[hr][i][h1]Eco-Naturá.[/h1][/i][hr]
[i][u]Somewhere in Prince Ed-Field[/u][/i]

It was finally time, the day was here...

Old Man Winter stood on top of a rooftop of a building. Far as the eye could see... were nothing but fools. He stood upon an empire of dirt... Today was the day he tears it down, and gives it back to its rightful owner. Nature.

He walked over to the edge of the building, with a cell phone in hand. He looked down on the streets of Courtbridge. They were merely expendable casualties. He was doing God's work here.

The phone in his hand buzzed, and he checked the message he just received.

[quote][pre]The bombs have been planted, sir. We are waiting for your signal.[/pre][/quote]

"Good..." Old Man Winter said to himself as he scrolled through his phonebook. There was a specific number to call to activate all the bombs. The bombs that would change this city for the better. He thought on it for a moment... he would need to decide quickly, or else he risks the bombs being discovered.

...He pressed call.

"Let the games begin."

[hr][hider=Silversun Pickups - Panic Switch][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdjzU0c9YGg[/youtube][/hider][hr]

Strategically placed around the Prince Ed-Field area were the devices made by former members of the Hands of Science by "studying" certain Metahumans. Most people would define these "devices" as bombs, due to their purpose.

When Old Man Winter called the number, a signal was sent out that basically told them all to activate. Each of the devices, cylinders in design, began to start beeping before they exploded with a bright green energy that acted like a gas as it expanded to the area around them. 

Before they suddenly became [i]nature.[/i]

Massive trees expanded from the devices, and destroyed all in their path as they quickly formed. As the area was being blanketed with a layer of vines that sprouted and coiled around everything. A tree sprouted through a building, and utterly destroyed it as people were desperately running away.

And these bombs were all over Prince Edfield, so there wasn't no escape from the destruction. Buildings were being demolished, as the death count was rising. In less than a minute, Prince Edfield began to look more and more like a forest.

It was the start of an era that Old Man Winter planned on ushering in.


[hr][h1][i][color=darkslateblue]Reed[/color] and [color=gray]Quentin[/color][color=darkslateblue]Tay[/color][color=gray]lor[/color].[/i][/h1][hr]

"Ah, shit-" Quentin grunted, as he fumbled through his pocket, finding an empty space. That was unusual, to say the least - until he recalled where he'd left it. "Hold up a sec, I left my wallet in the truck. I'll go and get it."

"It's fine, I've got it-" Reed offered, drawing a hand into his own pocket.

"No, seriously - wait up for me, I'll be back in about fifteen minutes." Despite his little brother offering to cover the bill, Quentin was insistent on paying for his half. Whilst he was under his roof, he'd pay his way however he could.

Shrugging, Reed nodded and decided to pass the time by wandering just a little ways down the street, checing out the other stores and restaurants here. Seven years in Baybridge had given him plenty of time to visit the place, though quite a few storefronts were relatively new in the wake of recent refurbishments. Minutes passed,  Reed reached for his phone, hoping to find just [i]where[/i] the hell his brother had gone when he heard the first explosions.

First, the shaking started, then the ground had fractured as the plants had swarmed them. It was like Verthaven all over again - all that was missing were the Devil's creatures rising up from the ground, but even those had been substituted when vines began to seep out from the cracks and crevices in the architecture. People began to scream, panicking - Reed soon began to make a beeline for the end of the street as the plants overtook everything, narrowly avoiding the crush, except...

Down from the road he heard a screech and when he glanced in its direction his direction, thrown off course by the fractured road and vines. Reed let out a heavy grunt as he dove to avoid the car, then  felt something smash against his body, the sound of shattering glass, a biting tinge as something cutting into his side. Overwhelmed on all sides, he found himself ensnared. [i]Trapped.[/i]




[hr][i][h1][color=9966ff]Lihn Phan[/color], [color=dodgerblue]Lihua Zhao[/color], [color=salmon]Haruka[/color] & [color=cornflowerblue]Shizuka[/color] [color=salmon]Taka[/color][color=cornflowerblue]shiro[/color].[/h1][sub]Written in collaboration with [@Mr Allen J], & [@tsukune].[/sub][/i][hr]
[u][i]Courtbridge, Prince Ed-Field[/i][/u]

When the food got there, Lihua smiled at the waitress before she walked off. The tall woman showed restraint as she grabbed her fork, and slowly cut a piece of her shrimp tempura and slowly put it in her mouth. She was saving the ramen for later - she just loved the taste of tempura. Though, she's certain that she'd love the ramen (it's better than the blocks of depression that you'd get from Walmart). Lijuan quickly ate her food just as she predicted.

