this would be rendered redundant... she would have to make sure that whore was dead.

"But how?" Haruka was the first to address the big question. "She could be anywhere within this huge building, for all we know."

"She wants me," Jennifer said, looking at Haruka, but chose to keep the part about how vital she was to Julia's plan a secret, at least for now. "After all, I nearly killed her, she probably wants some payback."

Something in Jennifer's eyes made Haruka opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he shook his head. Even if he pushed her now she was probably not going to tell him much... and maybe the answers would present themselves in the upcoming battle. Ryu, though, had his mind on the task before them rather than whatever Jennifer might be thinking - or even hiding - from them.

"[i]Hmm... Didn't this lady told us that she had injured Julia?[/i]" Ryu responded to Haruka with a thoughtful look. "[i]We can at least rule out the possibility of her being anywhere near the Machine, because tending to her wounds should be her top priority, if she was as intelligent as she had seemed.[/i]" After checking to make sure the coast was clear, he beckoned the two younger adults to follow after him. "[i]According to Shizuka's latest intel, the Machine is located beneath our feet... which means we'll have to go the opposite way to look for our target. Maybe in one of her private quarters high up this skyscraper.[/i]" The last part was laced with a hint of sarcasm.

"...What are you two saying?" Jenny asked.

Haruka then turned to explain to her, "He's saying that we'll have better chance of finding Julia if we go upstairs. She's probably not going to hang around with the Machine if she has been badly wounded by you."

"Right," Jennifer answered. "Let's go."

"[i]Let's use the elevator,[/i]" Ryu suggested, which made Haruka stared at him in disbelief as he translated the words to Jennifer. He then chuckled at the younger man's skeptical expression. "[i]Most of the IU forces should be concentrated below ground to guard the Machine, so chances of us encountering a firing squad upstairs is slim. I know what you're thinking, but it's[/i] not [i]what you're expecting. Just trust me on this.[/i]" He winked at them before he led them towards the lift area.

At this point, Jennifer was [i]past[/i] going on about plans. All she wants to do is finish this, and leave. Simple as that. She merely nodded her head as she moved towards the nearest elevator, hoping that the others caught her message. Before long, the trio piled into one of the available elevators, and began to ascend towards their goal...

[hr]

Veronica and Shizuka made their way back up to ground level through the elevator shaft... RAVEN started their attack, so it's time for Veronica to leave that to them for now. She hoped she could get her sisters out beforehand, but it looked like she would have to do this another way. The two rode on top of an elevator until they were three quarters to their destination, then they climbed the elevator shaft. Because she didn't think taking the elevator with a warzone going on was a good idea... they didn't know what they'd end up running into. She looked down, the elevator was, thankfully, below them, and Shizuka was climbing behind her.

"Could lift ya' love," Veronica said as she climbed up, "But, I got to save all the strength I have... we still don't know where Julia is."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," was Shizuka's bored reply. It was the same for him too - he could use his power to make this climbing a hell lot easier, but like Veronica he'd rather save that energy for later, for the time he really had to rely on ghosting his ass out from all this alive. (He could think of a less troublesome way to go up, but Veronica's paranoia was justifiable, especially after the little episode just now.) "Let's just focus on getting to the top ASAP. If your sisters are as expandable as you've said... then we don't have much time to waste."

Veronica chose to stay silent, and continued since they were nearing the top of the building. The very moment they reached the top, Veronica raised her hand up into the air and it started glowing green... before it faded. She looked down at Shizuka, and asked, "Psst, can you poke your head through these doors and make sure there isn't a firing squad waiting for us?"

Shizuka shrugged at her but still did as told, except that he chose to poke his head through the the wall rather than the door (because it's obviously a stupid thing to do when there could be someone guarding at the door). Thankfully, Veronica's guess was wrong... but instead of an IU army, [i]these people[/i] posed an even bigger problem for them. He pulled his disembodied head back before anyone inside could catch sight of him, and he turned to face Veronica.

"No IU," he removed the helmet that had kept his identity under the cover all this while for a breather as he started off. "But it's crawling with the Secretaries, and there can only be [i]one[/i] reason why it's them in there."

