"Yup! Now all I need to do is grab my bag," Hayley folded her note and stood up, careful not to aggravate her healing thigh. "I should probably head out soon. The faster we can stock up, the sooner we can rest today. Speaking of which, you can either stay home or come with me. I don't mind either way," she said, stopping short of asking him for help with carrying their food home. Despite what she had endured, she was still too proud to ask for help so openly.

Isaac was already pulling on his overcoat and slipping his boots on when Hayley said he could stay home or go with her. Looking up at her, he smiles and says, "How else are you gonna bring the groceries home? I don't want you straining yourself anymore than you have to." After waiting for Hayley to grab her bag, he opens the door and follows her out of the apartment complex. Looking up, he sees the sky covered in grey clouds, heralding a coming rainstorm. "We should make it quick," he says as he begins walking with Hayley, matching his pace to hers. "I don't really wanna be caught out in the rain, especially when carrying food."

"Me neither, especially not in the state I'm in right now," Hayley replied and quickened her pace as much as she could until she and Isaac reached their destination. Once inside, she promptly grabbed two smaller trolleys instead of one bigger trolley. Splitting the list in half, she handed half of the list to Isaac and said to him, "Let's split up and grab what we need. If we still have some money left, maybe we can spend it on an umbrella or two." Looking out the window, she saw the grey clouds approaching and quickly moved to the aisles she needed to look for.

Isaac nods and takes off, searching for the items they needed. As he shops, he suddenly becomes aware of someone staring at him, although, no matter how hard he or Vincent try, neither can figure out where it's coming from. It's probably nothing, Vincent replies, although Isaac remains unconvinced. Once he was finished, he walks to one of the registers, but doesn't move to check out. Instead, he waits for Hayley to meet up with him, all the while feeling as if he was being watched.

Unlike Isaac and Vincent, Hayley was unaware of any heavy feeling around her and quickly returned to meet up with Isaac, unaware of what he felt at that moment. "Alright, that's everything. Let's go to the register and head home. I think the rain's coming in quickly." Gently nudging the raven-haired man, she let him move in front of her so he could have the items in his trolley checked out first before she set her items on the register and pay for everything. Once their purchase was bagged, the pair left the grocery store, having purchased a large umbrella with the remaining money. "Man, talk about bad timing. Good thing we don't have to go out for a while..." Hayley mused.

"Yeah, good thing," Isaac replies somewhat distractedly, the feeling having not gone away even after leaving the store. After awhile, he leans closer to Hayley and whispers, "Don't react, but I think we're being followed." It was then that the person following them decides to make himself known as a British-accented voice calls out, "You think right, Isaac Ryder." Whipping around to face the man, carbon encasing his body, Isaac immediately spots a man with black hair, in which a silver streak runs through the left side of the top of his head, and piercing green eyes. "Who are you?!" Isaac demands. Chuckling, the man says, "I figured you wouldn't remember. My name is Nigel Howland and I'm here to bring you home, Isaac."

Before Hayley could react, she found herself and Isaac ambushed by a man. Her survival instinct kicked in and she proceeded to move into a fighting stance in reflex, but her injuries made her stance mildly unstable. Damn it! Why now, of all times? she thought, angrily remembering her own problems and guessing that as the reason why she had been less alert of the stalker's presence. The name seemed to be familiar in the faintest sense, but consumed by the heat of the moment, it was all but ignored entirely and she paid no heed to that gut feeling. "Sorry, bud, but you're not taking him anywhere anytime soon," she said to him, glaring at the man with a British accent.

Turning to Hayley, Nigel chuckles and says, "I'm sorry, Ms. Summerland, I'm afraid you don't really have much say in the matter." Turning back to Isaac, he says, "Now, if you come quietly, I promise, no harm will come to Ms. Summerland. However, if you decide to make me take any unnecessary action, I'm afraid I won't be held accountable for any...collateral damage that may result." Isaac spares a moment to look at Hayley, then turns back to Nigel. Knowing Hayley wouldn't forgive him if he backed down, he says, "Not a chance." Nigel, almost genuinely upset, sighs and replies, "Very well. Then you'll know who to blame should she get caught in the cross-fire."

As much as she hated to admit it, Hayley knew she was out of their league. From his bravado and even temper, she suspected that Nigel had a power up his sleeve. At this point, she was in no condition to fight a normal fighter, let alone a super fighter, so she did what any sane person would do in her shoes: drop the bags of groceries she was carrying and hide quickly. If Nigel decided to take her on, she knew she wouldn't stand a chance, so she placed her faith on her raven-haired caretaker. "Get 'im!" she said to him as she sought refuge from the upcoming battle between two men.

As Hayley runs off, Isaac hands her the umbrella, knowing it would only get in the way. As he pulls his overcoat off and tosses it to the side, carbon encases his arms, turning them black as night and eliminating the feeling of the rain hitting his flesh. Without a moment's hesitation, Isaac runs forward and swings a fist at Nigel, who catches the attack with ease. Looking Isaac in the eye, he says, "My, quick to fight, aren't we? I'd have expected that from Vincent, but not from you, Isaac." Suddenly, Nigel slams his knee into Isaac's chest, making him double over. While he was hunched over, Nigel then brought his elbow down onto the back of Isaac's head, sending him to the ground. "And here I thought you were better than that," Nigel taunts.

Hayley gritted her teeth as she watched Nigel virtually played Isaac like a fiddle. Had she not been injured so badly, she would had helped, but her own injuries combined with her lack of powers made her a sitting duck, in any case, and knowing this made her so upset that tears began to pool around her eyes. Why can't I do anything at times like these?! she thought with bitterness, envy and helplessness. She had never felt so weak and helpless for a long time and it made her sick to act like a bystander while Isaac fought for his life and hers. As time passed and the battle raged on, her desire to act grew stronger and stronger.

