[hr][center][h1][color=maroon]Mark Emerson[/color] & [color=dodgerblue]Lihua Vuhong[/color][/h1]
[i]Written in collaboration with [@Mr Allen J][/i][/center][hr]

Mark's footsteps were completely silent as he crept into the cellar. It was a dark, dank room with little room for a grown man to stand, much less a man with a [i]wingspan.[/i] The brick walls were covered with cobwebs and dust, and a small leak in the ceiling made the unlit room smell strongly of stagnant water and mold. The floor was a pale wood, covered in layers of old newspaper and grime. This wasn't out of a lack of organization, but to hide an entrance from any prying eyes.

With a grunt, Mark pulled a heavy wooden slab from the floor -- One that would've matched the rest of the dark basement perfectly save for a small space for his fingers to lift the trap door up. There was a ladder underneath it, but not one of the wooden ladders he kept in the house. It was steel, and bolted into the ground, down a long tunnel just barely wide enough for Mark to squeeze through. He sighed for a moment, looking down the pitch black hole. He quickly made his way down to the bottom of the ladder into a small room with an equally sturdy looking metal door. It was a dull grey steel, with large bolts reenforcing the frame. There was no knob or handle where there should've been, only a keypad.

"One two, two eight." Mark repeated to himself as he dialed the small black buttons. It was a date. [i]Marigold's birthday[/i], to be precise. After a moment of mechanical whirring, the keypad gave off a satisfying beep, and the door began to slide open with a hiss.


The room was different from any room in the house. The walls were plain white, while the ceilings were covered in unnatural flourescent light. One one wall, a row of screens showed Mark every room in the house, while another wall held a display case of several different kinds of grenades, pistols, and rifles. At the end of the room, there was a container not unlike a steel wardrobe or an industrial refrigerator, with another keypad. This combination would not be his daughter's birthday. Mark quickly walked through the cold room, and pressed his hand to the keypad.

"Zero zero one, zero zero one, zero one, zero zero one, zero zero one, zero one." He repeated to himself as he pressed the keys. This keypad had no beep noise, nor did the doors hiss. They unlocked silently, and Mark pulled the doors open gingerly, as if he were hesitating.

The suit was on a mannequin made of shiny metal, which shone in spots of exposure underneath the jet black suit. What was menacing wasn't the suit by any means, but the [i]helmet[/i]. Cold grey steel, with blank, emotionless yellow eyes that hid his own.

Mark paused for a second to stare into the mask, as if to say something, before exhaling deeply. He lifted it off the mannequin, rotated it, and put it on, clicking a dial on the inner lining to turn on the rebreather. The rest of the suit took little time to put on, save for the zippers and clips around Mark's wings. When he was done, he left the room as quickly and silently as he entered it, making sure to not look at any of the reflective surfaces in the room.

[hr]


Hundreds of feet into the air, Mark's suit in the night sky made him little more than a shadow, lingering along the horizon. Though he was nearly impossible to see, Mark could see the ground below him with relative ease -- Most importantly, the house below him.

114 Oxford Road, Central Valley. The Vuhong residence.

He dipped down, folding his wings into a shape not unlike a paper airplane, descending with a speed that would have made him whistle if not for the aerodynamic suit. Within seconds, he landed on the roof silently, perching like a gargoyle above a small window. He took a breath, and vaulted over the side, clinging onto the roof with one hand, while he used the other to steady himself on the window's frame.

The room he peered into was silent, save for the nearly inaudible snore eminating from a crib. Mark placed one hand onto the glass of the window itself, pulling out a small metal device that looked like a high-tech colander. He pressed it into the window until the suction gave off a small "pop", and then twisted the device slowly. Sure enough, a glass circle big enough for Mark to fit his arm through slid off with ease.

He delicately placed it by his feet as he reached in, unlocking the window. After a few moments of struggling with the latch, he slid the window open without a sound, and crawled in. He stood silently for a second, as if he had come out of a child's nightmare. A tall shadowy figure with jet black wings, creeping in through a window, almost like the boogeyman stories he would tell his daughter.

Mark took in one deep breath, and walked towards the crib. Inside lay a small bundle, cooing and gurgling in the midst of slumber. He reached in, and gently pulled the baby from its pillow, holding it tightly to his chest. He looked at it for a moment, examining it's face.

"Forgive me one day." He remarked in his head. It would've been too risky to even whisper.

Mark was gentle, but not as gentle as he needed to be. The infant's eyes slowly opened as Mark looked into her face. Half-asleep, seeing the odd man holding her (Which looked like a [i]demon[/i] to her) made her wake right up. She immediately started crying loudly, as she tried to wrestle out of his grasp.