"You know what we have to do if they get in our way..." Veronica sternly said as she raised her hand up yet again, and it started glowing green. Soon, the doors were also glowing with the same wavy green color, and they were pried open with her telekinesis. She quickly grabbed her pistol and floated to the top of the elevator shaft. Planting her foot on the floor, Veronica realized that they had to be quick, and not alert Julia that she was here. Though, she stopped for a moment, looked over her shoulder, and waited for Shizuka.

"Right." Shizuka didn't waste any more time to put the helmet back on and quickly followed behind her with his gun out, all ready to back Veronica up on whatever crazy plans she might have.

Once Shizuka was ready, Veronica kept the weapon held tightly in both hands. Proceeding forward without a single care, if the IU wasn't up here, they were busy down there. Defending more "important" targets as the Family building was reduced to flames.

"...Ms. Davis," The dead voice of a Secretary spoke to them. "What are you-"

"No time." Veronica aptly said as she pointed her hand at the Secretary, and fired a blast of telekinetic energy that hit the woman in the head and knocked her out. It'd be better this way than firing willy nilly. "Follow me, I know [i]exactly[/i] where to go."

[hr]

After the two fought their way through the hordes of Secretaries, Veronica felt that she was getting close. All they had to do was take a right through this foyer, and then they would get to her sister's quarters.

"...Oh, hello there," The two were brought to an abrupt stop when they looked above them at the upper floors. Leading against it quite lazily was Julia O'Sullivan... the bitch who was the start of all this. Veronica eyed her sisters right next to the woman, and right when she was about to shout something, Julia raised a device in the air for all to see, "Ah, ah, ah... [i]Dead man's switch.[/i]"

It only took Veronica an instant to realize the collars around her sister's necks, but they were hidden behind Julia, so she couldn't get a good view at the collars.

"You [i]bitch[/i]!" Veronica bellowed in anger.

"I'm [i]so[/i] sorry that it had to come to this, 'Ronica," Julia started off, rather casually. "But, it had to come to this..."

"I swear to God, if you hurt them..." Veronica said.

"I don't intend on... they're my ticket out of here. Because... just look, RAVEN is pushing their way up the building as we speak, and destroying everything in their path... and I just ensured I won't be in the crossfire with your sisters. Convenient, huh?"

Both Veronica and Shizuka kept their eyes on Julia as the villain continued on.

"And I know what you two must be thinking 'Oh, what happened to the Machine?' and to tell you the truth.... Ezekiel, Blake, they were really children in all of this. Playing with their little toys, and talking about what was best for humanity... and the only reason why [i]any[/i] of this is happening is because the two of them outvoted me." Julia snickered like a schoolgirl in the middle of their speech. "Honestly, they're the only two reasons you're alive here right now - I was personally voting to have the Hound kill you the second we took your sisters... but, the two saw [i]use[/i] in you."

Julia rolled her eyes up into her head.

"You were just another pair of tits for the two of them to enjoy, that's all," Julia started off. "And another thing... they thought that your sisters were really just expendable, something to keep you in line... which is mostly true with Project ZODIAC being finished, but I've always saw another use for them. But, the problem was you..."

Julia laughed again. "...If you were just killed, then you and your little bud Makoto wouldn't have lead RAVEN to us, and I could do as I please with your sisters."

Veronica groaned. "Feeling awfully chatty today, huh Julia?"

"Since I've already won, I think I can spare a little conversation... but I think you've had enough idle talk, yeah?" Julia said. "Let me just get to the point; I'm going to walk out of this room, and you and your friend aren't going to do anything as I go hide in Africa, or somewhere."

"...Can't let you do that, [i]Julie[/i]," Veronica hissed. "And I think you know exactly why..."

"Oh, Veronica, pretentious as always," Julia laughed. "You always thought you had all the cards just because you had a pretty face, and a rich daddy... so, let me remind you..."

Julia raised the detonator in the hand.

"...I hold the cards, and I always have. So, unless you can magically take this out of my hands without setting off the bombs, then... this is the last time you'll lay eyes on my ass. Haha..."

Veronica bared her teeth as she couldn't help but acknowledge that Julia had a point. There was nothing that Veronica could do, but risk it... but could she really? Sophia and Quinn... they're her everything, and she sure as hell couldn't lose them now of all times. She loudly groaned as she tried to come up with a plan, because Julia was walking over to the stairs quite leisurely.

