((Collab between Letter Bee and Narcissistic Potato))

Cedric Wessex stared at a holographic diagram of Avalon, the impenetrable fortress. It had everything; Mine Fields, Anti-Air Guns, its own Nuclear Reactor, Anti-Meta Weapons, and its own Hydroponic Farm, making it self-sufficient. A self-contained world, it seemed. However, Cedric held that an invincible fortress was only invincible as long as it kept opponents from being too determined to take it; if enough people desired a fortress to fall strongly enough, then it will fall, and he, though only fifteen years old, had the desire to be the architect of said fall. And, in the end, the plan was simple: He and Constantine sneak aboard the FBI Helicopter, and use a combination of their powers to infiltrate; Constantine can decieve even Infrared Cameras, while Cedric, with the right tools, can 'tool' his way past the beams and the pressure sensors.

Now was the time to sneak down below...

"Ruby, can you give us a quick swing of your arms for a second just to calibrate the systems properly." Complying with the operator that was speaking into her headpiece, Ruby swung her arms and shrugged a little before the voice down the line seemed contempt. "Good. Welcome to your new Mk 1 Phoenix Suit. This bad boy should allow you to fall further distances, lift heavy objects without much stress and overall, make your life a little easier." Yawning, Ruby tapped into her helmet's display and fixed some features before she seemed content with everything. She was currently in the back of a helicopter, being flown out into the desert to make sure Gary Stuart wasn't planning any form of infiltration. "Oh and Ruby, try not to punch any of our guys with the gauntlets. The suit is called Phoenix for a particular reason, after all." Smirking behind the mask, she stared at the nervous looking technicians who resided with her in the back of the helicopter.

Within minutes, they were hovering over the super-fortress with some level of clearance, considering the fact that they hadn't been blown out of the sky yet. "Right Ruby, you're going to want to head down into the lower control room and we'll guide you from there. The FBI are currently residing in the upper one with the Colonel so try not to show your face. From there, we'll send you down a few levels to the place we think some guests might rally to. Overwatch out." With that, she stood and descended down the ramp of the helicopter. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to wash out the hair-dye so she wasn't her typical golden-blonde. Getting down to their room took her a few minutes and from there, she was completely bored while waiting for something to happen. The room itself was a strange one - it was large and seemed to look like some sort of set but the lights were down so she had the grace of staying to the shadows.

Constantine knew to walk only where other people walked, so as to avoid the pressure sensors. Cedric, meanwhile, knew how to find out just where people walked in the first place, thanks to his ability to use any tool in existence, including miniature hacker's computers. And, if necessary, he can disable said pressure sensors, as well as the infrared beams, himself. Constantine, meanwhile, deceived the visual and thermal cameras using the best way he knew how - simple invisibility. And so, they snuck down to the room, where, as anticipated, they found the very set where the Voice transmitted his message.

Cedric, despite his inexperience, was careful to scan every shadow for anyone hidden; he wore his own invisiblity suit in order to conserve Constantine's energies, just in case Avalon's vastness caused said energies to run out. Constantine began recording images of the set, while Cedric, Cedric began walking towards one of the shadows, the Shadow Ruby was in.

Things remained normal up until a small voice spoke into her headpiece. "Ruby, we've picked up on someone entering the room with some scanners. Sending information to your HUD now. Deal with them appropriately." The voice spoke and suddenly, her display pulsed with a change in view as the clear outline of a person was shown, the same person who was currently walking towards her. She was the cat though and until the mouse made a move, she was perfectly fine with staying where she was.

Cedric's keen eyes had adapted to the dark, and he can glimpse the feminine curves of the enemy's power armor, as well as took in the advanced schematics. But, the final clue was the luminescence in the eyes, a luminescense that was not hidden by a helmet.

"Hello, Ruby," he spoke, before lying: "I came alone." 