From the sofa downstairs, Lihua was merely lounging, passing time while watching television. She let out a yawn, as she gently put her head down on the side of the sofa. The second she heard Lijuan's cries, she quickly raised her head right back up. The first thought that ran through her head was Lijuan was awake. The [i]second[/i] thought was that her cries were... different. She could hear a bit of fear in her infant's voice. Something wasn't right here. Lihua immediately reached in between the sofa cushions, and pulled her Glock 17 - which she had stuffed in between them - out, holding it tightly.

She put her bare feet to the carpet, before standing straight up. She took slow, but hurried, steps up the stairs. Going slow enough to make sure that she doesn't alert any intruders. Meifeng constantly talked about her being [i]paranoid[/i] - but it's that paranoia that has kept the three of them [i]alive[/i], so she just brushed it off as the rest of the nonsense Meifeng spouts. The second her foot touched the top stair, she immediately pivoted down the hallway towards Lijuan's room. Holding the pistol at head level, ready to let loose a barrage.

When she approached Lijuan's room, the door was always kept [i]slightly[/i] ajar (or at least Lihua kept it that way, she never really bothered to close it, and it just became a [i]habit[/i]). She slowly pushed the door open, hoping that this would just be a false alarm. What Lihua saw made her heart sank. 

A strange man in armor, and wings, holding Lijuan.

"... [i]Put my child down or I'll put ten rounds in your skull faster than you can blink.[/i]" The threat was spoken with cold fury, as Lihua narrowed her eyes, and aimed her pistol right at Mark's face. Pulling the trigger halfway. "... [i]Five seconds, or you're dead.[/i]"

Mark stood perfectly still for a moment, running through every possible escape plan in his mind. Considering the circumstances, Mark went with his last ditch option [i]first[/i]. Under the steel rebreather, Mark opened his mouth, and shouted. [b][i]Loudly.[/i][/b]

It was the single most blood-curdling sound Lihua had ever heard, like a thousand nails scraping across a blackboard into a microphone. Paintings on the wall fell off from the vibration, and for a moment, Lihua heard only a feint ringing, accompanied by a sense of nausea and dizziness unlike anything she had ever felt. 

Lihua was hesitant to shoot - because of the off chance that she might hit [i]Lijuan[/i]. Which certainly worked in Mark's favor as he launched an attack that was literally the worst thing ever. She was knocked backwards, and fell onto her back. The gun she had hit the ground right next to her. The room was spinning - but like [i]hell[/i] she'd let that stop her. Even with the pain, nausea, and dizziness, she wouldn't give up. Not when her child is in danger. She grabbed the gun, and tried to pick herself up. She stood straight up, she raised her head... but her heart sank immediately.

Mark spun back, flying out of the window like ink down a drain, clutching the screaming child closely with both hands. With a heave, Mark flapped his wings once, picking up speed, making his way towards the clouds. 

[i]No. No, no, no, no, no....[/i] Lihua infinitely repeated the words in her head as she ran over to the window fast as possible. All she saw was him flying off with her daughter. The first instinct was to raise her gun at him, aiming for his spine, and pulled the trigger halfway. She let out a sigh as she released the trigger. It wouldn't do any good if she kills this man, and Lijuan dies in the fall. A tear ran down her eye as she clenched her fists. Slamming her foot onto the ground as she let out a cry of anger. She chucked the gun out the window, and it landed in the grass.

[i]That bastard... Lijuan![/i] The thoughts ran through her head as every emotion in the book whirled around inside of her. More tears were rushing down her eyes as she saw that man escape.

When logic overcame emotion, Lihua quickly turned around and ran down the stairs, going fast as she could back to the sofa. On the night table rested her iPhone, which she swiped away. She immediately dialed in the number for the special NEST hotline that'd go straight to the operators.

When they answered, she didn't even give them time to answer, "This is Agent Vuhong! My daughter has been kidnapped by what I believe to be the Changeling Unit. Track all movement in the Central Valley area at once." Lihua barked the orders into her phone. "The man is a Metahuman with wings, wearing all black armour, has a super sonic screech."

"And don't you dare stop until you find him!" Lihua quickly rushed out the door with keys in hand. When she stepped outside, she realized that she let Meifeng borrow the car. Lihua let out a sigh, before hanging her head. "... I need a ride to the NEST Headquarters."

"Auntie...." Mika walked up, eyes half opens, she was clearly half asleep. "What happened?"

"Mika, I need you to watch the house for a bit. Make sure that [i]nobody[/i] comes in or out."