[hr][h1][i][color=Springgreen]Cindy Gabrielle Keagan[/color].[/i][/h1][hr] The DOVE exhibit was going swimmingly, Cindy observed the whole thing from the sidelines. Not too many people paid her too much attention – oddly enough. Since she's one of the premiere DOVES. The girl that's worked her way to appearing on television, and being the face of Baybridge's DOVE branch. All through being so excellent at her job. Though, even being a DOVE was a dirty business. Finishing her hotdog, she threw the wrapper in the trash. She crossed her arms, as she gazed across the exhibit. Though, things took a turn once the microphone at the stage turned on. Cindy whipped her head around towards the stage, and saw Deborah manning the podium, with Shannon at her side. Looking good in that suit, as she adjusted the microphone. She looked at Deborah, and quickly ran over to the stage, and took her side on the stage. She had to keep making appearances, after all. Everyone in the DOVE exhibit looked at Deborah, and she merely cleared her throat as she prepared her speech. Everyone almost immediately recognized her. She was the true face of DOVE, after all. "Welcome everybody, I'm glad that you all are enjoying the DOVE exhibit... that wasn't really me, that was Marianela and Cindy here." She flashed the group with a disarming smile. Oddly enough, Deborah didn't speak like a woman that had a stick up her ass, and tried too hard to be [i]"professional."[/i] "Surprised? I decided to come here to deliver a speech addressing the current state of events regarding the ever-changing Metahuman politics." She casually laughed. "DOVE was created in response to the greatest tragedy that has happened in recent years: the Verthaven disaster-" Just the mere mention of that event made Cindy cringe. People can speak about how horrible it was all they want. It was [i]Cindy[/i] and her friends that were fighting for their lives. Wondering if they were going to make it out of it alive – and who was going to die next. It was just something that just annoyed it. She tried her best to keep it to herself. "-In which it became clear, that for the sake of everyone, the NEST institution was a flawed one. Not from the decision that made the disaster infinitely worse, but from the way Metahumans were treated as a threat... I'm Deborah Javuant, and that couldn't be anymore of a lie. I spent several years of my life at Academy 2-1-8, and there I learned that Metahumans and man had little differences. That's where I dedicated my life to NEST soon as I got out, rose through the ranks, and advocated for change in a broken, corrupt, system." "My earlier attempts did not go anywhere, but they weren't ignored. When DOVE was created, the government specifically asked [i]me[/i] to lead DOVE. Knowing about what it was, I gladly accepted the offer. I'm not going to lie when I say that it was overwhelming in the face of that disaster, but I made the lives of everyone much better. People still criticize the DOVE system, and that's one thing I have to accept, sadly." "I discuss things with my college, Maximilian Cornell, and this is the best compromise between security, and [i]freedom[/i] we could come up with." "But, I wanted to say that we may be facing a dark time, but please, trust me: things [i]will[/i] get better. Long as everyone stays strong, and refuses to falter in the face of monsters that may threaten them-" Deborah stopped as her own danger-sense kicked into action. Premonition. She calls it. An overwhelmingly bad feeling when something's about to happen. She put her hand on her head, as she looked around. Every person gave her a different line of information but the one she [i]wanted.[/i]. However, her eyes drifted up to the rooftops, where she vaguely saw a figure. [b]The Black Hound.[/b] Her power immediately told her who it was. "... [i]Everyone get down![/i]" Deborah said. [hr][hider=Massive Attack - Superpredators][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59rH3rre0ZA[/youtube][/hider][hr] A subtle teleportation brought the hulking Black Hound to the festival. It was a teleportation into a back alley. The celebration going on would only mask arrival. He stepped through the swirling blue portal, and then looked around. People were celebrating. With a threat looming over them. Amazing. The Black Hound had a sniper rifle firmly strapped to his back. Normally, the Founding Family has no business in an event like this, but the DOVE chairwoman was on a list. Like almost all the other hits, the target was marked for death by the Blessed Three because they were a threat to the Founding Family. Lionel, Deborah, Maximilian, and leaders of the other Metahuman regulation agencies... they're all targets. Targets for the Black Hound, of course. Killing Lionel