[hr][h2][i]REAPER[/i][/h2]

Great, heavy steps pulverized the ground as the mysterious figure from a shadow-laced corridor. The muggy air was stiff, stifled only by the faintest breeze from the ventilation shaft. Automatic sliding doors opened for this figure, and revealed to them a central chamber, surrounded by interconnected desks forming a massive horseshoe shape around the center of the illuminated empty space in the room. The light reflected and gleamed off PR-1’s body, which was apparently covered in a layer of a form-fitting, unidentifiable metal, and his face possessed little to no features. It shone like platinum.

There were no leaders this day. Just he and the REAPER agent who had alerted him previously this day, along with a special guest: one of the Hands of Science’s rare and valuable transporter metas. There was, from what he could glean, no time to be wasted in reaching the surface.

“You’re here, great.” Said the REAPER. “I have to keep your briefing short. The Changelings are in a bind. As they are a valuable resource, providing not just us, but also [i]your[/i]research with the required materials, it is our utmost to concern to bail them out and allow them a chance to escape NEST.”

“If they do not receive immediate aid,” PR-1 repeated, his voice was metallic, and had the echo like that of bending metal, “then my research will not progress.”

“Correct.”

“That is all I needed to hear.” PR-1 replied, resigning himself to the REAPER’s orders.

“Your objective is to facilitate the Changelings’ escape. If your development is as predicted, NEST [i]cannot kill you.[/i] In this event, allow NEST to capture you and take what information you can from them during interrogation. You may break yourself out when you believe nothing else can be gleaned from your capturers, and then, you must destroy NEST headquarters from the inside. In the process of which... dispose of any [i]loose ends.[/i] Do you understand?"

“Affirmative.”

The REAPER gestured toward her side, to the man beside her. PR-1 made even strides toward the center, and took off his lab coat. Then it was clear that his whole body was covered – or made of this metal. Where his right arm should be was nothing, and ended at his shoulder. He placed his left hand on the teleporter’s shoulder, and the teleporter acted in kind. With only a few moments to spare, the pair flickered away, and with a gust of wind, they were gone.


[hr][h3][color=dodgerblue]Lihua Vuhong[/color], [color=lawngreen]Sonya Mayfield[/color], [color=Gray]Taylor[/color], & The Agents of NEST vs. The Changeling Unit, and [color=ghostwhite]PR-1[/color].[/h3]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8dLYRlbzJs[/youtube][hr]


NEST had Heartbreaker, and the remaining Changelings completely surrounded. Sonya took up perch on one of the apartment buildings far away from the scene. Kneeling down, she looked down the scope of her Barrett 50. Cal. Her sights were aimed right at Fig. One shot, and she'll be dead. 

Quentin kept his distance from Heartbreaker, ready to squeeze back on the trigger one last time if she tried anything. Part of him wanted to squeeze  anyways, here and now, just to put the dead to rest knowing there was one less monster in the world.

Lihua and Leon arrived via flying boulder. Lihua putting her hands behind her back. She laughed a little. "Hello Natalie, I've been looking forward to meeting you...." Lihua playfully said.

"Fuck you, lady." Heartbreaker hissed, as her eyes were scanning the area. Christ. She probably won't be able to shoot her way out of this one. Yet, they weren't attacking, or pushing in, just yet. Which meant they were afraid of [i]something[/i].

A little something Heartbreaker could use to her advantage.

"Heartbreaker, drop all your weapons, and put your hands behind your back." Maximilian ordered. There was no way in hell that he was going to approach her, with her speed and reflexes, it'd be dangerous. Max could have Echo restrain her. "Rest of you, get down on the ground, and if you so much as fidget, the Agents will-."

Out of nowhere, two people had arrived. Their arrival was heralded by a flash of light. When it disappeared, there was a metal man. Just standing there right next to Heartbreaker. Silent. Only Leon noticed the REAPER that teleported him in.

"Um, Maxie..." Leon worryingly said into the comms. "Thiiiink we might have a problem...." 