Right as Lihua began to savor the taste, the ground started shaking.

"Huh?" She said, caught off guard.

She could hear the destruction outside. Lihua looked outside, and saw a tree suddenly sprout through a restaurant across the street as the streets were being laced with scrubbery. "Huh?!" Lihua loudly said as she was surprised.

Shizuka just downed his tofu (which he had expertly picked it up with chopsticks without breaking it into pieces) when Lihua's exclamation jerked him out of his food bliss. He was amused to see the street outside the restaurant turning into a forest's understory. "Pretty sure it's [i]not[/i] Holly's doing..."

It wasn't long before their restaurant was being affected, as well. A tree burst through the ceiling and knocked a great deal of it down as well. A block of the ceiling was knocked down over the great.

Lijuan's screams motivated Lihua to act quickly.

Jumping out her seat, Lihua raised her hands in the air, and accessed her terrakinesis to catch the falling block of concrete. It stopped in mid air, and Lihua sighed as she put it off to the side and it broke into pieces as it hit the ground.

Shizuka had pulled his twin and Lijuan to himself. The two of them still had their suppressant collar on - though he could burst Haruka out of his collar and let him use his air manipulation to work alongside Lihua. Lijuan... well, it was up to him to keep her safe so that Lihua could concentrate on her task at hand.

[i]...Whatever. Screw the collar.[/i]

He phased the device out of Haruka's neck and threw the useless collar aside, much to his brother's surprise. "Get out of here with the kid - I'll handle the rest."

"But---"

"Just [i]go[/i]."

It took all of Lihua's energy, and concentration to stop the roof from collapsing on them. Though, that pool of energy wasn't what it used to be. Lihua was brought to one knee, because it felt like there was a million pounds of force being pressed on her. It was the greatest feat of her strength yet. She looked off to the side, and knew that Lijuan was safe.

"M-move..." Lihua groaned underneath her breath due to the pressure. "...[i]Move! Get her out of here![/i]"

Haruka gave his brother one last worried look before he grabbed Lijuan's hand and they ran out of the groaning restaurant with the rest of the panicking customers and staff. In no time the store was empty sans the two agents - one former and the other current - in the middle of the restaurant.

Shizuka went over to Lihua, placing his hands on the woman's shoulders. "...You can let it go now."

He channeled his intangibility to Lihua, and the entire store collapsed onto them - or rather, the roof simply fell through the two harmlessly as if they were mere ghosts. He then pulled the woman above the wreck and released her, breaking the power connection which returned them back to their solid, normal state.

"...Let's go," was all he said before he turned around and hopped off the pile of debris onto the pavement, walking towards where Haruka was waiting with Lijuan.

The second Lihua got herself a break, she immediately dropped to her hands and knees. Frantically panting. Jesus. It felt like it was just yesterday when doing that was a menial task. She slammed her fist on the ground in shame. She was a proud woman - one that didn't need to rely on [i]children[/i] half her age to keep herself and Lijuan alive. However, she couldn't give up just yet.

She wasn't a little girl anymore.

"Mommy?" Lijuan curiously said. "Are you okay...?"

That child's voice was enough to snap Lihua out of it.

"...I'm fine, sweetheart," Lihua said as she pushed herself to her feet. She did a slight hop as she inhaled, and then exhaled. Attempting to clear her mind. Before she was at her mental peak. She opened her eyes, and looked at the destruction before her.

Prince Ed-Field was being utterly destroyed around her. Not by bombs, or explosives, but by [i]nature[/i]. Trees were destroying the city, all while vines and plantlife were utterly covering the ground that she stood upon. This...

She quickly stepped over to Lijuan, and put her hands over her ears. "...This seems like the work of Eco-Natura," Lihua said to both Haruka and Shizuka. Despite leaving the business, Lihua made a note to keep up to date on relevant information. The eco-terrorist group Eco-Natura. "I'm not sure... maybe they were behind the Overloads, and just wanted to test it."

"Holly's so not gonna like this," Shizuka muttered to himself. Then he spoke louder, "We can talk more about them after we get out of here." He knew about Eco-Natura, but what Lihua said in her last line struck a chord in his mind.

If the Pure, Eco-Natura, and whatever other nasty organizations (including some bastard traitors still hiding within DOVE/RAVEN) were somehow collaborating with each other beneath their noses all this while...