Shizuka narrowed his eyes at the departing Julia, his pistol still trained on the despicable female among the Blessed Bitches. Even if he could cook up a million possible plans in his brilliant mind to turn the tables around, none of them was without some risks involved, especially to Veronica's sisters. He couldn't get anywhere near the two girls and defuse the collars around their neck without alerting Julia - his power wasn't able to render him [i]invisible[/i] - and there was nothing around them they could use as a diversion--

At this point, doors were swung open with a violent wind, as the cloudy body of Malik Jakane came in, landing knee first. He looked around, and laughed awkwardly as he stood up. Rhea came in behind him. He looked up at Julia, and narrowed his eyes as he turned back into his human form.

"Julia!" Malik shouted. "I came for answers, what [i]really[/i] happened to Marcelle? Where is her body?"

"...And the plot thickens." Veronica muttered to herself.

"Wasn't it obvious from the video?" Julia said, laughing, before she pointed at Veronica. "Your little friend Veronica killed her, and that's all the answers you need."

Veronica obviously winced as Malik's eyes fell on her.

"No, I'm not listening to any of this until I see a body," Malik answered, completely negating Julia's plan of turning him against Veronica. "But first..."

Malik turned back into a storm, as he slowly (and dramatically) pointed at Julia, the winds around him raging.

"...[i]I've come to defeat you,[/i]" Malik said with passion and vigor. "Even if Marcelle is dead... you're the reason... you're the root of all these problems in the first place..."

"Noble," Julia said, before she shook the detonator again. "But, I have two hostages, if you lay a finger on me... it won't end well for either of them."

Even as his hatred for Julia burned brighter than a million suns... Malik couldn't help but power down. He groaned as he looked over his shoulder.

"I'll be leaving now..." Julia said as she slowly made her way down the steps, with Veronica's sisters right behind her. "Have a nice life, you all. Don't follow if you know what's good for you."

Those words burned into Veronica as Julia reached the bottom step, and soldiered on past them with a smug look on her face. It was annoying, Veronica clenched her fists in anger... if only she got a good look at that damn detonator, she could... She just had to let things go as they would... but she kept her eyes on the detonator 

As much as hurt her pride... she would get another chance at Julia's life.

Julia opened the doors... it was a shame that she had the Secretaries hold off the many intruders in the base. That meant she had to open her own doors-

Right when the doors were open, she came face to face with quite an unfortunate sight: Jennifer Caspin. The girl that almost took her life a few hours ago. And, she definitely wasn't briefed on the whole "hostage" situation thing, because the first thing Jennifer did was retract her bone blades, and start swinging. Julia let out a surprised gasp as she ducked underneath the blade-

And let out another yelp when she felt her hand around the detonator tighten around it with such external force that she felt like it was going to break. A quick glance at her hand, and she saw the wavy green glow that she knew belonged to Veronica.

It was an act of desperation, as Veronica used every bit of her telekinesis to ensure that Julia wouldn't let go of the detonator. In hindsight, she could have done that from the beginning, but the mere [i]possibility[/i] that her sisters could die if she didn't act seemingly made her brain work faster. She was desperate, thus, her hold on Julia's hand wasn't that good. But, she had one thing to say,

"Shizuka! Do [i]something! Anything![/i]" Veronica shouted.

Shizuka didn't even need Veronica to scream at him - this was the distraction he had been waiting for. He had already turned intangible and threw himself off the stairs before the woman could yell an order, lunging for her sisters the moment Julia was distracted by Jennifer's appearance, then disappeared below the floor with the girls all in a blink of an eye, only leaving the collars clattering on the ground behind Julia. Everything just happened so fast that nobody, not even the [i]almighty[/i] Julia, could react and press the button on the damned detonator still crushed in her hands by Veronica's telekinesis.

He finally spoke into the comms a couple of minutes later, "Your sisters are perfectly safe with me. Or you need them to make some noise for further assurance?" Apparently the sudden free-falling through the floors (all the way to ground level) had shocked the girls into complete silence... and too stunned to even take notice of the somewhat deeper voice beneath the mask of the 'female' IU traitor who had just saved their lives.