"The hell is that?" Lihua said outloud, as she preemptively pulled concrete rocks from the street, which began floating with her. This... thing was a statue. Just standing there. 

"Hm?" Sonya thought to herself as her sniper sights rested on the metal man. "Looks like he wanked a little too hard.... Bastard lost his arm."

Quentin briefly relaxed his trigger finger and twisted to examin the newcomer, eyebrow arched as he murmured "Not again.."

Maximilian was unphased, he kept his arms crossed, and stared down the newcomer. He had Echo ready in case things got a little hairy. Worse come to worse, Echo can pummel this metal man into the ground. "You! Identify yourself!" Maximilian shouted as more NEST Agents leveled their guns at the intruder.

"I repeat! Stand down and [i]identify yourself![/i]" Maximilian shouted again. 

"Oooooh boy...." There was a pit in Leon's stomach that was telling him that something was very wrong here. Something about this didn't seem right. So, Leon did the first thing that came to mind, and used his power to look into him. 

Ignoring the agent's demands, PR-1 stretched his arm out, and with this mere motion, a pulse of electricity emanated from his body. Not one necessarily detectable with ease, but the ground and the very air itself was buzzing with the field he had just developed upon a whim. In his mind's eye, the entire field burst into life. As expected, he was dropped into the center of an army of agents and right next to him was none other than one of the Changelings he was to protect. There were a few airborne agents upon a floating platform of what he supposed to be stone. If that one was a terrakinetic, then they would especially be difficult to deal with. In that case, he'll bide his time for their initial retaliation, and then, for the woman... the best way to defeat a foe is to put down the allies beside them.

Without looking at Heartbreaker, the absurd sound of his voice said only this: "Retreat."

Lihua kept her eyes on him. She was unnerved by this aberration - if it's what Leon says it is... This might not be pretty. She felt something in air, she wasn't sure if it was just a figment of her imagination, or something else.

"Move, and we'll open fire!" Maximilian demanded. "Surrender now!"

"Well, you don't have to tell me twice!" She ignored Max, and spoke to this... thing. Heartbreaker didn't know what the fuck this thing is, where he came from, what he wants, or what's even going on. She knows that it's time to fold. She quickly started running, followed by the Mannequin, Witch Mother, and Fig.

Quentin lined up a shot with her, but she broke with his line of sight before he could fire, causing him to spout a few profanities before he was cut off. "Agents, open fire! Focus on the new target, then we'll handle Heartbreaker!" Maximilian warned them, and he had no choice.

"... Man, I don't think that's a good idea." Leon groaned to Lihua right as Max was talking. "We might just end up pissing it off..."

The Agents opened fire with their assault rifles, while Lihua, Sonya, Max, Quentin and Leon watched on. All sound was replaced by gunfire as a particularly vicious onslaught of assault rife rounds fell upon the Hands of Science's weapon. The steel jackets coating the bullets were immediately detected within PR-1's field, and he flexed his will to manipulate the electric currents running through it. Every bullet that zipped by was slowed down dramatically to a halt, mere feet away from his person, and harmlessly hovered still in the air. He kept this up for as long as the hail of bullets continued, apparently catching every single one effortlessly.

"Oh shit...." Leon said.

Lihua arched her head back out of sheer surprise. He... must have some form of metal manipulation, or electromagnetic ability. The only possible explaination. Only problem was what he's going to do with all those bullets [i]next[/i]. It came as first instinct, but Lihua gathered all the concrete she was manipulating and formed a shield right in front of herself. The rock she was floating upon slowly moved backwards. 

"[i]Holy hell! Are you... are you seeing this!?[/i]" Sonya shouted through the comms. She refrained from shooting just to see what'll happen - but now it's clear that they're going to need something a little stronger.

"Agents...." Maximilian ordered Echo to put his arms out far as possible, Helena got extra close. "... [i]Find cover! Right now![/i]." The Agents immediately scrambled to find some cover, using the few precious seconds they had.

Quentin stared, open-mouthed, before finally realising what the fuck was about to happen and making a dash for a nearby NEST cruiser, yanking another nearby agent into cover beside him.