[i]...Shit.[/i] Something didn't feel right about this, but he had no time to mull over his own thoughts as the greens around them were closing in.

Haruka had swiped his hands to cut a path through the thickening shrubbery with his wind blades. "This way!"

Though, Lihua gritted her teeth a bit... from that usage of her power, she had injured herself. Her skin had cracked, and flesh was exposed. It wasn't a pain unfamiliar to her, but it was bleeding.

"Lihua?" A quiet, and slightly strained voice, came from a bit to the left of the group. Lihn had been situated near the door of Shiraisake when it began to collapse; making it easy enough to escape. She approached the group of four, visibly straining as other people's panicking and fear began to get to her. However she was emanating soft calm; subconsciously shifting people's emotions in a positive direction. "What's going on?" The question wasn't directed at anyone in particular.

It was sad to see that Lihn was here. Lihua herself felt calmer just by her presence, but she felt some level of grief knowing that the woman was here. In the thick of it. Lihua held Lijuan's hand tightly, "I don't know... it's a disaster out here."

Something about this newcomer felt familiar to Shizuka, even though he was sure this was the first time he had actually met her. He also felt a strange pull - a sense of tranquility - inside him with her presence. [i]A Metahuman who can manipulate emotions?[/i] He knew a particular someone who had a similar ability... but that wasn't the point. The Vietnamese lady obviously knew Lihua - maybe they were friends of sorts?

He was learning loads about a new, different side of the Zhao woman he had never thought he would be able to see in just one day, one random meeting; they even managed to hold a proper conversation without going for each other's neck for the first time in seven long years.

Lihn nodded, glancing towards the restaurant they came from. "The trees are going to rip everything apart." She winced. There were too many emotions; not necessarily from this small group, but from everyone else around them. She ignored the dull, nagging pain in her head.

"Which is why we should leave," Lihua was quick to note. Her time in NEST was over, and she knew that she had no stake in this. She's a fifty year old woman, and she has a daughter to protect. She had [i]zero[/i] stakes in this. "Fast as possible."

If Prince Ed-Field was the center of the attack, the solution was simple - leave Prince Ed-Field.

"Agreed," Lihn nodded. She needed to get home and make sure that Thanh was alright. Assuming they could leave.

"Let's go, my car..." Lihua looked towards the parking complex where her SUV was parked.

A massive tree sprung out of the center of the complex, and it was knocked outwards. Destroying everything in sight - and more importantly, everything inside. It was reduced to a pile of concrete and rubble.

"Oh," Lihua blankly said. "That's..." She trailed off, trying to contain her growing anger. "...[i]Unfortunate.[/i]"

She looked off to the side, and hissed in Chinese,

"[i]My insurance better[/i] fucking [i]cover that.[/i]"

Shizuka raised an eyebrow at Lihua, and kept his face straight at her cursing that he had clearly understood. "We can take my car instead, but we'll need to go further out a bit."

"That works," Lihua said, honestly containing her anger. "Lead the way... I'll cover us in case we run into more trouble."


[hr][i][h1][color=skyblue]Wendy Emily Lucker[/color], [color=lightseagreen]Rowan Campbell[/color], [color=00ff7f]Rori Aherne[/color], & [color=92278f]Ellen Nile[/color].[/h1][sub]Written in collaboration with [@Mr Allen J], [@Nosuchthing], & [@Zombiedude101][/sub][/i][hr][i][u]Courtbridge, Prince Ed-Field[/u][/i]


While Wendy was waiting for her friends to arrive, she was basically doing anything to pass the time. Fiddling with her camera, playing on her phone (checking social media or playing a mobile game like the casual she is), and just leaning up against the tree. She was wondering if they got lost, but she was hoping that they would get here soon.

Oddly enough, two of her friends, Ellen and Rowan arrived. Right when she noticed them walk off, Wendy stepped off the tree with a smile on your face. "Hey, hey, you're here." She said with a nod. She faced Ellen... and she was hoping that this would go better than the last time two friends met.

"Ellen, I've wanted to introduce you to Rowan... a friend of mine I met a few days ago." She nodded her head. "He's been helping me with some power training."

Then she faced Rowan.

"And Rowan, this is Ellen... a friend I've made at the Academy."

She smiled.

"I wanted to invite you all out here because I wanted you all to meet each other."

...[i]And not because my older sister said to do it.[/i]

"We kinda already met... just now..."

"Yeah, what she said." Rowan shrugged.

