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[sub]by [@Spoopy Scary] and [@Mr Allen J][/sub]

[hr][h1][i]The Pursuit of Science Arc P2.[/i][/h1][hr]


After a bit of marching, the hallways Lihua was reluctantly exploring were becoming more and more like a lab. She started seeing operating tables lying around, and medical equipment. Which, in turn, worried Lihua more and more. [i]What is going on down here... I hope Meifeng is okay.[/i] Lihua thought to herself as she was exploring the rooms of this base. Ready to tear whatever popped up to shred if it so much as looked at her funny. She heard a bit of chatter coming from one of the rooms - except, it was different. It sounded like children talking. She was still hesitant. It could be a trap. She walked up to the door, and opened it ajar slightly so that she may peak inside. She saw a medium sized room with plenty of operating tables, and on the other side were bars that weren't. Behind those bars were the young and tired faces of children. No threats in sight.

Pushing the door open, Lihua stepped inside, and everyone looked at her. They looked terrified of her. Lihua noticed this, and tried to seem as least intimidating as possible. "Don't... be alarmed. I'm with NEST, I'm here to help." She started off, standing straight up at the door to the makeshift prison. "What is going on here? Why have you been locked up?" She asked as she examined the door. Locked with a padlock. She could pop this off in a second.

For a moments, the kids were quiet, whispering among each other. Until one of the girls simply walked up to the bars, and looked up at Lihua. "Hi. I'm... [i]Penny.[/i]" She said, sounding somewhat guilty. "They kidnapped us... they've been doing these... awful experiments to us."

That's what made Lihua look up at the girl, with her own eyes wide. [i]What...? Kidnapping and experimenting on children? That's beyond cruel and irredeemable.[/i] Lihua thought to herself. "Hold on, let me get you all out of here." She raised a hand in the air, and a thick spike of concrete came out of the ceiling. "Take a step back." She said, and they complied, and the concrete spike came down on the padlock. Blood was dripping from Lihua's hands as it split open. It was painful, though a pain she was familiar with. 

The padlock hit the ground, and Lihua didn't even have a chance to blink before the kids came out of the cages. The had collars around their neck. [i]Power suppressant collars.[/i] Lihua thought to herself. [i]They're produced by, and only for, NEST... which makes me wonder just who's running this show.[/i] She continued her line of thought.

"I want to go home..." One of the kids sobbed.

Fingers went to her ears as she pressed her earpiece. Before she could even say anything, one of the kids said something that really interested her.

"She turned us into Metas." One boy, with neat blond hair and a rotund stomach, spoke up where everyone else was silent. Before he pointed at Penny.

Taking her fingers off her earpiece, Lihua looked at the boy, and asked, "What?"

A girl spoke up and said, "Yeah the people in here made her give us powers... then... they..."

"Don't explain it." Lihua said, sympathetic to their situation, talking about it would only make them break down. However, her eyes fell on Penny... if she's a Bestower - the NEST word for Metahumans who give others powers - then NEST will definitely have to handle this. She'll have to handle that later.

For now, she has to report this to NEST. "Control, this is Agent Vuhong." She said with the feeling in her gut that they wouldn't answer. However, they exceeded her expectations, and answered.

"This is control, what do you have to report?" A man said on the other end.

"I have discovered a group of young Metahumans kidnapped, presumably by a ring. Send backup to my location at once."

"Affirmative, Agent Vuhong. We're sending a team to your location."

"Agent Vuhong out." Lihua said [i]... I don't even know why I called them. Headquarters is in shambles, they won't be able to get a unit out in time.[/i] before she turned back to the group of kids. She didn't have good conscience in leaving them in here all alone... and at the same time, she needed to find Meifeng at once. Selfishness, or selflessness, after all. She let out a sigh.

She raised her hand into the air again, and pulled a concrete spike - with the blade part [i]very[/i] flat - out from the ceiling, which flew into her hands. "All of you, come here." She said.

They lined up, and Lihua stuck the spike in the crease where the collars  meet, and popped them open. She kept doing this until every kid was liberated. "That couldn't have been comfortable..." Lihua mused for a moment, before she gave them orders, "Now, listen up, I am instructing you all to hide, and [i]don't[/i] leave for any reason until the coast is clear, and NEST is clearing the base. Got it?"