That instant, every bullet surrounding the Hands of Science's superweapon were rotated around, and with a motion of his arm moving outward from his body, repelled every last one of them in a blink of an eye at the same speed they were shot at him with. A cascade of bullets shot out from him in every direction.

Agents found it hard avoiding the barrage. Few found cover, the rest were hit. Fortunately, NEST armor provided a bit of a resistance. A cacophony of screams erupted from the Agents that didn't make it.

Lihua loudly hissed as the bullets impacted the concrete. Several pieces were chipped off, but they didn't penetrate it. Not that this was particularly [i]surprising[/i]. They're going to need to come up with a way to defeat this thing. All while the Changeling Unit gets further and further away. Looks like they'll have to work fast. Lihua looked over her shoulder at Leon, and nodded her head. She quickly floated onto the nearby roof, and dropped the rock onto it. Both of them hopped off.

"Jesus christ." Leon said, grabbing onto his head. Blood was dripping down his nose. That thing's head... Jesus christ, it thought fast. Fast as lightning. Too fast for Leon to comprehend. "Hope you got a plan for that thing."

"Yes, find a weakness, then destroy it." Lihua hissed to herself.

Dozens of 5.56 rounds slammed against the cruiser just inches from where Quentin had taken cover, yet it held up just enough despite the shattered glass raining down from above.

Max's eyes had widened as Agents dropped around him. The look of shock disappeared once he realized that this was all apart of the job. He shook his head. Echo absorbed the bullets that came flying at him with little to no damage to it. Max narrowed his eyes. Echo was a good shield. However, he figured that they needed to get away from this metal man, and into some cover, before Echo could barrage him with fists. 

"I need a diversion!" Max's finger hit the comm.

"Can't really help ya', Maxie." Sonya said, watching the scene through the scope of her rifle. "I'm a bit worried that he might use my rounds against us! Distract him for a second, and I might be able to take a shot!"

[i]Coming right up...[/i] Lihua thought to herself. She had the perfect plan. She raised her hand in the air, and the chunk of street she was riding floated up into the air. Lihua looked over her shoulder, and asked,  "Leon, where is it?" She asked, because the last thing she wanted to do was poke her head out and lose it.

"He's still... standing there." Leon pointed downward, right where he was standing.

The noise, the voices, they all caused vibrations in the air, vibrations that interacted with the electrical current at different intervals - and PR-1 could hear [i]every last thing they said.[/i] Between the screams, the muttering, the panic, the confusion - and plans in the making. They sought a weakness. This was certainly something that should not be found out at any cost, but even after extensive testing back at base, there were far and few in-between. So he had to keep them on their toes. Give them no time to think.

Perhaps, to add to the already swirling storm of chaos, he could add to it. They were comfortable with the idea of taking him out without a second thought and without mercy. This was, of course, because they thought he was nobody. On the contrary...

"Destroy it?" His peculiar voice called out to Lihua in a high pitch. "You hurt my feelings. As another meta-human, I'd expect [i]you[/i] to understand... [i]I am very much alive[/i] - I [i]am[/i] human."

He didn't leave much time for them to linger on that thought - he had no intentions of fighting the likes of the terrakinetic just yet, or the man with the peculair shadow - the electricity ran right through it, but its makeup still interacted with the current. Instead, he act quickly, and slaughter every lower-ranking agent available. Demoralize their armies, break their ranks, and a leader is no leader without their forces. He moved deceptively quick as he launched himself through the air and penetrating the crowd of agents, he paused in the air very briefly, before launching a kick against an agent's neck that instantly shattered their vertebrae. Coming back around and recovering, his limbs and body became a flurry amongst the crowd - registering every movement as quickly as electricity could move and process information. Blocking punches, sweeping legs, and choke holds; with just his two legs and single arm.