As Isaac pushes himself to his feet for the nth time, Nigel calls to him, "Why do you keep trying? At this rate, I'll end up killing you and our bosses will put me on a week's suspension for it!" Isaac glares at Nigel and, instead of saying anything, lets Vincent take over. Without a moment's hesitation, Vincent dashes forward, claws on each hand as tendrils of iron follow him. Every time he swings his claws, Nigel moves just enough to dodge the attack, saying, "You and I are on different levels, Vincent. Whereas you fight with wild abandon..." Seeing an opening in Vincent's flurry of attacks, Nigel slams his fist into Vincent's side, winding him as he says, "I can see through your attacks and strike where you're most vulnerable."

Hayley cringed as Nigel managed to get in another attack. From the way he was swinging around and the glint of craziness in his eyes, the blonde quickly realized that Vincent had taken over, but even he was outfought by their opponent who was clearly trained and skilled. She was resisting every urge to interfere, a sign that her survival instinct was being overridden. She didn't know what had made her think so selflessly and so recklessly, but she now wanted nothing more than to step in and help, even if there wasn't much she could do. However, for the time being, all she could do was hide and observe from a distance.

Panting, Vincent says, "Alright, you limey bastard...Now, I'll get serious..." Looking at Nigel, all traces of humanity gone from his eyes, Vincent slams his fist into the ground, which instantly begins trembling. Soon, towering spikes of iron and carbon erupt from the ground, creating something like a forest. Touching his hand to one of the metal spikes, Vincent walks toward it. The metal gives way like water in a pool, allowing Vincent to walk into the spike. Once Vincent had completely vanished into the spike, Nigel claps, saying, "Ah, this is new. Well done, old boy, well done!"

What?! He can do that now?! Hayley watched with disbelief as the forest of iron and carbon provided Vincent with a cover. However, she doubted that the man would be easily taken off guard, if his attitude was any indication. That fucking limey must have something up his sleeve. He's been toying with Vincent like a child, so he must have a plan in mind... Wanting to find her own chance to act, she began to stealthily move towards the epicenter of the battle, making a cautious advance for cover each time. A part of her was screaming about her suicidal act, but she wanted nothing more than to do something instead of just sitting away and letting their assailant crush them all.

Instead of trying to find out where Vincent was, Nigel looks around, not moving from his place in the middle of the artificial forest. Every once in awhile, one or two of the spikes will shimmer, as if being looked at through a haze of heat, but nothing will happen. Meanwhile, from directly above, Vincent quietly emerges from the iron spike directly behind the Brit, one arm raised to slice his head off. The instant Vincent brings his hand arcing down, Nigel turns around and releases a jet of flame toward Vincent. However, the latter was too quick, for he immediately sunk back into the iron, only to reappear behind Nigel once more. As Nigel releases more fire, Vincent dives into another spike, avoiding it altogether. So, this is what you're like when you're serious, Isaac says. For once, Vincent doesn't answer.

Well, this is great. The bastard's a pyromaniac, Hayley thought with a begrudging acknowledgement. Nigel was clearly skilled at wielding his power, but Vincent and he still appeared to be somewhat evenly matched. While iron would stand little chance against fire, carbon had a much better chance of being able to tough out the heat. Undeterred, Hayley closed in on Nigel, hand reaching down to a self-defense stun gun she had carried with her. Without knowing how effective it would be against the man, she had no choice but to try and find out on her own. Using the cover Vincent had created, she closed in her distance with Nigel as she attempted a sneak attack on him.

Although Nigel was busy fending off Vincent, who seemed to be using his speed to his full advantage, he was still aware of the woman trying to creep up on him. If she has a death wish, he thinks as he sends Vincent scampering into another spike, then so be it. Turning around, he holds his hand out to Hayley, a glowing ball of fire in his palm. "Goodbye, Ms. Summerland," he says as he releases the flame. However, Vincent manages to throw himself between Nigel and Hayley, taking the full force of the flames.

Stunned and at a loss for words, Hayley stood back while Vincent regained his footing, but his injuries were quite severe and she knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against Nigel now. With neither of them unable to flee, death seemed not too far from the horizon. As she watched their one-sided battle, she felt another stir in her chest. The blonde instinctively attributed it to her anger and panic, but it was actually something completely different, something that seemed to have been aroused from a deep slumber.

I don't want to die!

A pulse emanated from her chest with a strong beat of her heart.

I want power, just like what they have!

Another pulse emanated, this time bearing a visible mark of dark wisps around Hayley's body.

I don't care what I have to do! I will give up anything!

The pulse finally grew strong enough for Hayley to sense personally. She clutched her chest and began to breathe heavily, but her thoughts were all but consumed with her deepest desire.

I just want to fight back!

If Vincent and Nigel would direct their attention to her for a brief moment, they would see Hayley, hunched over with her hands on her chest, black mist coming out of her mouth as she breathed heavily.

Isaac was the first to sense what was happening. Vincent! he yells. Vincent, look at Hayley, something's wrong! he yells again once his first attempt is met with silence. Vincent was dead-set on killing Nigel, meaning that nothing could wrench his focus from the British man in front of him. Frustrated, Isaac fights him for control and, eventually, wins out. His breath is suddenly ripped out of his mouth as the full sensation of pain hits him. Nigel didn't even notice, his attention focused on the blonde woman behind his adversary. Following his gaze, Isaac feels his eyes widen as he takes in the sight of Hayley, who seemed to be in pain as black mist drifted from her mouth. "Hayley...?" Isaac says in a quiet whisper.