"Oh?" Wendy was honestly hoping for a big old meeting between the two. A grand event. Now, it seems like her plans have been spoiled. Unfortunate. However, she can make the best of it regardless.

"...Now, where's Rori? Once she gets here, I'm treating you all to a day in Chinatown!"

"Sorry I'm late!" Rori arrived just around the time that Wendy mentioned them. "I'm not used to public transport [i]at all[/i]." They shrugged sheepishly.

"Rori! You're here." Wendy said, rather pleasantly. "...And you shouldn't take it. At all." She laughed a little bit. "I used to take it before I got my moped, and it was [i]hell[/i]."

"Hi Wendy!" Rori grinned. "And I wouldn't if it wasn't for this..." They indicated their broken arm and wing.

The girl didn't notice it at first, but Wendy realized that Rori's arm was broken. Jesus Christ. What happened to her? "Jesus, Rori, your arm..." Wendy pointed at Rori's arm. "...What happened to it?"

"Oh right, yeah, this," Rori ran a hand through their blue hair as they spoke. "You know that big hurricane thing that happened? I got caught in it as a bird. Broke a wing - seems it translates to a broken arm. So now I can't fly..." They didn't look particularly happy at that.

"Shit..." Wendy mouthed, as she felt a little bad. Yeah, she heard about what happened in Oakdell harbour. It sounded really bad, but while it was going on, she was with Rowan. She wished that she was there to help - but what really could she have done if she was? When she got caught up in the last two overload incidents, she was incapacitated pretty quickly. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that you got caught in that, I hope you get better."

Ellen echoed the expletive, and wondered aloud, "so can you still transform?"

Rori quickly responded to Ellen with a nod.

Ellen opened her mouth to speak again, realizing that there was something that Rori wasn't quite saying...

...However, the ground shaking signaled something horrible approaching.

It was yet another disaster. Wendy almost mouthed a swear as a tree burst from the building they were right next to. Fortunately, Wendy could see it coming (since she looked through the window) and quickly grabbed Rori and jumped out of the way with her in her arms.

The tree pierced through the restaurant, and would have tore through them if they hadn't moved out of the way when they did.

While Wendy was on the ground, she was heavily panting, and she looked up. She noticed the vines wrapping around everything. She was confused as hell as to what was happening... Before she realized it was [i]another[/i] disaster.

As the vines began to overwhelm them, one instinctively flexed their arms and enclosed the four of them in metal.

The vines wrapped around the makeshift shield, a tangled mesh of metal pulled together from the debris surrounding them. Effectively saving them from getting cocooned.

Wendy looked up, and noticed that they were saved! Though, they probably should have ran.

"...Thanks Rowan," Wendy said with a nod of her head. Though, they have another problem. They're now trapped in here, and with the buildings falling apart... staying here would be foolish. And then she realized she was on Rori.

"Um," Wendy awkwardly said as she got up. "We gotta get out of here. I don't think it's a good idea to stay here with all the - [i]you know[/i]."

It took Rori a moment to get back up onto their feet, looking a bit dazed by all that had happened. If they could fly they could have helped. They felt a bit useless as they stood, staring up at the metal that had saved them.

Ellen had managed to keep her feet, just, and turned to Wendy, "you got that right."

Realising that she probably had Rowan to thank for their metal protection she turned, "Thanks, can you use them," she indicated the metal fragments, "to cut through that stuff outside?"

"I'll... try, this thing's not easy as it looks..." Grunting, Rowan flexed his palms and gestured forward, his concentration fixated on the web of vines surrounding them. Pushing forth, the crude shield began to twist and turn, its form buckling as the teenager exerted his will upon it. "We've gotta walk," Rowan said, walking with the shield as it began to move.

"Don't push yourself too hard," Wendy said. She wondered if she could use her electrokinetic abilities to help, but, at the moment, it wouldn't do too much to help. She did realize she had a slight affinity with metal. 

The effort the boy was exerting was obvious to Ellen, though she didn't muse on why it was so much more obvious than it should have been, instead she started to walk with him, picking her way carefully across the broken ground.

"So... nice to meet you... I guess?"

While Ellen was talking, Wendy thought about their situation. Being under the metal dome wasn't the problem, it was the fact they couldn't see. With the world falling apart around here. "We should get out of here - this dome, I mean." Wendy explained to Rowan. "We can't see out of this... and everything's going crazy."

"It's..." Rowan paused, "I'll try."

"Look, I'll help you," Wendy said as she sighed. This was some advanced stuff, but she needed to try [i]something[/i]. She put both of her hands up, and electricity arced off her fingertips and touched the metal. "Ready when you are...."