"No!" Maximilian shouted as he shoved Helena aside. "Get to cover!" He shouted at her, and Helena quickly flashstepped behind cover. Maximilian was using Echo as a shield, but he has no choice now. Echo quickly flew forward at the metal mind, and unleashed a flurry of punches that went blindingly fast. No human could keep up with the speed, nor could they withstand the sheer force.

PR-1 was somewhat alarmed at the speed of their leader's shadow, and acted accordingly. He kneeled and spun around, grabbing the upper arm of one of NEST's agents and twisting it, making a sickening crack as the limb was dislocated, and was slung around the metal man like a ragdoll between it and Echo's onslaught. 

Echo immediately paused the moment that Maximilian realized what was going on. [i]Damn it![/i] Max thought to himself. Thoughts were running through his head as to what to do next - he knew he only had a second.

Lihua was peaking over the roof at the scene. She ignored what it said - because it was an aberration, nothing more, nothing less - and focused on a way of creating an opening for Maximilian. She quickly swiped her hand to the right, and swiped the sidewalk it was standing on from under it's feet. Lihua let out a sigh. The Agent might get hurt, but it was the price Lihua was willing to pay to give Max an opening.

PR-1 focused on the electrical charge he had stored in Heartbreaker's weaponry - she was fleeing quickly, as he would expect from a scout. It wouldn't be long before she finally went out of their tracking range. There was very little warning of the terrakinetic's activity aside from the slight tremble of the ground beneath him - if she could work so suddenly, then certainly, she was skilled in the use of her power. Only more reason to deal with her last and continue to demoralize them.

That said, there wasn't enough time to immediately react, but his reflexes were sharp enough that he could recover from her tricks before he could hit the ground. This did mean, though, that the agent he was carrying underwent significant harm. Any nerve, muscle or tendon that connected the agent's arm to their shoulder was now totally torn, with only their skin keeping it together.

Maximilian closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. Before Echo quickly delievered a carefully placed, and powerful, punch to the metal man.

PR-1 sensed Echo, but having just recovered, there was no time to avoid it. He took cover behind his arm and stood his ground as his feet became magnetised to the floor. He took the punch, and he could feel its impact reverberating throughout his entire metal body. Even with some of the strongest forces of attraction he could muster using only his electric field as a medium, he still slid back a good six or seven feet, his feet grinding against the floor as Echo's power sought to overwhelm HoS' weapon. As the massive dust cloud dissipated, it was clear that an unstoppable force had met with an immovable object

[i]'That woman earlier. No second thought to sacrificing her agent. She'd make a... fine REAPER. Despicable.'[/i]

[i]Hmmm....[/i] Lihua wondered for a moment what she could do from up here. She didn't want to get down there herself... but her power works better up close. She had to decide what do do next. She had a feeling that Max would try to plummel it. He probably hasn't noticed it yet, but this thing [i]must[/i] have enhanced senses, or telepathy. But, her little attack proved that it can be overwhelmed.

"All Agents, fall back!" Max shouted, he wanted the battlefield for himself, and this... weapon. The Agents started clearing the area. Echo was ready to follow up on that last attack, but Max was holding back.

Meanwhile, on the roof Sonya was on, her finger was to her comm piece, and she was contacting HQ. "... Yeah! We're going to need backup! We have a high-level Metahuman! Can trade blows with Maxi, and repel a barrage of bullets. Send in the foamer trucks, copters, [i]anything[/i]!" She ordered them. "Several injured, many dead! Send medics!"

Sonya quickly turned to the local channel, and spoke, "All Agents....." She paused for a moment, wondering what she should order them to do. "Buy some time, hold your ground long as you can, help is on the way." Sonya kept looking down the sights of her Barrett, waiting for the perfect moment to take her shot. The moment other Agents are out of the way, and this thing is distracted, she'll take the shot that'll take this thing out.

... Hopefully.

Lihua, Maximilian, Leon, and Helena nodded in unison.

[i]Hold it off you say....[/i] Lihua thought to herself.