They all nodded their heads. 

"Good."

Meanwhile, Baron of the Dreadnaughts had already made his preparations and made his way to his destination. The manhole he was to enter was already opened, likely due to Lihua's negliegence in her state of panic. He took off his suit coat, and underhand tossed it into the vehicle he had come in. He loosened the tie, with Washe's words of echoing in his ears. [i]"Don't you fucking go in there with that damn noose around your neck."[/i] Baron had no intention of doing that, even before Washe's warning - but he appreciated the gesture on Washe's part. It spoke greater volumes than the tactician likely realized. The tie followed his coat en suit through the air. His vest, too, as it would be too binding. All that was left was on his torso was his gray button-up and black suspenders the held up his fitted dress pants. Two guns were holstered on his body. A caracal on his right, and a taser from NEST on his left. The caracal was silenced, though the muffled sounds of exploding gunpowder would do little to hide the fact that he had fired a shot. That was what the taser was for, and it would be the primary weapon on this venture. On his lower back was a fanny pack that zipped open, and in it was hiding an array of injections. Pouches that held a variety of seemingly useless trinkets were along his waist. A knife was present, of course, but Baron hardly had the proficiency to put it to good use.

"Well, back into the pit from whence I came." Baron mused to himself in his effort to lighten the situation for himself. He took one last drag of a cigarette before flicking it onto the open road, and put himself down the manhole, sliding down the ladder to compensate for his leg.

In some ways, perhaps the pit wasn't too far-fetched of an analogy for Baron. If he wanted to get through this, and bring both himself and Lihua out, then he'd have to channel the devil. Paraguay taught him many things. To beat mad men, you must think like mad men. What separated him from the trash was that he has maintained the sanity to focus and concentrate that madness into cold, calculating depravity. That was at least part of the reason why Washe refuses to argue with him for too long. Not that it was entirely it, or that the man would admit it, but only few of those who knew him long enough knows of that dark side. That was at least part of the reason why he unflinchingly delves into whatever hell that awaited him.

His boots hit the ground with a wet smack. There was hardly any light, save for the wispy strands shine through the grating by roads above ground. In one of his pouches, he procured a set of contacts sitting in lubrication. Nearly pitch black, they were effective at absorbing nearly any and all light in the area and focuses them toward the retinas, allowing the wearing to see in the dark without the risk of a flashlight or the encumberance of night vision goggle. The down side, other than your eyes looking like that of a demon to any and all who see you wearing them, were an intense sensitivity to light. He'd have to remove them later.

The walk was long. Not foreboding, or treacherous, just long. He had removed himself from the situation the moment his feet hit the wet ground of the sewers. Perhaps he should feel uneasy about how easily he could emotionally detach himself like a flick of a switch. Perhaps he should feel guilty it. Perhaps he should feel guilty for leading Lihua to believe he felt attracted to her, or that he had no intention of backing her up for the sake of sentimentality. She was necessary. A means to an end - but the feeling was cold.

He came across a gruesome scene. A mutilated cadaver and a mess of manipulated concrete shredding it. He met it head on without a wince, and inspected the mess closely. Warmth radiated off its body, which meant this was a recent killing. Lihua may have stormed ahead with the vigor of a German blitzkrieg, but even she was cautious in treading these grounds. She wasn't far from here. The walls were beginning to look like the actual decor of a building.

"Wh-- who're you?"

Baron turned around to come face to face with an older man with a miniature flashlight. Its light, though weak, shone in Baron's face. The Dreadnaught cringed, and the older man in a lab coat drew back in appallment. 

"Y-your eyes!" He cried. "You're like a demon, you're not from the experiments! Don't tell me you're part of that ghastly Changeling crowd, are you? Like that last envoy? God, have mercy..."

"Argh, my eyes..." Baron growled, squinting. He drew the taser and lunged toward the stranger. One hand grabbed the man's hair and pulled up while the taser was fired 
point blank under his chin. The sparks of light repeatedly flicked, creating a strobe effect that reflected off the black contacts on his eyes.