"Ready." Rowan nodded and pushed forward, putting all of his concentration into parting their metallic shield. Easier said than done, but... he had to try. A long time ago, this would've been an impossible feat, but practice and a [i]need[/i] to make it through this drove him to function.

Closing her eyes, Wendy put all she could into clearing her mind, and becoming one with the electricity. This was out of her skill-range, but she was going to give it a shot. Electricity came out of her fingertips, and went into the metal shield that Rowan created. It was pulled apart - pushed outwards - as both Wendy and Rowan put the same amount of effort into taking apart the shield.

[i]And for a moment, there was harmony.[/i]

Resonant, the metal split down the middle, light seeping through the growing cracks in the shape. To the sound of rustling vines, buckling and snapping under the pressure of the metal pushing outwards against them, the group found themselves at the surface once more.

"Yes!" Wendy got excited, as they finally escaped. She looked around them, and saw that the city was falling apart. Looks like she had a great idea after all. They would have been crushed by a rock. Or would have walked into a river. The electricity faded away... She quickly got out and started running. "Alright, let's get out of here!"




[hr][h1][color=6ecff6]Seraphine Campbell[/color] & [color=fff200]Alice Barrett[/color][/h1][hr]


Seraphine was enjoying a rare day off. Technically she was still at work, or at least one of her was. Not that there was much for her to do during the day, occasionally a client would purchase her services during the day, or for an extended period of time, though the former was only occasional and the latter downright rare. She was still dressed well though, not the exquisite dresses and outfits that she would wear for clients, but in expensive jeans and a designer top that she knew was turning heads.

Admittedly it probably wasn't the outfit that was turning heads. Though it helped. Her teachers in the Society had explained that she absolutely did not have to show skin until the clients demanded it. What a man, or woman, could visualize would be far more arousing than even the most perfect courtesan could achieve.

She'd felt like Chinese food, crappy Chinese food. She mostly avoided junk food, ate what the Society told her to, and trained with the personal trainer who was on the Society's tab. It was nice every once in a while to get out and eat crappy food full of salt and chemicals. There was the Chinese equivalent of a greasy spoon further down the street, right on the edge of Chinatown, it was a far cry from the good restaurants of the quarter. She was carrying a box from the shop, chopsticks in hand, helping herself to the fatty food.

It was cheap, unhealthy and oh so delightfully satisfying. Until it fell from her hands as she was sent sprawling. Something had caught her foot, something that hadn't been there before. She turned to shout at whatever asshole had tripped her up only to find it was a root protruding from the pavement. It hadn't been there before. Then the pavement erupted, and an entire tree forced it's way up through the concrete and asphalt. A broken slab hit the ground six inches from her head and she screamed, looking around desperately for shelter.

A petite blonde woman appeared in front of her, and Seraphine abruptly stopped screaming, almost in shock. She'd appeared literally out of nowhere. A hand seized Seraphine's and before she could protest, they were gone from the pavement.

She felt her stomach turn upside down, strange colors whirled past her eyes, but at the same time no time had past. She in a currently undamaged area, at least mostly undamaged area, and she stared around in surprise, before her body caught up to her and she bent over to empty the contents of her stomach onto the ground.

Alice watched the stunningly beautiful girl she had pulled out of the sudden wildlife of the street throw up. She was in a white summer dress, and cursing her luck. Her day off and this had happened. Another Overload attack? An actual disaster level metahuman? "No rest for the wicked. Fuck!"

She turned back to the young girl concernedly. "You ok miss?"

Seraphine was on all fours, trying to convince her stomach that since it was now empty there was nothing left to throw up. She looked up hesitantly, afraid that any sudden movements might prompt more vomit.

"What... was that?"

Alice grimaced, "the vomiting? That was me, side effect of jumping a few hundred feet in space. Sorry. The rest of it? I have no idea..."


[hr][i][h1][color=red]Meifeng Zhao[/color], [color=dc143c] Maxine Diaz [/color] & [color=Springgreen]Cindy Keagan[/color].[/h1][/i][hr]
[U][I]RAVEN/DOVE West Coast Joint Headquarters, White Coast[/I][/u]


The last three days were days of tedious paperwork.

Cindy was the last person to complain, but when shit hits the fan it tends to make the paperwork pile. And when it piles, it tends to leave some very disgruntled employees. As high and mighty Cindy acted, she was one of them. She was at her desk, and simple writing away. Not only did she have to help clean up after the Overload attacks, but she also had her usual paperwork on top of it.