"No... just get them out of the way." Veronica said, as she cocked the gun. "It's time for a little payback." She grinned devilishly as she swiped her hand forward, and sent the explosive collars towards Julia, before she released her telekinetic grip over her hands. Unfortunately, there was no satisfying explosion. She raised an eyebrow.

Meanwhile, behind Jennifer, Ryu stepped out of the elevator with a handgun pointed at Julia, followed by a rather confused Haruka behind him. "...Is this the 'surprise' that you're talking about when you suggested us to take the elevator?" Haruka asked, looking from Julia to Jennifer, then to the Japanese agent.

"[i]Not really,[/i]" Ryu admitted, his tone light with amusement watching how the event was unfolding before his eyes. "[i]I simply made an educated guess... I guess we just showed up at the right time, eh?[/i]"

Malik took advantage of the situation when he turned back into his mighty storm form, and in an instant, he was in the air. Doing aerial flips, as he kicked his leg at Julia, followed by a mighty wave that only the mightiest of storms could. While Jennifer aimed a bonespear right for Julia's throat. "You get back up fast!" Jennifer hissed.

The esteemed member of the Blessed Three encased herself in a block of ice, which rendered all of their attacks redundant. Jennifer's blade was caught in the ice, so she desperately tried to pull herself free. The desperate shield was also a [i]sword,[/i] as the ice capsule cracked in millions of tiny places. It finally broke down in an explosive attack that sent deadly ice chunks flying in all directions. Malik and Veronica simply used their abilities to whip it out of the way, and block the ice, respectively... Jennifer had to take the brunt of it given that she was a few inches away. Ice shards tore her body up, and disgusting bruises quickly formed on her body.

Julia kept it up... She quickly dropped the temperature in the room to unbearable levels. All she had to do was drag out this fight... and everything would go according to plan.

...Or so she had thought until she felt a sharp, searing pain in her head, and the sound of gunshot that followed after made her put the two and two together.

Ryu had to roll out of the way with Haruka in tow when Julia turned her ice shield into shards and blasted out at them. As Julia was trying to freeze the room, Ryu was unaffected thanks to the high-tech RAVEN suit he was wearing (which seemed to come with the ability to keep the wearer warm) and crept up behind her silently, before he fired his gun at the back of her head at point blank. He didn't stop with just one shot, and continued to pump more bullets into her brain and other vital organs until the he had emptied the cartridge, pausing only to reload the gun.

Even if his disgust towards the Blessed Three wasn't as strong as the hatred the others in the room that harbored towards their evil deeds, he shared the same sentiment as all of them: none of the Three should be allowed to continue living in this world, and get away with all the bullshits they had done to many innocent people all for the sake of stoking their own swollen ego.

As anticlimactic as it was, the battle between them came to an abrupt end with the end of Julia's life. Fitting.

"...That was anticlimactic." Jennifer said, retracting the blade, she couldn't help but smile - grim as the situation was - because her life finally began anew. The wound healed over with ease, and she let out a sigh. "Thank you, Ryu." Jennifer said. To which Ryu gave her a merry wave off with his free hand, while the other with the gun was still trained on the fallen Julia for a bit longer until he was certain she was dead as she should be.

"It's for the best," Veronica said, before facing the rest of the group. "Okay, you all up for some heroics?"

Jennifer raised an eyebrow... the sentiments of the group were no different. Malik weakly nodded.

"Good, love your enthusiasm. This place is probably rigged to explode, and have you seen these lovely drones marching about?" Veronica asked. "They're mind-controlled... kidnapped from plac-"

"Yeah, we know that deal." Jennifer said.

"Good, then just help me get them out of here... If they resist, just say... [i]Mechanized Memories, release[/i] - and they'll be playing along just like that." Veronica smiled oddly... probably unnerved everyone since she was one of the bad guys last time they checked. "Good? Good. Get a move on."

"Wait, there's something I have to ask you," Malik said, and Veronica sighed. "...Did you really kill Marcelle?"

Oh... oh... this question. Veronica's demeanor changed a bit as she looked over her shoulder at Malik, a man who would stop at nothing to get his answers. Maybe she should just level with him.

"Yeah... I did." Veronica said, anyone with the slightest amount of people skills would notice the regret in her voice.