"You should be less worried about the monsters that might be, dear doctor." 

Baron let him go, dropping the man to the floor, stunned and paralytic. Baron undressed him just enough to loot the white lab coat that he wore and draped it around himself and followed the trail that Lihua had left him. The man had spoken of experiements and Changelings. Truly, it was like a bad James Bond movie. Spy and psychologist walking in on doctorl.s performing experimentation. If it were anything like the cliches, then it'd be [i]human[/i] experimentation. But the mention of "Changelings"... if the scientist was a member of an organization pulling the strings behind the Fiends, and [i]he[/i] is afraid of a different crowd, then there was a hopelessly entwined entanglement of organizations vying for some kind of power and control over an indeterminable asset of indeterminable value or scope.

If he could find records here, they'd be immeasurably important to the investigation of Verthaven's underbelly.

 He had soon met with a room; a room quite unbefitting of a sewer. It was sophisticated in a crass, mundane way. Much like a prison. The light that came from it was bright like a sun-shiny day, though it would've normally been dimly lit. Strewn about it were terrified, immobile children. They were staring at Baron, who wore the coat and contacts as good as any torturous experiementer, and his cold demeanor didn't do him any favors. Baron blinked, and thought that perhaps now would be a good time to fake a smile.

"Oh, hello." He said gently. "Have you seen my friend come through here? Tall, Chinese?"

He was met with a bolt of electricity shot at him. The charge met with him, and static danced and arced around his body, but he himself felt no negative effects of the blast.

"Excuse me, but that is a little rude..."

[hr]

Rushing through the halls of this damn base, Berlioz could hear the battle going on in the distance. He wondered how many have escaped, and how much damage have they caused. It'll be unlikely that they called for help, all they have to do is subdue them (or kill). He saw another scientist pushing a person around on a cart, and he ran around them. He turned to a door, and then immediately various monitors, and chairs. This was the security room, where they monitor everything... And the first thing Berlioz saw was a pool of blood on the floor. There was a man, who Berlioz assigned to watching the monitors, dead with various slashes done to his throat. Berlioz knelt down to take a closer look, and then he said,

"Sloppy." Noticing how wild and imprecise it was. [i]Someone[/i] who wasn't used to slashing throats tried this, and wasn't successful the first time, but they managed to sever the main vein. God damn it, Berlioz is [i]not[/i] cleaning this up. There wasn't time for this, the first thing that Berlioz did was run over to the monitor, and flick through the cameras. There was the battle with the escapees in the Atrium... looks like only five of them have escaped. They are putting up a fight, but they'll be overwhelmed soon. However, there could be more lurking around, so he kept switching through every camera. Everything looked fine thus far... oh no. One camera, he eyeballed a tall Asian woman wielding a shotgun. One he's never seen before. She was standing before a group of kids... the test subjects. Oh no. This isn't good.

If NEST is here, he has [i]no[/i] choice but to blow the base up. Destroy all the evidence.

He didn't warn anyone, he couldn't risk them catching wind and abandoning ship, too. Everyone here was expendable, save for the research. Berlioz grabbed onto his revolver. He charged down the hallways, and kept running until he made it into his office. He put his revolver on the desk next to him, and began typing away on his computer. Opening up files, and submitting them to the Hands of Science. Everything his team had discovered during this operation. Along with a email telling them they've been discovered. Before he could even finish the email, he noticed that his revolver was gone.

That same revolver was being pressed against his head. "Hello, there, [i]Ber-li-oz[/i]..." A familiar voice said to him.

"[i]Megan!?[/i]" Berlioz said, "[i]What[/i] is the meaning of [i]this?![/i]"

"Sssh, ssssh..." Megan pressed the gun against his head much harder against his head. "Sorry for all of this being so... out of the blue, but this is my betrayal."

"What?!" Berlioz said.

"You see... I was never on your side, or the Hands of Science's side, I've been against you the whole time. [i]Who[/i] do you think has been breaking the collars, [i]hoping[/i] that a big breakout like this would occur? Sorry, but the organization is tapping into things they shouldn't, and they're putting everyone at risk here."

Berlioz didn't say anything.