"Uuuuuugh!" Cindy said as she leaned back in her chair. Throwing her hands over her face. She was so stressed, pent up, and irritated lately. She just wanted a ten year break. From work, and all this bullshit.

Though, nobody said that she couldn't take a break.

Reaching for her phone, Cindy decided to play a little mobile game to relieve some stress. Just to keep herself from going insane. She was playing Candy Crush, and having a great time. She was racking up a rather high score, too!

"...Cindy!" Meifeng loudly barged into the room, and shouted.

"Oh!?" Cindy almost dropped her phone. It fell in between her legs, and she had to clench them together to catch it. After that was settled, she looked back up at Meifeng. "Girl, you gotta knock." She said, annoyed.

"[i]Girl,[/i]" Meifeng returned with venom in her voice. "It's a disaster out there!" She pointed at the door. "Prince Ed-Field is being torn apart by plants and shit."

"Huh?" Cindy said. "Is it another Overload?"

"We're not sure, but we need to get out there, now." Meifeng said.

"Alright," Cindy said as she got up, she quickly ran out the door, followed by Meifeng. They needed to get to Prince Ed-Field fast as possible.

[hr]

However, the problem with that is that most of their agents were [i]already[/i] in Prince Ed-Field. They needed to go get some agents that were already in Headquarters. And that meant that Cindy would have to, once again, swallow her pride for the sake of helping everyone else.

And what she meant by that was...

Meifeng and Cindy burst into the break room, and saw Maxine Diaz.

...Recruiting Max.

"Yo, Max," Meifeng greeted the brown-haired Spanish girl. "Want to put even more fucking paper work on your desk?"

Cindy shook her head as she stepped up.

"Max, there's a disaster in Prince Ed-Field, and we need as many RAVENs as possible there," Cindy said.

"Eh? Definitely don't want more paperwork," Max looked up from where she was aimlessly looking on her phone before standing up. "I guess I better do my duty as a RAVEN, though. What exactly is happening?" She sighed slightly. [i]Another[/i] disaster. Great.

"It's..." Meifeng said, trying to find the best way to explain it. "...Trees and shit are sprouting up from all over the place, and causing tons of destruction."

"Sounds like Eco-Natura." Cindy added.

"Righhttt," Max frowned. "Guess this shit never stops," she half muttered to herself. "I just need to go change into armour and I'm good to go." She was just hoping her regen would somehow save her from being killed by trees. However dangeorus they may be.

"Alright, everyone get ready," Cindy said. "I gotta grab some body armor..." She trailed off.

"Suit up!" Meifeng said as she ran off.

"Aye aye, captain," Max responded in a half-mocking tone before hurrying off to get suited up.


[hr][i][h1]Missy Baroness, & Megan Jervious.[/h1][/i][hr][hider=MACINTOSH PLUS - リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー (Piano Cover)][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToOO5_JDL7k[/youtube][/hider][hr]
[i][u]Coutbridge, Prince Ed-Field[/u][/i]


"...Mmmm." Megan loudly mouthed the noise as she ate a piece of sushi with a piece of chop sticks. She was in a state of bliss as she sat in this sushi bar. Eating the most delicious sushi in the world! "...This is the most delicious sushi in the world! Don't you agree?"

Because she could never use them for the life of her, Missy opted out of chopsticks, and preferred to eat her sushi with her hands. She dipped it in spicy mayo, before she ate it whole. She enjoyed the taste, but she couldn't help but feel the welling grief. "...Yeah, it's pretty good."

"But, why so glum?" Megan said.

"It's just..." Missy was about to speak her mind, "...[i]old ghosts.[/i]"

"Oh?" Megan questioned. "Elaborate, please."

"I just ran into someone I thought I knew... probably didn't recognize me..." Missy stared at the surgical mask that was neatly folded and placed next to her plate. "...Or forgotten. Hopefully." She lowly said.

"Sounds like... you've had a rough life, love," Megan said. "You clearly have history with the Changeling Unit - can't say I'm surprised, they were the nastiest bunch of people I've come across."

Missy didn't say anything.

"...I wish I could have stopped them when I got the chance," Megan said. "I had history with the Unit myself - I could have done more to stop them, and the Hands, from getting so powerful, and before they became such gigantic threats."

Missy raised and eyebrow, and gave Megan a look.

"Oh, don't give me that look, I was [i]never[/i] a Changeling," Megan flagged Missy off, as she awkwardly laughed a bit. "...But, I might have [i]maybe[/i] played a part in what made Luis such a sick little puppy!"