As per the order to hold ground and buy as much time as possible, agents had gathered as much supplies as they could in such a short period of time and built a small bunker of debris, and mounted a machine gun behind it, hoping that heavy fire from large caliber bullets would be enough to at least dent PR-1 or keep it preoccupied as Maximilian dealt with him. He was assailed by barrage of heavy gunfire, and sparks flew as they nicked his body. His senses were filled with intense buzzing and vibrations as each caliber made contact - the terrakinetic could wait, but the one with this shadow was strong and aggressive. An annoyance like him would be difficult avoiding, so it just meant he had to execute him quickly.

"Wait, don't fire!" Lihua loudly shouted, ignoring the ear piece for a more direct way. "Didn't you realize what happened the last time?!" The Agents didn't even listen to her (Or they didn't hear her). "[i]Idiots![/i]"

The machine gun fed PR-1 with a stream of bullets that he suspended in the air, though with a little more lag than it did with the smaller bullets from their firearms. He spun them around himself to help them gain momentum as he analyzed every detail he had observed during this fight, while keeping in mind the enemies that surrounded him. The shadow was fast and strong. He doubted that firing directly at Maximilian would work if the shadow could block them.

He pointed at Max, and a couple of them flew straight at Max anyways. A second or two of lag between waves, however, and the other bullets shot across and curved back to fire at Max from behind in order to deceive him. Large caliber bullets were fired at the agent from all directions surrounding him.

"Max, you're gonna want to duck!" Leon hopelessly said into the comms as he realized this thing's plan ahead of time. Leon decided to stop sitting on the sidelines and grab the sniper rifle hanging off his back. He knelt down on the edge of the rooftop, and aimed his sniper rifle at PR-1. He knew that this wouldn't work, but he was going to try something.

Maximilian quickly reacted to PR1's plan, and dove onto the ground, he retracted Echo, and put his shadow right onto his back, trying his best to cover himself. He prayed that this would work, or some angel would come from the sky, and save him. Or God would stop rooting for this creature and send down a holy strike of lightning. Fortunately, the bullets whirled over him - a few hit Echo, and left massive cracks in it's golden figure. 

Not every shot was a miss, however.... Max felt one hell of an impact hit him in the side. He immediately let out a cry of pain as he realized what had happened. Blood was dripping down from him, and it quickly pooled. Echo was fading away slowly, just as Max was.

"[b][i]Max![/i][/b]" Leon shouted, before he grabbed onto his forehead as a sudden headache overcame him as he tried to peek into PR1's head again. Blood was dripping down his nose, and it was sign that it was time for him to take a break.

"Maximilian!" Helena said from behind cover. Shit, this is not good. Helena immediately flash-stepped over to Max, and knelt down, and tried to put the larger man over her shoulder. She didn't announce it because she was [i]hoping[/i] that the other Agents would cover her.

Lihua let out a sigh. Everything was going to hell... Yet, it reminded her of how she spent most of her adult years. Lihua closed her eyes, and let out a sigh. Yes... Fighting in increasingly brutal battles against Metahumans. For China. Lihua took a step off the building, and rocks came off from the side, and she stepped on them. It was a feat of balance, but the rocks hoisted her down. It was ironic. Back in China, [i]she[/i] was the one people were fighting desperate, but hopeless, battles against.

A part of her had a feeling that she wouldn't come out of this alive.

Lihua stepped off the rocks, and raised her fist high up into the air. She hoped that she would walk away from this and see Lijuan and Meifeng again.

Her fist hit the ground with such a monumental impact that it sent shockwaves through the Ghost Town. A massive concrete pillar came out of the ground, flying at PR-1 - but Lihua knew of his speed, this was just something to follow up on. The street she was standing on immediately snapped off and she started flying in the air towards it. As she moved, she pulled pieces of the street off that whirled around her to act as a shield.

Helena nodded her head as she hoisted Max over her shoulder. She flashstepped out of there with both of them. God help their souls.

PR-1 watched as the terrakinetic finally make her move and came down from her perch. With a large amount of her forces lay dead on the field, her co-leader incapacitated, she was alone. As much as he wanted to test his capabilities and finish this one off as well to remove a great deal of NEST's threat, there was still the part of the plan where he must be captured. There was an issue that needed taking care of. That said...