"Now, here's how things are gonna go...." Megan said, producing a large scalpel from her amorphous form. Using a little tentacle to move it closer and closer to Berlioz's neck. All while she chattered, "The official story is going to look like this: NEST is going to find this terminal full of sensitive files that'll reveal just about everything after you've been caught off guard by one of your escaped test subjects... [i]and killed[/i]."

"Hm, what-" Berlioz was barely able to get the words out before the scalpel violently slashed across his throat, spraying blood everywhere. But that wasn't enough, Megan had to make it [i]sloppy[/i]. She quickly dropped the revolver, and put the scalpel in her [i]real[/i] hand. Before she started violently stabbing at Berlioz's throat, leaving holes in his neck. He stumbled forward, grabbing at his neck, and Megan grabbed his head, and smashed it against the side of his desk. Hard enough to crack his skull immediately, but then she pulled him back again, and slammed his head once more. Killing Berlioz.

A USB drive was pulled out of her body by a tentacle. She put it into Berlioz's computer, and opened some files. Making it look like Berlioz was simply caught off guard while looking at some sensitive data. Something for the good NEST Agent to find. Hopefully. Time for Megan to make sure that Lihua find it, by leaving a nice paper trail straight to it. Megan turned into a small child, a girl with wavy brown hair, and freckles. Wearing dark blue pajamas with cartoony white stars and planets.

She walked out the door.


[hr]


This place was a madhouse, and Lihua was just about ready to kill every one of these sadistic bastards for what they put children through. She kept her shotgun clenched as she walked through the halls - she heard some operating tables being pushed in another hallway, towards her. She figured that's as good of a place as any to start looking. Lihua pushed herself against the wall, and waited for the person to walk by. It was a woman with blonde hair, wearing a lab coat and black jeans, and dress shoes, pushing a operating table with a girl tied to the top of it. Lihua leveled the barrel of the shotgun at her head, and pumped it to get her attention.

"Hands in the air." Lihua ordered, and the woman intelligently complied. She circled around the woman, aiming the shotgun at her. With one hand, she undid the straps holding the child down on the table, and the kid managed to pick himself up. "Get down on the ground, hands behind your head. Do [i]anything[/i] funny, and I'm going to make it [i]hurt[/i]."

The woman nodded her head before putting her hands behind her head, and got down on the ground.

Lihua pulled another flat-bladed concrete spike out of the ceiling, and pried open the girl's nullification collar. Letting her use her power. She dropped the spike, and put her hand on the girl's shoulder, before saying, "Find a place to hide."

Right when the girl nodded, two men in labcoats came down the hallway behind them. Holding clipboards, but the second they saw Lihua, they dropped them and shouted, "[i]You! Intruder![/i]" Before reaching down to pull out her glocks, and opening fire.

"Dammit." Lihua muttered before she grabbed the girl and they both turned the corner as the men opened fire on them. The scientist that was on the ground quickly got up and ran off.

As Lihua had her back against the wall, the girl nodded at her, and said, "I'm going to help you."

"No, don-" Lihua could barely say before the girl zipped by her at what had to be [i]blinding[/i] speeds. She moved far faster than Lihua could even track. She quickly ran around the hail of bullets, and ran around the two scientists, before knocking them both over. She stopped, and gave Lihua a nod, before she disappeared into the hallways. Maybe she should give her a pat on the back after this.

Before they could get back up, Lihua turned the corner, and aimed her Mossberg at them. She fired twice - the first shot ripped clean through one's skull, and the other slug went through the other's back. Causing them brutal wounds. It wasn't long - with all their wounds likely dealt to major blood vessels - before they bled to death. And Lihua didn't give them a second thought. Because, to her, they were combatants, and already forfeited their lives. NEST can easily identify their corpses.

Good grief. This means whoever else is here is about to come arunning. Their gunshots would echo throughout the entire base! Lihua should get a move on. Don't let them just surround her after all. She began walking through the halls, constantly aware. She stuck to the walls in hopes that they wouldn't immediately notice her. Once again, she heard a lot of activity around the corner, and she walked over. And she began hearing things like,

[i]"What happened?"

"Was there a breakout?"