That made Missy narrow her gaze even further.

"But, that's a long story, and something I'll gladly tell you [i]after[/i] you tell me your past!" Megan loudly, and cheerfully said. 

"Huh, what?" Missy said.

"C'moooooooooooon," Megan said like she was much younger. "You can't get a tragic past, without sharing one!"

Missy sighed.

"...Alright," She resigned, defeated. "It started in Verthaven..."

[hr]

It's been a rather lengthy conversation, but Missy gave her boss everything she needs to know. All Megan could do was give her a rather sympathetic look as if she was thinking on her past.

"...So that explains your grudge with the Mannequin." Megan said. "I... completely understand."

"I... just feel so much anger... so much rage.... and I can't ever get rid of it!" Missy said as she slammed her fist on the table. The table created a loud sound that drew the attention of everyone nearby. "I... I... I can't explain it, and it's driving me [i]insane[/i]."

"I know what it is," Megan said. "It's unresolved emotions... Even though Luis died, you can't get out of your head what he did to it... It's the very definition of [i]pure[/i] hatred. I can't ever say you'll get rid of it."

Missy sighed as not a single word left her lips.

"...But, what you need to do is get contact with your former friends," Megan said with a smile. "I'm certain they would be [i]glad[/i] to see you."

"Huh?" Missy said. "No... I can't do it." She shook her head. The mere prospect filled her with fear, guilt, and shame. "It's too late for that..."

"C'mon, sweetheart," Megan said, "It's never too late! You'll have people who can really help with your growing [i]insanity[/i]."

Missy gave Megan that look again.

"C'mon, love!" Megan shrugged with a goofy smile on her face. "All that hatred ain't good for you... you need a little bit of love to balance it out!"

Another sigh escaped Missy as she resigned.

"...I'll do it." Missy nodded her head, finally accepting it.

"Yay!" Megan said... and drew eyes on their table yet again. "You know, I wish I had friends like yours. They're all dead, or insane."

That reminded Missy...

"Oh..." She trailed off. "What about [i]your[/i] past, Megan?"

"Oh, yeah, almost forgot," Megan said. "You see... two hundred years ago-"

Before Megan can explain the greatest backstory of all time, the ground started shaking, and cracking.

"Oh my, [i]e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-earthquake![/i]" Megan loudly said as her teeth started jittering. The buildings around them were collapsing as Chinatown was being turned into a literal jungle. So much destruction.

"The hell is going on?!" Missy said as she looked around. 

"Disaster!" Megan said.

Missy looked out the window, and her eyes opened up as the biggest coincidence occurred. It was the man she almost killed before, and the silver-haired RAVEN - running alongside a tall woman that Missy couldn't mistake who was holding a child's hand.

"...It's them!" Missy said as she hopped out of her chair.

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Megan cheerfully said. "After them!"

It wasn't what Missy had planned today, but it was what she was going to do.


[hr][i][h1]The Mannequin, & Jiang Song.[/h1][/i][hr]
[i][u]Courtbridge, Prince Ed-Field[/u][/i]


Both the Mannequin, and Jiang stood on a rooftop that overlooked the destruction.

They could see the destruction from up here. Trees were sprouting in places that they never should have been.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh," Jiang said, as he looked down at it with his hands behind his back. "This destruction... It's almost beautiful, I'm almost glad the place is being turned into one big forest. Wouldn't you say, Mannequin?" 

The Mannequin only tilted his head slightly.

"It doesn't make any difference to me."

"Of course it doesn't," Jiang said with a sinister smile. "Old Man Winter may be an idiot, but he's certainly going to make this city look interesting."

The Mannequin was silent as Jiang stepped off the side of the roof, more towards the center of the rooftop. 

"...I'm still wondering if you're an idiot myself," Jiang said. "I still am rather in the dark about your [i]true[/i] motives, and past, after all."

"This again?" The Mannequin's monotone voice almost formed a groan.

"Yes, yes, yes, [i]this[/i] again." The scientist said with a wry grin on his face.

"If it will satisfy you..." The Mannequin longed for the days he could express emotions as if he could. "I was born [i]Heinrich Thòrmer[/i]... A young boy born at the turn of the century. The late... eighteen hundreds."

The Mannequin never explained his past to anyone other than Luis. He was an ambiguity, after all.