There was nothing against the orders about crippling this woman. That, too, would remove a good deal of NEST's firepower. Terrakinetics were threats at almost all ranges. He likely possessed the capability of removing her as he is now, but there was also the matter of winning future wars. To do that, you take their queen with one decisive blow.

The meta-superweapon pulled himself out of the way of the flying pillar and closer towards the NEST bulwark. However, Lihua quickly raised her hands into the air, and flipped the sidewalk upwards to create a wall. This would at least give the Agents some breathing room. Most importantly, this was the fight between herself, and it. The agents taking cover there scrambled to find a safer location, though despite the wall, PR-1 appeared particularly determined to break through. He [i]felt[/i] the large conductive structure behind it. He pulled back his arm and concentrated much of the electromagnetic field between his hand and the metal behind the wall, and with one punch, he shattered a hole clean through the concrete wall, even digging into the bullet-proof metal of a NEST truck's hood, before using a similar strength to rip the hood off its hinges. His arm broke through the aged concrete, and faced Lihua with a truck's hood in his hand, and slinged it at her as though it were a frisbee.

This was trivial, Lihua gathered all her concrete together to form a shield - that was a backup plan if she couldn't move out the way in time. She slung the block of concrete she was standing on off to the side, and the hood of the car barely grazed her shield, chipping off some dust.... However, she felt that was just a [i]distraction[/i]. Meanwhile, PR-1's arm reached into the front of the NEST truck and ripped out its battery. Pulling his arm back up, he raised it in the air as though he were appraising jewelry. Soon enough though, visible arcs of electricity danced around his hand and down his arm, before it finally died and became little more than an empty husk. He threw it aside, with no apparent change to his condition. He stood there briefly, facing Lihua but without a word or action, as though he sought to taunt her. He walked back a few paces, before ducking under the hole in the wall he had made and reaching the other side.

It [i]was[/i] a distraction. Lihua could helplessly watch as this aberration charged up even further. He was already powerful... but what can it do now that it [i]charged?[/i] It quickly ducked behind the wall, and Lihua didn't feel any real need to pursue it. She had [i]another[/i] idea. The concrete she was standing on lowered, and she created a tent of concrete to cover herself. She was standing in darkness.... her finger pressed onto her ear piece, and then she asked,

"Leon, where is it?" 

At this point Leon had recovered. He decided that, for the best, he'll refrain from looking into it's head. His eyes started glowing brightly, as he looked through the wall. PR-1 was walking away from the group, which confused him. "Um... He's heading away... Wait...." Leon did a bit of forward scouting, and saw that he was heading towards [i]more[/i] trucks. "Shit, looks like he's going for another charge."

"Damn it." Lihua said into the comms, she dropped the concrete tent, before the rock flew skyward, hoping to intercept it.

Sonya was also looking through her scopes at PR-1. Sonya had an idea... it was stupid, and it might get her spotted, but anything to give Lihua an edge. Sonya hopped from one roof to another, before she spoke into comms, "Am I getting closer to the trucks?" She asked.

It only took a moment for Leon to find Agent Mayfield, she was hopping roof to roof like a frog. Approaching the trucks. "A little... keep heading there- wait, what are you planning?"

"A silly little idea I have." Sonya said as she landed on another roof. 

PR-1 marched forward, unrelenting. He knew he could probably take down the rest of the agents with a boost from only one battery, but there was something enchanting about the experience. He didn't just want to succeed in this mission. There was an addiction to satisfy. The euphoric sense of full and total control over his body. He reached the next truck and effortlessly ripped the hood of it off as well. There it was - he could feel the charge. It was definitely enough. Enough for ten minutes. It was plenty of time to satisfy him for the time being. He yanked the battery out of the truck and held it in his hand, beginning to sap away its remaining electricity.

Lihua just came into view of PR-1. [i]Shit[/i] Lihua thought to herself. She acted fast, and raised her fist into the air in a swinging motion, like an uppercut. A chunk of concrete violently shot out of the ground at him. It was simply to interrupt him.