"Should we be alarmed?"[/i]

Lihua peered around the corner, and saw a group of people in lab coats, and surgical gear. Some of which had gloves covered in blood. [i]Like they were in the middle of an operation.[/i] Lihua thought to herself. This might be her golden opportunity to catch as many of them as possible. She dove out from hiding, and rushed forward. While they were confused, she raised her fist into the air, and slammed it down, stopping her momentum. It caused a hell of an impact in the concrete around them. Cracks formed in a linear path right at the scientists. And concrete walls were erected on both sides, trapping them within the area. They were shouting on the other side, and Lihua found herself panting. More blood was dripping from her sides as fresh wounds were being formed because of her power. She was getting tired... she can't keep fighting like this.

After she caught her breath, she turned around, and didn't even notice that there was a scientist with a gun creeping up on her. A woman, with black hair, and blue eyes, wearing the same lab coats as the rest. "Drop the gun, hands in the air." She ordered.

[i]Good grief.[/i] Lihua thought to herself... and at the same time, she had a plan for this. She dropped her mossberg, and put her hands in the air... and several rocks came out of the ground in a line, and started landing in order. Creating a sound similar to footsteps.

"Huh?" The woman turned her body around to look, her gun still aimed at Lihua.

Lihua did two things at once. First thing she did was dive out of the air, the [i]other[/i] thing she did was reach back, pull a chunk of concrete out of the ground, and swung her hand and sent it at her at high speeds. By the time she turned back, the rock was already flying at her. It hurt her square in the stomach, and sent her flying backwards. Up until she hit a wall with explosive force. Bones loudly cracked, and the woman screamed. The rock dropped, and a torrent of blood came out of the woman's mouth. She looked down, and clenched her stomach. Barely even noticing Lihua's footsteps coming up, stopping for a moment, and resuming again. She saw the tall woman's shadow over her, and she looked up, and all she saw was the barrel of the gun[i] she[/i] was just using. 

Lihua pulled the trigger, and blew a nice hole in her head. Gore splattered the wall, and Lihua's suit. Before she dropped the gun, and kept walking as if she never saw her in the first place. The woman should consider that an act of [i]mercy[/i]. With her organs crushed, she wouldn't have lasted long.

So far, Lihua has captured a group of scientists, and killed three. Long as there's [i]someone[/i] to interrogate, NEST won't mind the excessive force. She let out a sigh. She thought that she had left this all behind - but it seems that some things will never change. [i]... I'll never stop killing, will I?[/i] Lihua asked herself. She didn't think anymore of it, as she began walking. She wasn't making any progress in finding Meifeng. All she was doing was saving other kids... Maybe that'll help her sleep a little better at night. That she at least spared someone else's children from this fate.

"So all I have to do is follow the sound of gunfire and agonized shrieks to find you? I take it that infiltration isn't your strongest suit."

Coming to a stop, Lihua was legitimately surprised that Baron had come all the way down here... especially in a labcoat. If she hadn't recognized him right off the bat, he'd probably be staring down the barrel of her shotgun. Though, she didn't exactly appreciate the gesture.

"What are you doing down here, Baron?" Lihua asked, almost hostile. "I don't recall asking for any [i]help[/i]."

"On the contrary..." Baron sighed, shaking his head, "I am armed and had as good a shot as any to land a slug in the middle of your back. Fortunately it was only me and not, well..." Baron gestured at the bodies of the scientists strewn about, and their blood covering the walls. "One of them."

Letting out a sigh, Lihua closed her eyes for a moment as she thought about it. Only to open her eyes as she answered, "I see your point... but, this has nothing to do with the Dreadnaughts, truthfully..." Lihua said as she turned away. Letting out another sigh as she continued, looking back at Baron afterwards, "... Meifeng is my responsibility, and mine alone. I can do this alone. I [i]should[/i] do this alone." She wondered what his objective was down here. Help her? Or was there another goal? Either way, her pride was too strong to possibly let her accept help on such a personal matter such as this.

"No, you're right." Baron admitted. "Your daughter isn't my business. I can let you do that all on your own if you'd like. Though if something were to happen to [i]her[/i], that would compromise [i]you[/i], which would compromise the [i]mission[/i], because [i]now[/i] the mission is NEST."