Ruby was a lot more intelligent than this boy and the mere fact that he stated he was alone made various alarm bells ring in her head. There was no way he would even be able to get down there without someone else's help. Someone else she knew, of course; she had stuided the government database on the registered heroes in LA and the boy-soldier Cedric was one of the biggest. "And what exactly are you doing here? I thought I blew the whole lot of you up but it appears quite the opposite, really..." She murmured, little to no remorse playing in her voice - she wanted to make him angry, it would display his weaknesses.

"If you are as intelligent as they say you are, you can figure it out," spoke Cedric, contenting himself with a veiled insult. "Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, attempted child murder, really? I never knew you can be so callous, but I think I'll take tha as flattery; I'm apparently that big of a threat - I've read my own FBI file. Anyway," he spoke, "so this is the set where the Voice filmed his appearance; was he a Meta himself, or just an actor? You're not in any obligation to answer me, of course, but come on, you have me in your power, why not give in to the urge to gloat?"

She tilted her head to the side, watching him as if he was a child that had discovered something she knew but he thought mysterious and wonderful. Ruby regarded him for a few moments before idly stepping past him, clearly not particularly bothered by any of this. "You can play a violin like Apollo himself and your skills with rifles are noteworthy but don't think you can bypass my mind, that ok, soldier?" She winked softly as her headpiece flicked up, exposing her smirk. "And the illusion of power is a tantalising one indeed but I'll leave that apple for another day." Padding past him, she stepped out onto the set before giving a small twirl, still smirking. "The Voice? You still chasing ghosts? The Voice was a pawn, really and even I have no idea what the next step is. So, are you going to reach for those fully-loaded guns or am I going to have to do that for you?" She murmured, not even looking at him as she stared at the large green-screen.

"I thought you'd never ask - psych!" Cedric shouted as he quickly drew two pistols, one armed with anti-armor bullets, the other armed with inciendaries.

"You know, I feel a lot better with guns pointed at me." Turning, she blinked softly at him before sighing and shaking her head. "I thought you were fortunate, kid, but it appears otherwise. You're a weapon, Cedric, like me and the idiot snooping about thinking he's undetectable. Unlike your friend though, we're intelligent. So, when the revolution comes and I assure you, it will, we'll be the first to go. Until then, they'll squeeze every ounce of use from you. Don't pretend otherwise, I've worked with them, after all. I've seen what they do to unwilling Metas."

"And you don't think what they did to me was bad? They beat up and tasered a little kid, just for being disobedient, before putting said kid through basic training. And, yet, it says somthing about how bad you are, not how idiotic I am, that I still serve them. More to the point, I and Constantine have something that you lack." He then smiled. "You're expecting something trite like Hope, aren't you? No, I have something more concrete; Moderation. As Cicero says: Never go to Excess, let Moderation be your guide."

Her smile faded as he spoke and was replaced by a weathered guise. "You have yet to see my file then? Last I heard, it was highly-classified so that would explain it. Do you know the terror a fourteen-year-old girl might experience when she's forced to work for men who fear her equally as much as they loath her? You're a smart boy, Cedric, think how the neanderthals must have felt like when man appeared? People fear what they can't undersrand and soon, they'll fear you and I. But, I beg you, if you're so desperate to pull those triggers, do try to kill me properly."

"Not everyone fears; not everyone is afraid. We've spent 10,000 years trying to crawl out of the abyss, and I'm not listening to any logic that involves us being thrown back to it. True, Humanity is inherently...flawed, but so are Metas." He then sighed, "I'm angry, you know that? Or rather, I used to be angry. I thought that when I confronted you, I'd be roaring at you, trying to kill you in any way I know how, trying my best to stomp your head in. I did not want you trying to blow me up; I don't want you trying to blow Elena and William up. I didn't even want you trying to blow up even those who beat me up and tasered me," Cedric's voice was going higher now. "I hate you; I want to tear you apart. But, at the same time, I don't want to be angry anymore; if I were to fight you, I want to do so not out of vengance, but rather, because I have to."

"I am not furthering the Cycle of Revenge; I'm not like [i]you[/i]," the boy's voice was steely now. And then, he turned away to leave and return back to the helicopter; Constantine in tow.

[b][i]END[/I][/B]