It wasn't long until Sonya made it there, too. She hopped onto the roof, but quickly ran to edge of the building with her Barrett ready to fire. She put the kickstands down, and began aiming. Sonya let out a sigh as she lined up the shot with the battery. Except, she needed to wait, Agent Vuhong was launching an attack of her own. Sniping is all about patience, waiting for the right moment. And Sonya felt it in her gut... this wasn't the right moment.

Concentrating on absorbing its charge left PR-1 vulnerable to retaliation, so when Lihua came around and suddenly sprung her attack, he could only help but reflexively attempt to block the attack - with success, however, the edge of the concrete chunk had struck the battery in his hand, forcing it airborne.

The battery was forced airborn - but that was no problem for an [i]expert[/i] like Sonya. She just had to time it right, predict where it'll go. She lined it up with where the battery would fall, and when it did, it pretty lined itself up. Sonya took this moment, and fired a shot at the battery, right from a Barrett 50. cal (Nothing will be in one piece after a blast from this). There was the raging boom that filled her ears as the bullet came flying at supersonic speeds. The bullet went right through the battery, nearly blowing it in half. That removed one threat from the mix. Sonya smiled for a moment.

PR-1 wasn't a quick tempered man. No, he was very steady and deliberate in all of his endeavors, with very few exceptions. In this case, he felt increasingly annoyed by the terrakinetic and her support, as though someone were dangling a steak in front of a hungry tiger but refused to give it to them. He expanded the electro-magnetic field across a wider distance and paced towards Lihua. He picked up things he had not noticed before.

"Merciless." PR-1 said in his uneven pitched voice. "Efficient. Clever and strong. You remove yourself from the battle to gain the upper hand even if it means your comrades dying. Even if it means to dehumanize your enemy. You would make for... an [i]admired[/i] REAPER among the Hands of Science."

Lihua had to laugh for a moment - yet, her eyes didn't come off him for a second. She was ready for an attack. Was she truthfully better than REAPER? No, she knew that. What she had done here was unforgiveable, and she knew it. Except, she would never lower herself to torturing children... Lihua looked down at the creature.

He paused for a moment.

"Let's see how you do without your long-ranged support."

He turned around and pointed a finger gun at the rooftops where Sonya hid herself. A bolt of electricity immediately shot from his hand and arced through the air like lightning. The amperage wasn't a lethal dose, but could easily incapacitate a grown man struck by it. He sought to preserve his charge. Ever since he expanded his field, he took great care of keeping track of her location. Without her allies, the terrakinetic will be harmless to him.

"[i]Mayfield![/i]" Lihua shouted, looking over at Sonya. She hoped that the sniper was alright.

Pained screams was all Sonya could muster as she violently convulsed, dropping her sniper rifle. Electricity ravaged her system - which was conducted easier due to the layer of wet slime she has around her. The electricity exited through her foot. She hit the back of the roof, unconscious, but not dead.

"Hmph." Lihua was certain that Sonya was dead. Oh well, just another casuality in the war against the Hands of Science. Looks like it's her, and this aberration. The way it should have been from the start. No interruptions, no allies, just the two of them.

"Aberration...." Lihua started off. "You speak as if I care about what a lowly abomination like yourself has to say..." 

"We are meta-humans, you and I, we are the same. A real pity that even within this community that the racism remains. Because I am unfortunate enough to be given this form? I am not so different from the animal types that I believe your friend was just now."

"The difference between us is that [i]I[/i] choose." Lihua was quick to retort. "[i]I[/i] choose to fight and live for [i]myself[/i], while you...." she pointed at him, "You're just nothing more than a gun for your masters to point at their enemies. Only to be discarded once they reach their end goal."

"There are many evil-doers in history." PR-1 said in disagreement. "Mao Zedong, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin - the evil is subjective, but regardless of that, they in fact remained human despite what they were called. The greatest human error is to believe that no person is capable of committing atrocities. That is how we give rise to new dictators."