[i]Wait... does that mean?[/i] Lihua thought to herself as she let Baron's words sink for a little bit. Are the Dreadnaughts after [i]NEST[/i] now? Or something else...? Ugh. She knew that there was something a little wrong with the Dreadnaught's. She was now regretting giving away all that information like that. Still... that was a matter for later. She shouldn't be standing here chit-chatting with all the crimes against humanity being caused here. This is [i]definitely[/i] something that she'll have to work out later.

She gave him a narrow glare. Before she eased up, and finally asked, "Just tell me [i]what[/i] is it that you're after...?"

"It is like I said to you earlier. Caesar and I sought a meeting with you." Baron explained. "It regards NEST, and NEST's future. He gave me a briefing following the failure to capture Khan. The Fiend invasion was flawlessly executed, even with Khan's death. No immediate alarms, access through a hidden entrance, and all seasoned combat personnel out on patrol with minimal guard in the critical access points in headquarters."

"It's too obvious that someone in NEST was giving them a hand." Lihua was quick to reply. She knew exactly what Baron was implying, and caught onto it instantly. "They didn't even bother trying to hide it."
 
"Yes." Baron confirmed. "How many people in NEST do you know of that has such widespread control?"

"Between the Director, and High Command, zero." Lihua blankly answered. Suspecting the Director more and more.

"What are the odds, do you think, that you can hide anything from the Director, who has unrestricted access to everything within NEST?"

"Hmph. It'd be easy, really. She can't watch everything at once, and far as [i]she[/i] can tell, I'm just her obedient little dog." Ugh saying about herself that hurt a little bit.

"Think of this like chess." Baron echoed. "You make your moves based upon whether or not your prediction is true. If you walk straight into their trap..."

"... Yes, I remember that analogy." Lihua said. Baron had a point. He was capable of talking her out of her rash decisions due to her sheer overconfidence. She was wondering how she was going to get to the bottom of this one. All she needs is a little evidence, and submit that evidence to high command... and Miranda Caryl will be exposed for her crimes. And more importantly, Lihua will be on the way to getting a promotion!

"Allowing your subordinates to believe she can't watch everything sure is a powerful and effective strategy, don't you think?" Baron mused. "After all, we're only human."

"I'll definitely keep that in mind while I perform my investigations...." Lihua said, nodding her head in silent agreement. She quickly looked around, and it was completely quiet other than the two of them. She was wondering if there were any Scientists around, or are they just gathering their forces for one large attack (Which will be fun, because she'll enjoy seeing their faces as they realize that she turned it into a bloodbath)?

She wasn't going to let herself get sidetracked any further. She was on a mission here, [i]separate[/i] from NEST. Lihua put her hand on her shotgun's pump, before sighing (As a sign she swallowed her pride (Just this once)). "You may come along with me, if you really choose to." She shrugged. Before she continued down the hallway she was going, with Baron right behind her.

During their march, she saw a child with wavy brown hair and freckles peering around the corner with a face oh so frightened. Lihua put her hand up, and tried to put a disarming smile on, but the child shrieked, and ran into a room. Lihua quickly followed behind her, and her eyes opened once she saw the child wide eyed. Staring at the bloody mess that was Berlioz. Shaking, and barely being able to gasp.

"He-he..." She stuttered out the words. "He-he w-was the leader... of these people. I-I-I.... I-" Tears started going down her eyes. 

Quickly kneeling down, Lihua put her hands on the girl's shoulder, "Ssh, ssh, it's okay." She said gently. "It's over. They won't hurt you anymore. I made sure of it."

Baron approached Berlioz, inspecting the wounds and trying to determine the cause of his death. Bloody slashes and punctures mutilated his throat. That could've been either blood loss or air deprivation. That'd be an agonizing last few minutes. The crown of his head though, Baron observed as he felt the bloody, swollen tissue with his hands, the skin had broken and was intensely swollen. Pushing down, he felt some give in the cranium. That could've been an instant death.

The girl wiped her own tears. "... Okay."