was easy, but Deborah? She was going to be a challenge. Because her powers are public knowledge at this point, and there was no way that getting the drop on her was possible. She could out-maneuver the Black Hound in ways unseen. However, this wasn't a [i]typical[/i] assassination.... But, that's a story for another day. The Black Hound moved his way up to the fire escape, and climbed to the rooftops. There were some RAVENS on patrol. However, they would be easy to dispatch. The Hound crouched-walked over to the nearest RAVEN, and quickly grabbed him – wrapping his arm around the large man's neck. Using his other hand to cover his mouth as he choked him out. He gently placed him behind an air conditioner, as he moved closer. The Black Hound got to the edge of the roof, and pulled out his large sniper rifle. Now, this was where it got tricky. He lined up his sights with Deborah, and just waited... he could have taken the shot, but he was waiting.... "... [i]Everyone get down![/i]" [i]Bingo.[/i] The Black Hound fired a shot off at Deborah – but it missed by a long shot, and hit the wall behind her. Leaving a sizable hole inside of it. He fired another shot, but it missed and hit the stage. He was about to fire another shot, when.... [hr] Okay, the worst case scenario has happened, and now they have a god damn boogeyman opening fire on them. When the first shot hit, the crowd panicked, but the DOVES and RAVENS kept a cool head. Deborah immediately dipped underneath the podium, and the Black Hound kept shooting. Which means it's up to Cindy to save the day. Thank God Cindy planned in advance for this. Underneath the stage were several [i]huge[/i] glass panes that Cindy placed down there. They were bulletproofed in advance, and all Cindy had to do was put them in the way. She raised both hands in the air, and levitated the glass panes towards her goal, and created a barrier of glass between herself and the Black Hound. The mysterious man's eyes glowed bright red as he fired another shot. It hit the glass pane, and stopped dead in it's tracks. Looks like he's not getting through this the regular way. "Go! Go! Go!" Cindy loudly shouted at Deborah as the glass barrier kept them from experiencing certain death. Deborah didn't waste any time in running off the stage, keeping her head down. While Cindy did the best she could to keep the shield up. Civilians were hauling ass, she could afford to counter attack. She broke off a large triangle from the shield, and sent it flying at the Black Hound, spinning with extra penetration. The man [i]caught[/i] the glass, and it drilled into his hand. Blood seeped from the armor, as he barely reacted. This was just a tickle. He clenched his fist and utterly crushed the glass, and threw the pieces onto the ground. Cindy gasped as she did nothing to him – but this was their chance. RAVENS were approaching the Black Hound. She quickly followed Deborah. This was going better than what the Black Hound could have hoped. They couldn't see it, but he was grinning. Time to advance their plans a little further. The Black Hound stood straight up, and pressed his earpiece. "I require assistance... have Zenith send in the men." On cue, portals had opened up around the festival. Masked men in similar armor to the Black Hound stepped out. They were the Founding Family's main force, all under the others of the Black Hound. Armed with all sorts of weapons. "Our target is Deborah Javuant... however, RAVEN and DOVE have a very soft heart... target the civilians, and I'll have an opening," The Black Hound said. "However, keep the civilian casualties low... simply shoot around, and give them a scare... If I learn any children have been killed here, I'll feed you to the Blessed Three's [i]machine[/i] myself." That threat was enough to get his men in line as they launched their assault on the festival. Keeping the destruction harmless as possible, as they wildly fired around, and destroyed stands. The gunfire was enough to keep everyone tense. "However.... any combatants are fair game...." The Black Hound said, as he reached towards his belt, and pulled out a canister... which would be familiar to those associated with RAVEN, as it was a canister of Metahuman suppressant gas. He chucked the canister far as he could in the direction Deborah and her escorts were going in. With one leap, the Black Hound hopped off the rooftop and landed with a massive thud that left cracks in the ground. He swapped out his sniper rifle for a M16 machine gun, and took slow steps through the festival. The wind was blowing his longcoat around with each step. Whenever someone saw [i]him[/i] they were tremble, or dart in the other direction. It made him no difference. He marched towards Deborah regardless. This wasn't over just yet.