"Wh... why?" Malik asked. "Why would you kill her in cold blood...?"

"Look, Jakane," Veronica said. "I didn't want to... but, I really had to. It was an act of [i]mercy[/i]."

Malik kept quiet.

"After what the drugs did to her body and mind... mixed with what Julia was planning on doing to her... there would have been nothing to save but a shell. So, I just chose to put her out of her misery..." Veronica said, being frank as possible. "And before you get angry at me... you have most of her logs, yes?"

Malik was fighting back tears. "Y-yeah."

"Then you would know her fall from grace," Veronica put her hand on her hip. "Can you answer an honest question for me?"

"Yeah..."

"...Did you really think you could save her?"

Malik couldn't honestly answer that question... he hoped he could, but at that point, realistically... he couldn't. But, Marcelle died a hero's death. Without her they wouldn't have gotten this far.

"No... and... I honestly can't hold any of this against you. Marcelle... she was my closest friend."

"We have many more people to save here," Veronica said. "Don't let her hard work exposing the truth go to waste."

"Yeah... let's go... I'll mourn later." Malik said.

"Yeah, let's hurry," Haruka finally spoke up, holding the elevator door open. He had exchanged information with his twin over the comms while Veronica and Malik were sorting out the dispute between them. "We need to round up all the Secretaries on the level below and get them to Shizu quickly. He has the Metahuman who can reverse the mind control with him and the RAVENs outside the building." He wouldn't have never imagined Veronica's female partner was actually Shizuka in disguise if Veronica didn't shout out his brother's name...

Though, why was he in a woman's armor?


[hr][hr][i][h1]Reed Taylor[/h1][sub](by [@Zombiedude101])[/sub][/i][hr]
[hr]

There were many people with a stake in fighting tonight.

Reed Taylor wasn't one of them. A cop through and through, he and his team had another mission in mind - the recovery of any and all prisoners that had been kidnapped by the Founders. Among them was a colleague of his, and a good friend - Cindy Keegan. Last he'd heard from Mei, those bastards had done [i]something[/i] to her, something that had made her turn on her own colleagues and try to kill them, and had succeeded with at least one of them.

Bile had built up on the top of his tongue just thinking about it and for the sake of the job, he found himself forced to set the thought aside. Cindy had killed Max and tried to do the same to Mei, but it wasn't her fault. It couldn't have been. The only people responsible for it were the Founders, not anyone else. Definitely not Cindy. And so he pushed onwards, leading his team into the depths of the facility.

It was strange to think of all that had happened to them over the last seven years. At the start of this madness, he'd just been a cop, a [i]rookie[/i] one at that, considering he'd still been an Investigator when Verthaven had gone to shit. Then he'd found himself in the ranks of DOVE, where that same job title had found its way to him, only this time he wasn't a rookie. But he'd never expected to wind up [i]leading[/i] anyone. Why Maximilian had chosen him, of all people to lead the rescue team was still a question he had chosen not to answer, at least when he thought about all the other bodies in the force that could've been in his place. Regardless of why, there was still the matter of [i]what[/i] they were going to do.

Pushing through the labyrinthine passages of the facility, they met no sign of resistance from the depleted paramilitaries of the Intimidation Unit and had embarked on a bloodless journey, until Reed's gut instinct (and years of seeing people trafficking dens and hiding spots) led them an improvised cell block of some form, interspersed with what could've only been described as a medical laboratory. Some heavy duty security had gone into keeping the place locked down tight, complete with heavy-duty doors and specialised locking mechanisms. A 

"Alright, Zetas Two and Four will keep our flank secure, Zetas Three and Five are with me on this, everyone else I'm gonna need working on these cells. We're gonna check for what else is in front of us."

Whilst a couple secured the rear and others started focusing on cracking open the cells, Reed gestured forth with a few more of his own men towards another junction in the passage which seemed to steer right. After taking a moment to stack up against the doorway and tossing a flashbang down the corridor, the three-man team (Reed included) pushed through, unsure of what they would find. Yet from the moment they stepped forth, they were barraged with a hailstorm of glass-shards shaped like triangles from around a corner, which forced [i]him[/i] to move forwards, behind the cover of a metal girder.