"Now, I need you to stay quiet. Help is on the way. Can you do that for me?" Lihua asked. 

The girl nodded her head. "Mhmm..." 

"Good." Lihua said as the girl stood there looking terrified. Which meant she had a room to investigate all by herself. First, the body. Lihua didn't touch it, or get in the blood, she knelt down and examined the wounds from a distance (She wished that she had gloves now). It was sloppy, wild... almost like it was done by someone who had no idea how to slit a throat, or had a bad blade. In the end, they managed to kill this man with sheer slashes. God damn it, by the time NEST arrived, this corpse would have already begun to decompose. If this man was the leader, they needed to get him to the morgue soon as possible so they can identify him. Though, with the trail of blood he left, it's obvious he was caught off guard while doing something else - using the computer. He should have locked the door.

Baron examined the work station. Low velocity blood splatter all over the station, especially on the screen. So the scientist was... facing the screen, viewing important documents when his throat was slashed... there was no falling back except into his cushioned chair. One clean cut across the throat... then several puncture wounds. Medium velocity blood splatter around... the side of the room. Some blank spots. An arm blocked the projectory of part of those splatters. Stumbling forward... then his head hits the desk? Low velocity blood splatter, some pooling. No, no... not that hard... he couldn't have hit the desk that hard...

The "girl" was watching Baron's charades in his attempt to best reenact what had happened from the corner of the room. Still looking terrified - but right now, that was legitimate fear that he'll catch onto something. Of course, he wouldn't suspect a little girl, but maybe they could see how [i]contrived[/i] the situation seemed, and disregard the evidence as fake (When it's everything [i]but[/i]). Oh no, Megan would just have to hope that Baron isn't all that bright. 

If this man was the leader like this girl said, maybe there's something they can get off the computer. Lihua needed to examine this computer for herself, because who knows who will stroll by and destroy this computer full of what had to be valuable information? Holding her shotgun in one hand, she strolled over to the computer terminal, and placed her shotgun down by the side. She hunched over as she began typing into the computer - wiping some of the blood off the screen the second she realized it'd be an inconvenience. It was clear that this man was looking at sensitive files before he was killed. He was typing an email through the deep web... to...

[i]The Hands of... Science?[/i] Lihua thought to herself. She never heard of such an organization - and if NEST knew about it, she [i]definitely[/i] would. 

She had to keep digging. Every file she opened was information on a different experiment (with videos). And it was... cruel. This was the cruelest most depraved [i]filth[/i] that she has ever seen in her entire life. Just the idea of experimenting on children was bad enough, now that she sees it in action... it's something that just made her glad that she killed those bastards. She probably should go back and massacre the ones she has contained, too. Lihua sighed, and remembered her training. She kept her thirst for revenge in check (Lest she wants to become a rapid animal).

Baron looked at Berlioz again and drew his Apache. He extended the blade, and pressed it against the corpse's scalp, before shaving the hair near the head wound as close as he could, sometimes even nicking the skin (which was of no concern, since he was already dead). He stopped as soon as he found there were two abrasions and two mounds of swollen tissue.

For a moment, everything seems to be going just [i]dandy[/i]. And by that, she meant they didn't [i]seem[/i] to be overtly suspicious. The woman was tending to the computer, and the man - who she was [i]far[/i] more worried about - was examining the man's skull. If he was bright, he would just suspect that it was done by a grown man - perhaps someone who got out. Despite the fact that they likely have only seen children thus far. However, Megan's form leaves no fingerprints, or any of the sort (And if it did, they would have a hard time tracking her). For now, she just look doe-eyed as she watched Baron... she better have a good escape plan for when NEST comes in and starts asking questions.

"His head was struck twice..." Baron muttered inaudibly. If he was hit in the head once in this state, he still would've been down for the count. The first strike broke the skull. The second likely propelled whatever shards of bone there were and penetrated his brain. They'd need enough strength to lift and swing a limp body. He looked at the freckled little girl that Lihua was consoling before (which should have been his job, honestly, but the last thing she needed were two people hovering over her). There... there was no way this little girl did this to him. It was impossible.