"You are very correct." Lihua shrugged with a smile on her face. "I am a human capable of doing terrible things [i]just[/i] to achieve victory... Even if it means disconnecting myself from my own humanity. Doesn't matter. I'm not the hero. Nor will I ever try to be... but enough of that... we have a fight to the death, don't we?"

Electricity began to build up around the stump of his right shoulder as he concentrated all of the electricity he had available at his disposal into one condensed current. It took the shape of an arm, perfectly proportionate to PR-1's build. Even to the untrained eye, one look at it was enough to realize that one touch from it would be enough to stop the heart of anything that lived - if it didn't explode, first.

"Your interference has cost me valuable time. Regardless, sixty seconds with this arm is enough to be rid myself of you. I have important research that I must continue. You're a hundred years too early to think you can get in my way."

"Oh? The research I'm going to destroy?" Lihua looked at her nails, seemingly bored. Just to taunt him. "... I just [i]wish[/i] you'd be [i]alive[/i] to see me do it."

As the last word left Lihua's lips, there was no hesitation in PR-1's body, no force that could have kept him from shooting himself across the field like a bullet with his electric arm reached out and poised to strike through Lihua's chest and her heart.

This is it. Lihua knew that she couldn't hold back even for a second. She had to give it all that she had. She barely had a second to react - she hopped up into the air, and sent the block of concrete she was riding on right at PR-1, ready to collide. She was descending, and pulled some more pieces of concrete from the walls around her to ride on. She landed on it - but she was done with the aerial combat. After the chunk hit the ground, Lihua stepped off of it, and readied herself for the next attack.

At this point, she basically forgot all possibility that NEST would be here on time. She silently came to terms with the fact that she could die in this batlle. Lihua let out a sigh. Well, it'd be for the best. Meifeng and Lijuan can move on with their lives without inheriting her sins.

She raised her foot into the air, and slammed it back down. Two large blocks of concrete sandwiched her.

The superweapon of the Hands of Science leapt from the ground and shot through the space between the boulders, grappling onto Lihua with his solid hand and carried her with him - both boulders fell to the floor at their controller was helpless to fight back. The two slammed onto the ground with PR-1 straddling the agent with his solid hand gripped firmly around her throat and his electric hand poised to finish her.

[i]"You would be damning our future!"[/i]  His metal voice warped and shrieked.

"[i]HAHAHAHA! I'd rather [b]die[/b] than live in a future forged by [b]you[/b] bastards![/i]" Lihua screamed, laughing. Showing an uncharistic amount of emotion while she laughed maniacially. Because, it was truthfully relief. Her story is finally over. 

She can finally stop.

Before he could finally deal the final blow, foam sprayed onto the pair from the sky. From a helicopter, a gun attached to a hose was pouring it onto both and almost instantly, he felt his body become restrained by the strength of the material. Now rendered immobile, he felt the electricity in his arm dissipate. Now, he could only wait for the second part of his patrons' plan. Still, unfortunate he couldn't kill this woman - given all that she has threatened. All he could do now was issue his warning before he was overtaken by the enveloping foam and rendered unconscious: "You know so little of what you have threatened or of the depth of the circumstances that surround your precious city and its enemies. Be careful, agent... you are not so dissimilar to the REAPERs as you might think..."

Exhaustion was creeping in as Lihua was released from his grasp. It was the adrenaline keeping her on her feet... and now, she could barely stand up. Well, this isn't the ending she was expecting, but... maybe she shouldn't be so quick to throw her life away (At the same time, she was more prepared). While she was panting, she looked up at PR-1... as he issued his grave warning to her. She stood straight up and listened. It was definitely forboding, and she knew that there was a cloud of evil swirling above this city.

"... [i]Think I had enough of you for one night.[/i]" Lihua simply said. There was nothing for her to really say. She knew that there was a great enemy within the Hands of Science....

However, they made an even more ferocious opponent out of her the moment they fucked with her daughters. And for that, she vowed to destroy them.