"Contact!" Reed yelled, hugging close to the metal as the two other men under his command attempted to return fire in the dim confines of the space. "Keep your positions," Reed grunted over the comms, his voice already wavering amidst the interference of radio use this far below ground, "Covering, focus on cracking those doors open!" After a pause, the DOVE Investigator-turned-team leader peered out from behind cover and fired off a few, successive shots towards the source of the glass shards, instinct blinding him to just [i]who[/i] they might've been from. Back across the gap, he caught a glimpse of his team , who had already cracked open at least a dozen of the cells with maybe another dozen yet to go.

However, Cindy was ready from the moment she attacked. She had a thick, bullet-proof wall of glass resting in front of herself. It absorbed the force of the bullet as if it was nothing. Cindy had a good use for the glass shield as she sent it in the middle of the RAVEN group at high speeds. It separated a lone RAVEN in armor from the rest of his group... and what a blow to their morale it would've been if one of their own was killed right before their eyes as they helplessly watched.

One of the RAVENs realised just what was about to happen and tried to put a boot through the glass, yet the blow failed to leave little more than a web-shaped imprint in the semi-transparent surface. "Extract them!" Their isolated team leader grunted yet again, firing another volley of shots downrange into the rogue DOVE's shield. "[i]Now[/i]!"

With the message received, the rest of Zeta team focused on their primary objective - extracting the prisoners - whilst Reed continued to put some fire downrange. The barrage of glass projectiles had begun to intensify and were it not for the goggles he wore, Reed would've had his eyes wounded already just from the debris alone. Only then he realised that his attacker was just toying with them, trying to draw their focus - he learned that the hard way when his assailant turned their focus of attack downwards as he peered out for another volley of gunfire, sweeping him out from under his leg with a barrage of shards. Even with all the padding and armour he wore, nothing could've disguised the pain from the sharpened projectiles as they slammed into him from beneath, tearing through fabric and flesh like tiny, but nonetheless razor-sharp teeth.

Cindy didn't relent even for a moment... not even against a close and personal friend of hers. Instead, she got even more intense as she forgone the shards for big orbs of glass, which she sent towards Reed's center of mass with surprising speed and force. His ballistic vest shielded most of his body from any penetrative debris that the orb might've wrought upon him, but the sheer kinetic energy of it being slammed into him threw him off balance before he had a chance to regain his footing. Zeta team watched as their would-be leader received the full wrath of the woman who'd been amongst their best and brightest just a few weeks before. A crimson hue had begun to soak through his clothing by this point, settling aside any doubt that he'd been dealt some punishment.

Cindy merely stepped over to him and pointed her palm at him, before a large spike of glass appeared and came flying out of her hand, and was driven into Reed's back. After 'executing' the man, Cindy turned her attention to the others... the glass wall exploded into massive shards and pointed at the group. Ready to kill. The remaining RAVENs had just about finished forcing entry into the cells and were about to withdraw, but they were still caught in her sights. Only...

A gloved hand found its fingers clamped around her lower leg, just above her foot, and pulled back with all the strength that it had. Cindy's elemental grip was released when the glass fell to the ground, and she desperately tried to fight back against Reed, kicking against the ex-cop as he pulled her back beneath him. She twisted around and tried to drive a shard into his face, but instead his own gloved palm took the shard clean through, giving him a window to get that suppressant collar he'd been clutching in his remaining palm around her throat. The glass shards that had been driven through Reed's back and palm by his colleague crumbled to dust, and soon he'd managed to subdue what little fight was left in her and zip-tie her wrists together.

"Wish it didn't have to be this way." The DOVE investigator muttered to himself, hoarsely, as he brushed the dust off his clothes.

Cindy didn't say a word... merely growling at Reed as she tried to break free, only to find herself restrained far too tightly for any free movement. He hated the thought of doing this, but knowing just how easily she'd turned on RAVENs, let alone hearing of what she'd done to Max, was enough to remind him that it was for her own good. Any damage that had been done to her was beyond his help.

Clasping his wounded palm tight, he gave an odd sigh of relief as he saw that the flesh was already starting to knit itself back together.