Digging through the files, she found more and more information on the Hands of Science, and all their sick experiments. She kept going through the files, until she found an video file that caught her eyes. She leaned in, and narrowed her eyes as she opened it. It was a conversation between two people obscured in shadows, while sitting in chairs. Lihua had a hard time making out any of their details, it was so dark. Baron, hearing the sudden noise, stood up and watched the file from behind Lihua. He still intended to keep one of his eyes on the girl, though. Megan felt relieved that the man took his attention off the body (after finding nothing of note).

[i]"The Fiends... they have served their purpose well. However, we are close to perfecting the Mutagen, yet we haven't gotten any real combat data from them."[/i] A man with a deep voice said.

[i]"Of course not, they're just a bunch of drug addicts. They're probably more likely to use it in some sex act than use it against NEST or the other gangs."[/i] A woman replied.

[i]"Hmph... perhaps Khan and her family have forgotten about our deal. They seem to be more interested in using the guns and drugs we gave them rather than fulfilling their deal."[/i]

[i]"We should just cut them off. We were only using them to distribute powers, and people are catching onto that."[/i]

[i]"We can't just cut them off like that, they know far too much about the Hands of Science. Especially Khan, who is practically one of our agents. We have to eliminate them to cover as many loose ends as possible. Or else [i]something[/i] about us will reach NEST."[/i]

[i]"REAPER can handle it."[/i]

[i]"How about this..."[/i] A third voice spoke, that Lihua [i]immediately[/i] recognized. A woman walked up to the two, with a white light shining on her, that let Lihua see her in full color. See who this woman was.

"... [i]Director Caryl?![/i]" Lihua said out loud in sheer shock. Wait, that means... No.

[i]"You guys trick the Fiends into attacking the Summer Festival, and causing a huge roar, and let NEST handle it. They take out Khan and the Fiends, and get a huge pay raise, and they get the PR boost from taking out a group of dangerous terrorists... You guys... you get the Fiends out of your hair. Do we have ourselves a deal?"[/i]

[i]"Hmmm... I'll allow it. NEST can handle it, but make sure that the lieutenants die. We can't afford to risk a [/i]single[i] word about the hands of science get out."[/i] The woman said.

[i]"I won't."[/i] Miranda said. Nodding her head.

[i]"Then get to it."[/i] The man said. [i]"Meeting adjourned."[/i]

The video ended there.

"That [i]bitch.[/i]" Lihua slammed her fist on the desk, and growled.

"Well... I can't say that [i]we[/i] didn't see that coming." Baron commented - and of course, by "we", he meant the Dreadnaughts team.

 The [i]Director[/i] was the cause of all this mayhem and bloodshed? All to make NEST look good... What a fucking whore who'd compromise their duty just for a little extra. Utter scum, if working with these madmen weren't enough. This was everything she needed to bring Caryl down for good... but it felt a bit [i]too[/i] good. Suddenly, Lihua was a lot more worried about Meifeng, and what these people did with her. Her heart started racing, but she couldn't break down in anxiety here. She needed to see what [i]else[/i] this computer has. She went through the files, and found more information on the Hands of Science, more on their deeds, and other evidence she could use to implicate the Director (Which she [i]is going to do[/i]).

Lihua pulled a USB drive out, and stuck it into the computer, and downloaded as much of the files as she could. Before pulling it out, and sticking it in her pocket.

"But, now I have everything I need to expose her for the [i]whore[/i] she is." Lihua said.

"In the meantime, I think it would be best if I took this girl with me back to the rest of the children and see about conducting a quick mass-psychological examination for any lasting trauma." Baron added.

[i]... Oh God.[/i] Megan thought to herself. It was like he was [i]trying[/i] to out her. [i]I'm on your side, pal! Well... sort of.[/i] She thought to herself again. Either way, it'd look mighty suspicious if she makes a break for it now. Megan will just have to play along until the moment is just right... because the second they look her up on any official records, it's going to be [i]very[/i] clear something's off. In her nubile child form, Megan walked over to Baron, and nodded her head.

A large bang in the distance caught Lihua's attention. She nodded her head, grabbed her shotgun, and got ready. Because, she came here to save Meifeng.

[i]And that's what she's going to do.[/i]