"I was born... born with a gift. As a child, I realized I had an affinity with medicine and technology that was eras ahead of the time. It took me ages before I truly understood it, but I finally managed to do so as I grew with age. I looked back... and saw all the brilliant inventors, and chose to become one of those men. Someone who would change the world for the better, and be remembered."

"However, for a Metahuman like myself, that was harder than anticipated. Technology back then... was not easy to come across, or even make practical use of. Along with the fact that no one took me as a credible man of science without the certificates. In order to achieve credibility, I became a scholar, and easily passed through the courses."

"That excellence gave me attention from... let's say..." The Mannequin trailed off, he walked on all fours as he moved towards Jiang. "...Around this time, the Nazi party was rising, and I was a perfect supporter."

"I myself didn't share the same ideals as my fellow Germans at the time... It was the only way I would receive any recognition as a man of science," The regretfully said. "I helped the research projects, and many developments of German science.... when the concentration camps came around, I was one of the many scientists doing human experimentation... I knew Metahumans were looked down upon even by the very top in the Nazi Party, but few could deny how useful they were."

"However, interest came when my superiors wanted to know more about Metahumans, and I was happy to oblige... I discovered much about Metahumans that, [i]strangely[/i] ended up being "discovered" by the likes of the ISD. Pitiful."

"Once the war came to a close... my brand of "science" had to come to a close," The Mannequin started off. "I went on the run, fearing that I would be tried for war crimes, and executed... I didn't deserve nothing more."

"That's when I came across Luis, and the Lazarus Society... you should know what happened next. I found love in New Eden, had a child... fortunately, they were spared from the destruction of New Eden."

However, the Mannequin took a more somber stance, as his words conveyed his emotions quite nicely.

"But, they couldn't be spared from [i]time,[/i] as the years went by my wife and child died from illness. I wish I could have saved them, but I was busy serving with Luis' Changeling Unit... it was regrettable, truly. I could have saved them - because, as my body failed, I replaced it with machinery...."

"...Until I abandoned everything... my flesh, my sanity, my name... until there was nothing but the Mannequin. I longed for means to revive them, and return my body, so I can properly continue my work."

"Then... after the Verthaven Disaster, I found much information on the Hands of Science's various projects... and one caught my eye," The Mannequin stared at Jiang, if he had eyes, they would be piercing through him. "[i]The Genesis Project.[/i] A machine that could restore any biological organism to a previous state in it's lifecycle. [i]Any organism[/i]. Long as there's DNA, or a piece of that person... I have all the components I need."

"It was completed, before RAVEN came in and confiscated the device. Thanks to a contact within DOVE, I tracked it to their headquarters... it's just gathering dust in their storage room."

"...I want it."

"And to get it you must distract them?" Jiang suggested. "It all makes sense. So much sense. You wanted to save your family all along."

"Yes." The Mannequin said. "I... just want to return them... However, I also want a new beginning. No longer will I be the Mannequin... I want to return my knowledge to the world... which is why I'm making one last operation... which will show the death of the Mannequin, and the rebirth of Heinrich."

"Ah, I see," Jiang said. "You know I'm behind you all the way, my friend."

"Good..." The Mannequin said. "I will return the favor, I promise."

"A surprising display of humanity from a machine, I see."

Before their conversation could continue, their lovely friend Bison phoned in.

"Hey, Freako!" Bison loudly shouted into the comms. "When are we going to do our thing at their headquarters? RAVEN must be [i]swarming[/i] the scene!"

The Mannequin looked down from the rooftop.

"...We need a bigger distraction."


[hr][i][h1]...[/h1][/i][hr]
[i][u]???[/u][/i]


Inside a dark room, in a place that was a mystery.

A tall man sat on a sofa. His bright cigar was the only light in the room. He sat there, motionless. However, he wore a black armor, with a long coat draped over it. Consistent with the description of the Pure Sniper. Except, sans the imposing helmet. He sat hunched forward, and enjoyed his cigar. His face was blurred.

The room was silent - until footsteps entered the room. Tapping against what had to be a tile floor, were some heels as a woman approached the man. In the darkness, she was concealed. He raised his head at her, and gave her a stare.

She handed the man a folder, and he opened it up and looked at it.

"I have a mission, straight from the [i]Blessed Three[/i]," She said, starting off. "Your orders should be in the folder, you should know what to do from there..."

She placed a metal briefcase on the table, and opened it. Revealing darts full of a blue liquid unlike what Mason Conner was using.

"...[i]Black Hound.[/i]"

The Black Hound put his helmet on.

"I'll get right on it..." He stated, his voice was digitally altered.