[hr]

Team Zeta were quick to release the various prisoners. The ones that weren't going to be sent to the Machine, but instead were going to be kept to be subjugated under the effects of Mechanized memories, or whatever other nefarious goals the Family had for them. One by one, they were released from the cells... until Zeta Team came upon a particular cell. There was a young man in the back, the light had died so they couldn't get a good view of him.

"Hey," A female RAVEN said. "Hey kid... gonna get you out of there."

The boy raised his head, before nodding gently as the RAVEN pried the door open. The boy stepped out, revealing himself in full detail. How he was easily six-one with shaggy black hair, green eyes, and sharp facial features... wearing some raggy clothes as he was a prisoner, after all.  The RAVEN noticed the power suppressant collar around his neck, and quickly pried it off.

With the collar off... the boy could feel his power return to him. He phased out of thought as he raised both hands until he was staring into his palms. His left palm was encased in ice, while his right burst into flames as if it was a torch.

"...That's nice," The RAVEN said sarcastically. "But, we don't have time for this."

"Oh, yeah, right."

"What's your name, by the way?" The woman asked.

"...Daniel Forsythe." Daniel answered.


[hr]

After Cindy was... handled and sent up with the rest of the liberated prisoners, Reed and the remainder of Zeta moved upwards towards where the information passed to them through Max said the Cultivators were. According to that log, they were hand-trained to be the next generation of Founding Family scientists, soldiers, and servants... many of which were Metahumans... they must be recovered no matter the cost.

Once they arrived at the large room... were double doors that were marked with "Cultivator Quarters," they opened the doors, and it was like they'd stepped into a mansion of sorts. Expensive wooden walls, tile floors, and a massive chandelier on the ceiling.

Reed couldn't help but feel a certain sickening sensation at being present in this place. Indoctrination of children in an environment like this, to be groomed into the role of self-proclaimed [i]demi-gods[/i], he grimaced at the sight of such opulence, aware of the filth and corruption it concealed.

Of course... the scene was not exactly idyllic, not even with the building collapsing. The Cultivators - children of several different ethnicity and ages - were being herded into a dark-red portal that looked like a rip in space-time itself. Surrounded by strange people... the person that caught everyone's eye was a woman that was over six feet tall, and wore a wide-brimmed hat that covered most of her face, and a rather dark, robe-like, outfit that covered most of her features. Her skin was fair, and her hair was a jet-black color. The woman turned towards them, and raised her hand up into the air.

"Stay right where you are," Reed shot the command at her with a cop's authoritative tone, as weapon sights trained on her central mass. After all, they had no idea just what kind of force they were dealing with this time.

Only too late did her hand begin to glow in a red aura, then each member of Zeta team felt a force pressing them against the wall with telekinetic force... then she walked over to them.

"Apologies," the woman said. "I know who you are, and what your intentions are... and in a way, we are on the same side."

"... .If that's got any truth to it, you'll release my team." Reed sharply pointed back at them, the crimson stains across his uniform highlighted by the glowing hue as he fruitlessly fought against the force pinning him to the wall. "Who are you?" he demanded, until he recalled what she'd said about knowing who he was. "You want me, is that it? Fine, but let these kids go, god dammit. Don't you think they've had enough, being denied a chance at a childhood?"

"I am denying them nothing," The woman said. "I asked them what they wanted in their lives... Freedom, servitude to the Family, or joining me..."

She looked over her shoulder. "...As you can tell, they chose wisely."

"But, ultimately," she explained, "These children are better off with me... I hope you understand - but, if not, we'll never encounter each other again."

The women kept them pinned against the wall as she walked over to the portal. 

Y"ou don't have the right to decide that!" Reed shouted back,  but this time the woman ignored him.

"Hurry up, [i]Verschlinger,[/i]" The associate of the Verschlinger said, whom had bestial features consistent with bears - fur, ears, claws - but her claws were far more pronounced than ever. "The portal will close soon."

The Verschlinger looked over her shoulder, then released RAVEN from the wall the very moment that the last of the Cultivators had crossed the portal's threshold. She stepped inside behind them, and the portal closed.

"...Fuck." Reed cursed lowly, beneath his breath. Hell only knew where those kids were headed, or what kind of lives they had ahead of them, but his gut told him it wasn't something he or any of his colleagues would've ever approved of.